BONE VALLEY: The Book

On Sale October 8, 2025 See Details Below for Pre-Orders

In 1988, 22-year-old Leo Schofield—a heavy metal guitarist from Lakeland, Florida—was arrested and charged with the murder of his 18-year-old wife, Michelle. Leo maintained his innocence from the beginning, but he was failed at nearly every turn: the investigation was shoddy, the defense inadequate, and critical evidence was overlooked. Convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, Leo exhausted his appeals and seemed destined to remain in the shadows.

More than thirty years later, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Gilbert King is tipped off to Leo’s case—and is stunned by what he finds: layers of official misconduct, evidence that was ignored, and deeply rooted failures at the judiciary that prioritized finality over justice. Unable to let it go, King begins a years-long investigation that brings him closer to Leo and his family, and eventually to another suspect who’s forensically linked to the crime: Jeremy Scott, a violent young man who lived near the Schofields at the time of Michelle’s murder. Through it all, Leo displays an almost unimaginable capacity for grace, which deepens King’s resolve to tell his story.

Bone Valley is at once a revelatory investigation into a murder, a haunting portrait of the American criminal justice system, and a uniquely powerful story of compassion and redemption.