Murder in the Heartland

By: M. William Phelps

Narrated by: J. Charles

On December 16th, 2004, a Nodaway County, Missouri, 911 operator received a frantic call from the mother of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett, an eight-months-pregnant mother-to-be found bleeding and barely breathing on her family room floor, her unborn baby gone.

More than 150 miles away, in Melvern, Kansas, Lisa Montgomery proudly showed off "her" new baby at church and a local diner, duping many while arousing the suspicions of others. Across the nation, televisions broadcast the first Amber Alert for an unborn child...

Here is the true story of a baby born under shocking conditions, of the lucky break that led to the alleged killer, of a tortured history of sexual abuse and "moral insanity," and the pain that lingers in two American towns that will never be the same again. With the exclusive cooperation of key witnesses and participants, investigative journalist and acclaimed author M. William Phelps reveals what really happened that fateful December day.

Like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, Murder in the Heartland takes an unflinching look at an American tragedy, exploring its terrible trajectory with courage, insight, and compassion.

©2006 M. William Phelps (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

this story was written before it was complete.

Would you listen to Murder in the Heartland again? Why?

maybe. it was a good story. but the incompleteness of the ending bothers me. why not wait until the trial is over before writing the book? the book is quite sad.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Murder in the Heartland?

it is not a memorable book. it is a true crime story. i guess i found some of the detective work memorable and clever.

Which character – as performed by J. Charles – was your favorite?

i think he did a good job with all the "characters"

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

when the cops got into lisa montgomery's computer.

Any additional comments?

as i stated before, the book would be better if the whole business of the trial was completely over. so that the book was written completely.

Not a well researched book

This book is completely one sided...giving the ex-husband of this convicted murderer a soap box to stand on. I really got the impression that the writer decided to save himself research time and just stick to the guy (ex-husband) who spilled his guts to him. I think a more investigative type approach would have been less annoying than continually hearing about Carl (the ex) and his excuses why he wasn't a dead beat dad.
Also, the narrator was bizarre. He constantly changed into strange impersonations of how he felt the character might speak (Usally some type of twang). This was completely annoying and off putting.

disappointed

this is what happens when you try to write from a viewpoint you dont share [Carl's]. a jumble of dysfunction does not excuse treachery, never mind murder. failing to include the trial outcome is the ultimate in laziness. wow, total disappointment Phelps.

Interesting!

Towards the end, the back and forth between past and present was a bit hard to follow; otherwise, definitely worth the read (listen).

Very good!!

A very good book, interesting and enlightening explanation of a horrible event! Very good narration too!

Narrator??

I have little patience listening to any book whereby the narrator performs barely mediocre. He puts emphasis on the wrong place in the sentence.. it doesn't sound the way anyone would say anything. This book is very well written..this author is one of my favorites.. Please hire Kevin Pierce for ALL of your audibles : )

Not Capote, but...

still an enthralling and bizarre story of a murder and the kidnapping of an unborn child. (Hum, liberals, can an "extension of the mother's body" be kidnapped? Maybe the police wasted time recovering something abortion laws hold no more possessing of rights than an appendix. ) Well, anyway, this is Phelps at his best.

Not worth your money, don't bother.

I think that the author let the ex-husband and the mother of the murderer have too much say in this book. Both of them are horrendous people, and it gets really old having to hear for hours and hours how great they think they are. For example; the ex-husband has his kids over one day, and the next day they find the house empty. The guy is such a creep, he couldn't even tell his kids he was leaving. Instead he just skipped out of town without even saying goodbye. Later he blames his new wife for this, saying that it was hard on her, you know, having to help out with his kids, poor guy, what is a dad to do? Why not just desert his children? Then the author allows this jerk to go on and on, about how he made mistakes, but they really aren't his fault and that he is a great dad and a wonderful, wonderful guy. This goes on for like 6 hours. Then he lets her mother (who is is a self-centered tramp) have just as much time bragging on herself. What a waste of my time and my money. Take it from me, I might not be able to get my lost time and money back, but you still have a chance. Take it!

Full of baseless information

Very one sided. Seems like most of the information came from the ex husband and not from any other place. Would have liked to hear first hand from her side of the family.

Left out a lot of facts

I listened to this book and then, ironically, the very next Sunday NYTs had a very in depth opinion piece about why Lisa Montgomery should not be put to death. There are current extenuating circumstances obviously, but there was so much torturous physical abuse and neglect in Ms. Montgomery's life that was ever explored. This book gave a large favorable portion of this tragic story to Ms. Montgomery's ex-husband and we have learned that he was front and center in her sexual and physical torture. Read the opinion piece from the December 20th 2020 NYTs, don't read this book.