Buried Memories

The Bloody Crimes and Execution of the Texas Black Widow

By: Irene Pence

Narrated by: George Newbern

1985, Gun Barrel City, Texas: Police searching for missing Fire Department captain Jimmy Don Beets dug inside a wishing well in the neatly tended garden of Beets's wife, 48-year-old Betty Lou Beets. Not only did they find his body, but they also found the body of Betty Lou's fourth husband, Doyle Wayne Barker. It wasn't long before investigators unearthed the terrible truth. As Betty Lou's sordid past emerged, so did her chilling trail of marital violence. She shot her second husband, Billy York Lane, in the back. She tried to run over her third husband, Ronnie Threlkeld, with a car. Both survived to tell their horrific stories. But Barker and Beets, spouses four and five, weren't so lucky. After a sensational trial, Betty Lou Beets was sentenced to die by lethal injection. Fifteen years later, on February 24, 2000, she again drew national attention by becoming the second woman to be executed in Texas since the Civil War.

©2001 Irene Pence (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"One of the most infamous murderers in modern Texas history." ( Dallas Morning News)

Good true crime

I like that this book didn't have much filler and basically stuck to the facts. .

Well read.

The narrator was quite good. I'll look for other things he's read. The writing was good. Not great (like The Executioner's Song), but nicely paced and clean.

Great Story and Narration

This is almost unbelievable but true. It is narrated so well, which makes it easy to listen to.

Delicious insanity, save the poor narration

The story is really fascinating. If you're into Black Widows and crazy Texas shenanigans, this one's for you. I was kind of surprised I hadn't heard more about this case, and the writer does a good job of not getting bogged down with court proceedings or extraneous information.

My one major complaint about the audiobook is that the narrator read in a weird staccato that made it sound like he was adding a period after every word in some parts. So avoid it if you're not into a parody of William Shatner reading you true crime.

Well-written

So many true-crime novels are over-indulgent with unnecessary details and flowery writing. This one was not. I appreciated that by the end I was left with no gaping questions, but that I wasn't filled with useless information, either. Also, the outline and pacing of the story were well-written and designed.

I like George Newbern's acting work, but I do think he could have done better with this piece. I notice the difference between narrators who read with inflection and those who read with feeling, and I feel that Newbern lacked some real emotion with his delivery. But he has a pleasant voice, and did vary his reading for different characters so that I always knew whose dialogue was being read, which I appreciate. While not perfect, he was far better than many I've listened to.

Good but sometimes hard to follow

It was a good story overall but some of it seemed disjointed. There were a lot of players and sometimes it was hard to keep track of who was who.

Betty Lou Beets

I’ve read a ton of true crime books and almost all of them suffer from the same problem- filler. It always seems true crime authors pad their work with uninteresting asides. Buried Memories does not have this problem. Irene Pence has constructed such a tight narrative that nothing is irrelevant, it all ties back into the story of the crime.

Pence does not try to portray Betty Lou Beets as a monster, nor does she try to compel sympathy for her. Instead, she presents the facts of the case and Betty Lou’s life and allows her audience to make up their own minds.

This might be the best true crime book I’ve ever read (or more accurately, listened to). I found myself hanging on every word and fully involved in the unfolding story. If you’re a true crime fan, I highly recommend you give this a listen.

Very good story

I liked that the author remembered the victims and their families. This was a well told story.

The greed of an misguided cold blooded woman

I make no judgment on an abused woman, but bringing your kids in to it makes it a whole different game. I don’t believe in the death penalty, but some people do deserve death.

Good book on a bad lady

Betty Beets was not a good person no matter what she pretended to be
Well written and good narration although too much detail at times still done well overall