Library Journal
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Bosworth (A Killer Among Us) and attorney Schwartz explore the murder of Betsy Faria. Just after Christmas 2011, Faria's body was found riddled with stab wounds on the floor of her Missouri home by her husband, Russ. Police immediately suspected Russ, even though Betsy's friend Pam Hupp had been made the beneficiary of Betsy's life insurance policy just days before the murder. Despite a lack of evidence or motive, Russ Faria was convicted. Most of this book, cowritten by Schwartz (Russ Faria's defense attorney), is devoted to the nitty-gritty of the two Betsy Faria murder trials (one on appeal). Because the facts of the case are well known—it was the subject of several Dateline NBC episodes and a podcast—this book is far from a whodunit. Rather, the purpose is to expose missteps and bad actors in Faria's unjust arrest and conviction; the authors eschew an objectivity that would be unattainable by them, given Schwartz's proximity to the case. Though a book from Russ Faria's point of view would be more interesting and certainly less self-aggrandizing, readers will nevertheless come away frustrated with the justice system and convinced of Hupp's depravity. VERDICT Fans of Dateline will be interested in this work, which will likely only grow in popularity when the miniseries The Thing About Pam, starring Renée Zellweger, premieres in March 2022.—Jessica Hilburn