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

decent

I live about 30 minutes south of where this actually took place and the writer did a fairly good job at retelling the story. One specific thing that drove me crazy was calling Charles's demon "Nick" when it should have been "Ned". Some of the names of real people were were changed but there was no reason to change an already fictional one.

good book

reading and narration was great, I really enjoyed the rhythm of the narrator's voice, it was very peaceful and relaxing for such a hard story to hear.

Very informative.

I thought this was a good book. When I say good about such a horrible event, I mean it was very informative about what happened and how.

Sick

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

Religion: Constitutionally protected schizophrenia

What fools these idiots are, believing the BS they do. Too bad I have shame and won't go around preaching the word of the lord. Morons.

narrator's accent is distracting.

I can't understand why Producers use a narrator with a British accent to tell an American crime story. it takes a lot away from the story in my view. People, locations,facts are all in the u.s., so WHY would you hire a foreign narrator?!

Incredible story

The narrator was annoying. English accent with an upward inflection at the end of every sentence. Would've been better with a different narrator.

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.