diff --git a/json_object.c b/json_object.c
index cae67dd..e9fffab 100644
--- a/json_object.c
+++ b/json_object.c
@@ -116,8 +116,6 @@ static inline const struct json_object_string *JC_STRING_C(const struct json_obj
 static inline struct json_object *json_object_new(enum json_type o_type, size_t alloc_size,
                                                   json_object_to_json_string_fn *to_json_string);
 
-static int json_object_object_add_internal(struct json_object *jso, const struct lh_string *key,
-                                           struct json_object *const val, const unsigned opts);
 static int json_object_object_del_internal(struct json_object *jso_base,
                                            const struct lh_string *key);
 static json_bool json_object_object_get_internal(const struct json_object *jso,
diff --git a/json_object_private.h b/json_object_private.h
index 4f5e7c4..5b08dd1 100644
--- a/json_object_private.h
+++ b/json_object_private.h
@@ -98,6 +98,22 @@ struct json_object_string
 
 void _json_c_set_last_err(const char *err_fmt, ...);
 
+/**
+ * @brief Add an object field to a json_object of type json_type_object
+ *
+ * The semantics are identical to json_object_object_add_ex, except that @p key
+ * contains both the data and the length.
+ *
+ * @param obj the json_object instance
+ * @param key the object field name (a private copy will be duplicated)
+ * @param val a json_object or NULL member to associate with the given field
+ * @param opts process-modifying options. To specify multiple options, use
+ *             (OPT1|OPT2)
+ * @return On success, @c 0 is returned.
+ *         On error, a negative value is returned.
+ */
+int json_object_object_add_internal(struct json_object *obj, const struct lh_string *key,
+                                    struct json_object *const val, const unsigned opts);
 /**
  * The characters that can make up hexadecimal numbers
  */
diff --git a/json_tokener.c b/json_tokener.c
index aad463a..8fea883 100644
--- a/json_tokener.c
+++ b/json_tokener.c
@@ -1105,7 +1105,9 @@ struct json_object *json_tokener_parse_ex(struct json_tokener *tok, const char *
 				{
 					printbuf_memappend_fast(tok->pb, case_start,
 					                        str - case_start);
-					obj_field_name = strdup(tok->pb->buf);
+					obj_field_name =
+					    lh_string_new_imm(tok->pb->bpos, tok->pb->buf);
+					// lh_string_print(obj_field_name, stdout);
 					saved_state = json_tokener_state_object_field_end;
 					state = json_tokener_state_eatws;
 					break;
@@ -1153,7 +1155,7 @@ struct json_object *json_tokener_parse_ex(struct json_tokener *tok, const char *
 			goto redo_char;
 
 		case json_tokener_state_object_value_add:
-			json_object_object_add(current, obj_field_name, obj);
+			json_object_object_add_internal(current, obj_field_name, obj, 0);
 			free(obj_field_name);
 			obj_field_name = NULL;
 			saved_state = json_tokener_state_object_sep;
diff --git a/json_tokener.h b/json_tokener.h
index a07e12c..9a0d411 100644
--- a/json_tokener.h
+++ b/json_tokener.h
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 #define _json_tokener_h_
 
 #include "json_object.h"
+#include "linkhash.h"
 #include <stddef.h>
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
@@ -85,7 +86,7 @@ struct json_tokener_srec
 	enum json_tokener_state state, saved_state;
 	struct json_object *obj;
 	struct json_object *current;
-	char *obj_field_name;
+	struct lh_string *obj_field_name;
 };
 
 #define JSON_TOKENER_DEFAULT_DEPTH 32
@@ -215,7 +216,7 @@ JSON_EXPORT struct json_tokener *json_tokener_new_ex(int depth);
 JSON_EXPORT void json_tokener_free(struct json_tokener *tok);
 
 /**
- * Reset the state of a json_tokener, to prepare to parse a 
+ * Reset the state of a json_tokener, to prepare to parse a
  * brand new JSON object.
  */
 JSON_EXPORT void json_tokener_reset(struct json_tokener *tok);
@@ -279,7 +280,7 @@ JSON_EXPORT void json_tokener_set_flags(struct json_tokener *tok, int flags);
  * the length of the last len parameter passed in.
  *
  * The tokener does \b not maintain an internal buffer so the caller is
- * responsible for a subsequent call to json_tokener_parse_ex with an 
+ * responsible for a subsequent call to json_tokener_parse_ex with an
  * appropriate str parameter starting with the extra characters.
  *
  * This interface is presently not 64-bit clean due to the int len argument
diff --git a/linkhash.c b/linkhash.c
index bc4c155..4bb9844 100644
--- a/linkhash.c
+++ b/linkhash.c
@@ -511,7 +511,7 @@ size_t lh_string_print(const struct lh_string *key, FILE *stream)
 	return fwrite(lh_string_data(key), lh_string_size(key), 1, stream);
 }
 
-const struct lh_string *lh_string_new_ptr(const size_t length, const char *data)
+struct lh_string *lh_string_new_ptr(const size_t length, const char *data)
 {
 	struct lh_string *result = malloc(sizeof(struct lh_string));
 	if (result == NULL)
@@ -523,7 +523,7 @@ const struct lh_string *lh_string_new_ptr(const size_t length, const char *data)
 	return result;
 }
 
-const struct lh_string *lh_string_new_imm(const size_t length, const char *data)
+struct lh_string *lh_string_new_imm(const size_t length, const char *data)
 {
 	struct lh_string *result;
 	if (length >
diff --git a/linkhash.h b/linkhash.h
index 045474c..a8b82f2 100644
--- a/linkhash.h
+++ b/linkhash.h
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ extern size_t lh_string_print(const struct lh_string *str, FILE *stream);
  * @param data The data to include
  * @return `NULL` on error
  */
-extern const struct lh_string *lh_string_new_ptr(const size_t length, const char *data);
+extern struct lh_string *lh_string_new_ptr(const size_t length, const char *data);
 
 /**
  * @brief Creates a new `struct lh_string` using the `idata` field.
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ extern const struct lh_string *lh_string_new_ptr(const size_t length, const char
  * @param data The data to include and copy into the returned value
  * @return `NULL` on error
  */
-extern const struct lh_string *lh_string_new_imm(const size_t length, const char *data);
+extern struct lh_string *lh_string_new_imm(const size_t length, const char *data);
 
 /**
  * Create a new linkhash table.