Children of Darkness and Light

Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell and the Story of a Murderous Faith

De: Lori Hellis

Narrado por: Aimee Reid

In this gripping work of true crime, a criminal lawyer takes listeners inside the notorious Lori Vallow case and the devastating doomsday murders.

A blonde beauty queen, missing children, six suspicious deaths, and the twisted Mormon doomsday writings of her fifth husband are only the beginning of a tragic crime saga that gripped Americans and instigated frantic searches all over the country.

It all started when Lori Vallow met Chad Daybell at a doomsday prepper event. Their story grew like a wildfire that creates its own weather, and what happened next will shock even the most experienced true crime listener.

Clinging to and manipulating one another, Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell believed the return of Jesus Christ was imminent and that God had chosen them to lead the 144,000 and usher in the new millennium. When the people closest to them began dying, it became clear they would stop at nothing to be together and fulfill their mission. When the bodies of Lori’s missing children—J.J. and Tylee—were discovered in Chad’s backyard, the strange and complex story of their fundamentalist Mormon beliefs was revealed in all its true horror.

Author Lori Hellis, a retired criminal lawyer, had just moved to Arizona when news of J.J. and Tylee's disappearance broke, and there were reports about these missing children that linked them to a neighboring community. She began to follow the case closely, trying to understand this perfect storm of people and circumstances that culminated in the death of innocents. In Children of Darkness and Light, Hellis digs deep into the investigation, trial, and verdict to craft a haunting narrative that illuminates one of the most confounding crimes in recent memory.

©2024 Lori Hellis (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

awful soryline

I've followed this from the beginning and learned more than anticipated about the church. lots of research, it shows.

Too long

Way too long with irrelevant info about other cases. I had to fast forward through a lot

Excellent summary of the Vallow)Daybell case

The story of Lori & Chad's murderous cult is well researched and well written by Lori Hellis. The background information is organized and illuminating. Lori Hellis's career in law makes her uniquely qualified to explain the case to less-informed people like me. The analysis of family and church history was helpful in understanding motivation, although at many levels this case defies any understanding. Good book!

Good story

Good synopsis of this case. Pulling all the information & facts of this horrific crime.

Accurate storyline but not pronunciation.

The one thing that stood out to me is that the narrator did not do her pronunciation homework. Best to consult with the locals on how to pronounce Manti, Moroni and Nephi .. each one of these nouns ends with a LONG I sound. It is silly to hear Manti pronounced Mantie. Likewise with the other two. Like, seriously, go back and edit these!!!

Great history of the church

Even if you know the story this book gives you so much more information. It tells the beginnings of the church and how these horrific events could happen in that framework.

Fact based Crime story!

I liked the explanation of some of the Mormon religion as it seemed to have ties to so many recent cases. I now understand so much more about the "cult" factor vs. real religion! Mormonism is not to blame here.

Excellent Read!

With excellent syntax and sentence structure the author weaves the history of the LDS church into the case of the century!

Well researched

The good: #1 - Very in depth and well researched. #2 - Many legal aspects of the case were explained and clarified.

The bad: #1 - The story jumps around a lot. If I hadn't been so well acquainted with the case, I would have been very confused. #2 - You'll never convince me that the narrator isn't AI. The mispronounced words, pauses in weird places, and the upbeat tone during very somber scenes makes me think the voice is AI, which made it a little strange to listen to.

Worth the read

This book is a well written, accurate, and comprehensive retelling of a horrific story. Worth the read.