Murder In The Heartland. M. William Phelps
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Praise for MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND
“Drawing on interviews with law officers and relatives, Murder in the Heartland will interest anyone who has followed the Stinnett case. The author has done significant research and—demonstrating how modern forensics and the Internet played critical, even unexpected roles in the investigation—his facile writing pulls the reader along.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Phelps uses a unique combination of investigative skills and narrative insight to give readers an exclusive, insider’s look into the events surrounding this incredible, high-profile American tragedy…. He has written a compassionate, riveting true crime masterpiece.”
—Anne Bremner, op-ed columnist and legal analyst on Court TV, MSNBC, Nancy Grace, FOX News Channel, The O’Reilly Factor, CNN, Good Morning America, and The Early Show
“When unimaginable horror strikes, it is certain to cause monstrous sufferings, regardless of its locale. In Murder in the Heartland, M. Williams Phelps expertly reminds us that when the darkest form of evil invades the quiet and safe outposts of rural America, the tragedy is greatly magnified. Get ready for some sleepless nights.”
—Carlton Stowers, Edgar Award–winning author of Careless Whispers, Scream at the Sky and To the Last Breath
“This is the most disturbing and moving look at murder in rural America since Capote’s In Cold Blood.”
—Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author of Abandoned Prayers
“A crisp, no-nonsense account…masterful.”
—Bucks County Courier Times
“An unflinching investigation…Phelps explores this tragedy with courage, insight, and compassion.”
—Lima News (Lima, OH)
Praise for SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE
“An exceptional book by an exceptional true crime writer. In Sleep in Heavenly Peace, M. William Phelps exposes long-hidden secrets and reveals disquieting truths. Page by page, Phelps skillfully probes the disturbed mind of a mother guilty of the ultimate betrayal.”
—Kathryn Casey, author of She Wanted It All and A Warrant to Kill
Praise for EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE
“An insightful and fast-paced examination of the inner workings of a good cop and his bad informant culminating in an unforgettable truth-is-stranger-than-fiction climax.”
—Michael M. Baden, M.D., author of Unnatural Death
“M. William Phelps is the rising star of the nonfiction crime genre, and his true tales of murderers and mayhem are scary-as-hell thrill rides into the dark heart of the inhuman condition.”
—Douglas Clegg, author of The Lady of Serpents
Praise for LETHAL GUARDIAN
“An intense roller-coaster of a crime story. Matt Phelps’ book Lethal Guardian is at once complex, with a plethora of twists and turns worthy of any great detective mystery, and yet so well-laid out, so crisply written with such detail to character and place that it reads more like a novel than your standard non-fiction crime book.”
—New York Times bestselling author Steve Jackson
Praise for PERFECT POISON
“Perfect Poison is a horrific tale of nurse Kristen Gilbert’s insatiable desire to kill the most helpless of victims—her own patients. A stunner from beginning to end, Phelps renders the story expertly, with flawless research and an explosive narrative. Phelps unravels the devastating case against nurse Kristen Gilbert and shockingly reveals that unimaginable evil sometimes comes in pretty packages.”
—Gregg Olsen, bestselling author of Abandoned Prayers, Mockingbird, and If Loving You Is Wrong
“M. William Phelps’s Perfect Poison is true crime at its best—compelling, gripping, an edge-of-the-seat thriller. All the way through, Phelps packs wallops of delight with his skillful ability to narrate a suspenseful story and his encyclopedic knowledge of police procedures. Perfect Poison is the perfect antidote for a dreary night!”
—Harvey Rachlin, author of The Making of a Detective and The Making of a Cop
“A compelling account of terror that only comes when the author dedicates himself to unmasking the psychopath with facts, insight and the other proven methods of journalistic leg work.”
—Lowell Cauffiel, bestselling author of House of Secrets
“A blood-curdling page turner and a meticulously researched study of the inner recesses of the mind of a psychopathic narcissist.”
—Sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self Love—Narcissism Revisited
MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND
M. WILLIAM PHELPS
PINNACLE BOOKS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
For Mom
Contents
A NOTE TO READERS
PREFACE
PROLOGUE
I: THE RUSE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER