Secrets of a Soldier's Wife ― A True Story of Marriage, Obsession, and Murder

In Secrets of a Soldier's Wife, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Shanna Hogan tells the true story of a young Marine wife whose illicit affair ended in tragedy.

In June 2014, 19-year-old Erin Corwin was living a quiet life in Twentynine Palms, California, expecting her first child with her husband, U.S. Marine Corporal Jon Corwin—until the day she drove off into the desert and never returned. As temperatures climbed into the hundreds, friends and family teamed up with local law enforcement in a grueling search of Joshua Tree National Park. Nearly two months after her disappearance, Corwin's body was found at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft, a homemade garrote wrapped around her throat.

Suspicions mounted within the tight-knit Marine community as residents questioned if the killer was one of their own. Fellow Marine Christopher Lee and his wife lived next door to the Corwins, and the two young couples had leaned on each other for support. But detectives soon discovered that Chris and Erin's relationship had developed into a whirlwind romance that consumed them both and called the paternity of Corwin's baby into question. Lee told investigators he'd gone out hunting the day of Corwin's disappearance, but his claims of innocence soon began to crumble. And while Corwin was researching baby names, Lee was reportedly searching the internet for ways to dispose of a human body.

Through interviews, court records, and extensive research, bestselling true-crime author Shanna Hogan constructs a chilling story of betrayal, deception, and tragedy.

SHANNA HOGAN is an award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author of several true-crime books including Picture Perfect: The Jodi Arias Story and Dancing with Death. She has written for numerous publications and has received more than twenty awards for her feature writing and investigative reporting. Shanna was named Journalist of the Year by the Arizona Press Club in 2010 and again in 2011 by the Arizona Newspaper Association. She has appeared on The View, Dateline, 20/20, CNN, HLN, Fox News, Oprah Winfrey’s Oxygen, and Investigation Discovery. In addition, she teaches journalism at her alma mater, Arizona State University. Shanna lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband, Matt LaRussa, and their two dogs.