The Perfect Father - John Glatt

The Perfect Father

By John Glatt

  • Release Date: 2020-07-21
  • Genre: True Crime
Score: 4
4
From 226 Ratings
Buy on Amazon

Description

In The Perfect Father, New York Times bestselling author John Glatt reveals the tragedy of the Watts family, whose seemingly perfect lives played out on social media—but the truth would lead to a vicious and heartbreaking murder.

In the early morning hours of August 13th, 2018, Shanann Watts was dropped off at home by a colleague after returning from a business trip. It was the last time anyone would see her alive. By the next day, Shanann and her two young daughters, Bella and Celeste, had been reported missing, and her husband, Chris Watts, was appearing on the local news, pleading for his family’s safe return.

But Chris Watts already knew that he would never see his family again. Less than 24 hours after his desperate plea, Watts made a shocking confession to police: he had strangled his pregnant wife to death and smothered their daughters, dumping their bodies at a nearby oil site. Heartbroken friends and neighbors watched in shock as the movie-star handsome, devoted family man they knew was arrested and charged with first degree murder. The mask Chris had presented to the world in his TV interviews and the family’s Facebook accounts was slipping—and what lay beneath was a horrifying image of instability, infidelity, and boiling rage.

In this first major account of the case, bestselling author and journalist John Glatt reveals the truth behind the tragedy and constructs a chilling portrait of one of the most shocking family annihilator cases of the 21st century.

Reviews

  • Great read

    5
    By Kalikib
    I could not put this book down for a second. What an intriguing point of view on Watts and Shannan. So much more information than what I learned from news and reports. Gut wrenching.

  • Incredible

    5
    By mich!@v3lli
    My husband and I are strangely obsessed with this case and have seen so many documentaries about it. This was the best depiction of the case we’ve seen to date. It’s completely straightforward without any commentary or personal opinions — just the facts as we know them. I’m incredibly impressed with this writer and would definitely read more books by them. If you’re interested in true crime, this is a must-read.

  • Amazing book!

    5
    By QueenNerdy889
    Very detailed book, 10/10 would recommend for anyone who likes true crime and is interested in this case.

  • Good Read

    4
    By Jobaby52
    This is a good, as well as, fast read. Appreciate how detail oriented it is, in the way the authors wrote it.

  • Eh

    2
    By Dale18wed
    This is just the author reposting Shanann fb posts. No real reporting or investigating.

  • The Watts Murder

    4
    By Suzy's Books
    The book was good. Although, Everything I read I had known already. But it was a good book. It gave an account about what happened in the order that it happened. It’s a very sad story about the ending of a beautiful mother and her beautiful little girls. May they rest in loving peace.

  • Interesting read!

    5
    By Cloud x Nine
    I honestly have been reading up on this case since 2018, but I learned a lot from this book. It is so heartbreaking that at times it’s hard to continue reading. I feel that, for a lot of who read up on this case, that we are all just trying to make the pieces fit as though it could fix the situation and bring them back...and the author makes a point towards the end of the book to express that we will never truly know all the answers. Like stated in the book, with all the pictures and videos on social media, you feel like you knew them. I’m glad towards the end of the book the author made sure there was no question as to who committed the murders. It’s also nice to see that Chris’ parents are starting to realize that he did actually murder his innocent children, and that they are just as confused as we are. I still can’t find it in my heart to be sympathetic towards them, the anger they have shown Shanaan through these interviews is disgusting. It’s almost like they have no qualms about her passing. I can see where the author has sympathy for them, and attempts to humanize them, and for that I have to give him props. I do wish that Shanaan’s family would have been more involved so we can get more of their side of things, but I completely understand why they decided not to. I hope they can find comfort and solace in this life, and be reunited with their loved ones in the next.

  • Well researched and written

    5
    By Msabina123
    Really well researched and written book. It may be a tad hard on Shan’ann but nevertheless an excellent read which I would definitely recommend.

  • Trashes the victims

    2
    By Elizabeth Jane
    Interviews with the horrible Watts parents and bashing of Shanann ruin this book. How dare the author do this.

  • Too harsh on the victims and too easy on the perpetrator

    2
    By BFP77
    While a compelling book to read, the author is clearly way too sympathetic to the husband who murdered his family. Leading up to the murders, he portrays the wife as a controlling, overbearing, image obsessed nightmare. It feels like an attempt to justify the unjustifiable - to victim blame. I wish I had known that before giving him my money. This was an unfair portrayal of a person who can no longer defend her own character. I have to wonder if he wrote it this way because her family declined to participate.

More by John Glatt