The Doomsday Mother

Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and the End of an American Family

By: John Glatt

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

At first, the residents of Kauai Beach Resort took little notice of their new neighbors. The glamorous blonde and her tall husband fit the image of the ritzy gated community. The couple seemed to keep to themselves - until the police knocked on their door with a search warrant. Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell had fled to Hawaii in the midst of being investigated for the disappearance of Lori's children back in Idaho - Tylee and JJ - who hadn't been seen alive in five months.

For years, Lori Vallow had been devoted to her children and her Mormon faith. But when her path crossed with Chad Daybell, a religious zealot who taught his followers how to prepare for the end-times, the tumultuous relationship transformed her into someone unrecognizable. As authorities searched for Lori's children, they uncovered more suspicious deaths with links to both Lori and Chad, including the death of Lori's third and fourth husbands, her brother, and Chad's wife.

In June 2020, the gruesome remains of JJ and Tylee were discovered on Chad's property, and the newlyweds were arrested and charged with murder. And in a shocking development, horrifying statements revealed that the couple's fanatical beliefs had convinced them the children had become zombies - a belief that may have led to their deaths.

©2021 John Glatt (P)2022 Tantor

Sick

This is so awful, t he people involved are incredibly evil. I don't know how they can live with themselves.

Kind of Shallow

Since the Vallow case hasn't been tried in court yet, this book is limited to what information is available in news and documentary coverage. No interviews with police or peosecutors, very few quotes from witnesses. It's a food summary of the case so far, but I'll be on the lookout for a better researched book once the case resolves.

Shaun Grindell is a gift, as always.

Couldn’t put this down

This book is well written & is a page turner. Although I have followed the case since the beginning, there are a lot of unknown details & facts I learned from the book. The story is wells sequenced. Following Chad, Lori, & her brother Alec’s younger years & learning the beginnings of how the cult started gave a great basis in understanding the depth of the relationships & beliefs between the three of them. Understanding their family members & their names & dynamics helps keep straight who is who. I highly recommend this book. If you like this book, you will love Bone Deep about the Pamela Hupp case. I thought the narrator was great. I happen to love his accent & felt it didn’t deter from the story at all.

Poor choices

This was a book that was written and published before the trials. That seems odd, as it left a big question unanswered. In addition, some parts are repetitive, while other areas are left with gaping holes.
As for the narrator - he’s a nice narrator. But he’s not the right choice for a book taking place in the American states of Texas, Arizona, Hawaii, and Idaho.

Well written, great narration

I enjoyed the book, well written and the narrator keep my attention. Excellent Narrator.

Blatt made a complicated story clear

A well researched and clearly presented story. Blatt brings out the salient details of a hard to follow and complicated decent into religious zealotry and tragic crime.

Not the right narrator

This is such a uniquely American story (sadly) that using a British narrator is a bit jarring. The phrasing and pronunciation is off, especially since I listened to many of the original quotes from Dateline, 48 Hours, etc.

Narration was mediocre

I’m not sure why the narration needed to be done by someone with an Australian accent. It was a distraction while listening to the audiobook. Hopefully the author follows up with additional facts on this case as they become available.

Excellent Summary of this complicated case

Like other reviewers, at first, I didn't like the narrator/author's voice. As the pace of the story picked up, his narration fit the material. As far as the pace of the story, the author sets the scene for the events that follow. At first, I was a little annoyed by alk the details, but by the end of the book I realized how important they were to understanding the bizarre religious views that were used as a cover for a few people to commit crimes of greed and lust.

Fascinating true crime with awful narration

This is effectively a timeline of all the horrible events surrounding the murders and other crimes from both Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell. As others have said, the narrator is Australian (jarring for an American crime book) and has a very annoying cadence. If you want a much better analysis of these crimes, I recommend the book When the Moon Turned to Blood.