Bone Valley - by Gilbert King (Hardcover)

About the Book

"From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King comes a chilling exploration of one of America's most haunting wrongful conviction cases. Based on the hit podcast, Bone Valley dives into the dark heart of rural Florida, where a young man's life was upended by a tragic miscarriage of justice. In 1987, Leo Schofield was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, Michelle. Always insistent on his innocence, he was poorly served by his legal defense: the investigation was sloppy, the case flimsy, and numerous pieces of evidence were ignored. He was sentenced to life in prison. Over thirty years later, Gilbert King is tipped off to Leo's case and is astonished by what he found: layers of corruption, flawed evidence, and deep-seated errors. He can't shake the story and starts to get to know Leo and his family. Leo shows an incomprehensible amount of grace and love about his situation, which spurs Gilbert even more to tell his story. Bone Valley is at once a revelatory investigation into a murder, a chilling portrait of the criminal justice system, and a uniquely powerful story of grace and redemption. Gilbert King has written a new classic of narrative nonfiction"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King comes a chilling exploration of one of America's most haunting wrongful conviction cases. Based on the hit podcast, Bone Valley dives into the dark heart of rural Florida, where a young man's life was upended by a tragic miscarriage of justice.

"Captivating, enraging, and all too true." --Bob Kolker, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road

"Bone Valley is a work of rare moral clarity and deep compassion." ―Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

In 1987, Leo Schofield was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, Michelle. Always insistent on his innocence, he was poorly served by his legal defense: the investigation was sloppy, the case flimsy, and numerous pieces of evidence were ignored. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Over thirty years later, Gilbert King is tipped off to Leo's case and is astonished by what he found: layers of corruption, flawed evidence, and deep-seated errors. He can't shake the story and starts to get to know Leo and his family. Leo shows an incomprehensible amount of grace and love about his situation, which spurs Gilbert even more to tell his story.

Bone Valley is at once a revelatory investigation into a murder, a chilling portrait of the criminal justice system, and a uniquely powerful story of grace and redemption. Gilbert King has written a new classic of narrative nonfiction.

Review Quotes

"You won't read any thriller this year as spellbinding as Bone Valley. It's captivating, enraging, and all too true--and its astounding conclusion will leave you in tears" --Bob Kolker, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road and Lost Girls

"Bone Valley is a work of rare moral clarity and deep compassion. Gilbert King's investigation reveals not only a grievous injustice, but the grace that can emerge when truth is pursued with empathy and integrity. In the spirit of Just Mercy and Dead Man Walking, this story reminds us that true justice requires more than facts--it requires heart. I urge you to read it." --Sister Helen Prejean, bestselling author of Dead Man Walking

"With depth, humility, and an open, timid understanding of its inadequacy within the legal system, this orientation of King's reporting grants human gravitas to the mind-blowing frustrations of procedural technicalities. Both infuriating and hopeful, a story about the ultimate integrity of truth." --Kirkus

About the Author

Gilbert King is the writer, producer, and host of Bone Valley, a narrative podcast about murder and injustice in 1980s central Florida, from Lava For Good podcasts. He is the author of three books, including Devil in the Grove, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. A New York Times bestseller, the book was also named runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. King has written about race, civil rights, and the death penalty for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic, and he was a 2019-2020 fellow at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Writers and Scholars at the New York Public Library. He lives in Brooklyn.