An unflinching investigation into an American tragedy details the high-profile case of Lisa Montgomery, who brutally attacked eight-months-pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett and kidnapped her unborn baby, revealing a woman with a tortured history of sexual abuse, abandonment, and desperation that molded her into a sociopath. Bucolic Skidmore, Missouri, was the setting for Harry M. Maclean's In Broad Daylight (1988), about a town bully who died in a hail of bullets before a crowd of armed locals, none of whom remembered seeing anything -untoward. Bloody murder visited Skidmore again in 2004 when somebody murdered pretty, pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett, and stole her unborn child. Simultaneously, Kansan Lisa Montgomery was facing a crisis. Having lied about being pregnant for more than eight months, she had to come up with a newborn. When she returned from a shopping trip with a baby, joy ruled--until, that is, her movements were examined. Claiming to have delivered the baby and been discharged from a clinic in hours--those wacky new insurance provisions!--Lisa was caught in a web of deceit. Phelps' frothy, urgent style conveys the supermarket-tabloid nature of the story but may put off true-crime mavens who like things a mite harder-bitten. Still, this is a worthy, entertaining shelfmate for Stephen Singular's Unholy Messenger (2006) and other chronicles of middle-American mayhem. Mike Tribby Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "As always, Phelps offers up great research, outstanding storytelling and an eye and ear for the most fascinating!" -- -Jordan Rich, host of Boston's most popular nightime talk show, The Jordan Rich Show, on WBZ Radio "M. William Phelps is the nation's leading authority on the mind of the female murderer." -- Radio America "Phelps expertly reminds us that when evil invades rural America tragedy is greatly magnified. Get ready for sleepless nights." -- Edgar Award-winning author and Pulitzer-nominated Carlton Stowers "Phelps uses a combination of investigative skills and narrative insight into this high-profile American tragedy a compassionate, riveting crime masterpiece." -- Anne Bremner, high-profile lawyer, op-ed columnist and legal analyst for Court TV, MSNBC, Nancy Grace, FOX News Channel, The O Reilly Factor, CNN, Good Morning America, The Early Show "The most disturbing and moving look at murder in rural America since Truman Capote's In Cold Blood." -- New York Times bestlling author Gregg Olsen This case was profiled on Inside Edition, The Today Show, The Early Show, Good Morning America, along with every other major media outlet. The New York Post, USA Today, and over 4,000 additional news stories were generated. M. William Phelps gained exclusive access to Lisa Montgomery's family, friends, neighbors, and key law enforcement to tell the true story of what really happened. Phelps was able to score exclusive photos of the baby on the night she was kidnapped, the nursery Lisa Montgomery prepared for the child, along with documents, letters and other important items used in this riveting account of murder in the Midwest. With the book being optioned for a feature film already, it is sure to be a major bestseller. "Researching and writing Murder in the Heartland put my investigative skills to the test. Yet I was compelled by the notion that such a brutal crime could take place in such a remote, rural region of the Midwest, and how to tell that story in a compassionate way, detailing how and why it happened. Truly, this story is the archetype of the American dream crushed by tragedy. ... A good nonfiction crime book should not only make news, but break news. Murder in the Heartland will do both. The exclusive material I am bringing to the page will have people talking candidly about this case long before it goes to trial in October 2006." With over 300,000 copies of his books in print, M. William Phelps—author of Perfect Poison, Lethal Guardian, Every Move You Make, Sleep In Heavenly Peace—has been called one of the country’s most esteemed experts on crime and murder—and has spent years building an outstanding platform to showcase his work. He has appeared on dozens of national radio and television programs as an expert correspondent on crime, most notably on Court TV, the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, Biography Channel, History Channel, Montel Williams and Radio America. Profiled in such noted publications as Writer’s Digest, NY Daily News, Newsday, Albany Times-Union, Hartford Courant, Advance for Nurses magazine, Forensic Nursing, The Globe magazine, NY Post, Columbia Daily Tribune, and the New London Day, in September 2003 Phelps was invited to Washington, DC, to give a keynote address in front of the Veterans Affairs Administration and members of Congress regarding some of the information he uncovered and wrote about in his book Perfect Poison. He lives in a small Connecticut farming community with his wife, children and Lab. Au