A detailed account of the horrifying events that took place when husband and father, Chris Watts, ended the lives of his pregnant wife, Shannan, and their two young daughters, Celeste and Bella. If you're looking for attention to detail with your true crime, John Glatt should be your go-to!

Thoughts: Anything by author John Glatt is pretty much an auto-buy for me. That said, this one was missing something, in my opinion... Perhaps it's because I already read Lena Derhally's book, My Daddy Is a Hero: How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer, which provided insight into the psychopathy in how Chris Watts acted throughout his life and when ending the lives of his own family. But where John Glatt shines is with the details, so if that's what you're looking for, then you found it!

Glatt lays out almost methodically the Watts' lives, including their financial troubles and Shannan's controlling nature that were two important aspects of the Watts' story Derhally doesn't delve as deep into. To be honest, the two books pair well together in getting a more complete picture of what happened in this terrible tragedy. I appreciated Glatt's attention to detail and the honesty with which he shares them -- to some, it might seem insensitive to portray Shannan in anything other than a bright, beautiful light, but while there is absolutely no justification for what Chris did to his family, personality dynamics is an important aspect of the events that took place.

I think Glatt stayed a bit more detached from this story as opposed to some of his other true crime works. But those who are intrigued by the finer details of true crime cases should find Glatt's The Perfect Father interesting -- it truly is a mystery why someone who everyone would describe as a loving, caring father would do something so horrible to his family, and the timeline of events is like a train wreck you can't turn away from. But if you're looking for more insight into Chris' state of mind and enjoy being an armchair psychologist, Lena Derhally's My Daddy is a Hero would be my recommendation.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Ugh. I hated reading this book but I was also anticipating the release to dig into the mind of Chris Watts and find out the question “why?” I was so invested in this story whenever it was on the news so this was a quick page turner for me to dive into the details behind the perfect family gone wrong. I felt like I couldn’t give it 5 stars solely because it’s about a true serial killer but the writing and details are definitely worth the read!

I am fascinated by true crime and this case was no exception. While what Chris Watts did to his family is absolutely atrocious, I appreciated how the author did write about how Shannan Watts was obsessed with social media and gave a decent picture of what their life was like. Still an absolutely horrific crime and those poor girls and woman, as well as their families, ….well, I really have no words about it. Well written book

Not very compelling, I found this hard to get into and often times losing focus. I felt it needed more development to really lure you into the tension, the mystery, the crime, instead it felt almost clinical and too removed.

This was hard to read especially because it’s true crime but i am glad I did as I did not realize the full details of this case. I thought the author handled it well and told ten story tastefully

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I usually enjoy true crime and John Glatt’s books in particular. I remember this case when it happened, and the horror I felt hearing about this. Chris Watts strangled his pregnant wife and smothered his two young daughters in order to start over with his new girlfriend. Glatt spent most of the first half of the book making sure we all knew how demanding and controlling Shanann was, while telling us what a good guy Chris was.

I just didn’t love this book. I felt that he was way too sympathetic to a monster and we really never got definitive answers, although in all fairness that is on Chris.

In August of 2018, Chris Watts killed his pregnant wife and two small daughters. The Perfect Father by John Glatt is the true story of this horrific crime. I remember hearing about this on the news at the time it happened but the book really provides many details not provided in the news reports at the time. Even having heard about this crime, some of these details surprised me.

In the book, Chris’s wife, Shanann, is portrayed as somewhat controlling and overbearing. From all reports, Chris was quiet, laid back, and everyone seemed to have only good things to say about him. Even in Shanann’s facebook posts, Chris seemed to be the perfect father and husband. But while his wife and daughters are away for six weeks on a vacation to visit her mother, he starts an affair with a coworker. Shortly after they return, he kills his family.

As horrific as this crime was, and knowing how it turned out, I still could not put it down. The material was presented in manner that made it easy to follow the timeline of their lives, both before and after they were together. Some parts were hard to read especially when he killed his daughters and disposed of their bodies. How could something like this happen? What makes a loving husband and father snap? Or was there always a monster in side just waiting to come out? Definitely recommend for fans of true crime.

I had high hopes for this book. I've been a true crime fanatic before it was a buzzword. While reading this book, I couldn't help but feel that the author was victim blaming Shannan. It made it really hard to read. Almost as if what was done to her and her babies was justifiable. I would have hoped that, after the clear-cut confession, that the true monster in this family would have been revealed.

A Chilling true story, The events leading up to and after, the murders of Shannan Watts and her children.
True crime fans will enjoy the intelligent narrative of this book, as the story is told in a neat chronological and factual way.
It is NOT a pleasant read, but you will find it difficult to put down.
I would recommend this book to True Crime Fans.
The book made me feel sad, how can anyone commit such a crime!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

The major reason I picked this up in the first place is because I had heard about the story back when it broke, and reading up on it... It's just as bad as I thought. Glatt's writing style cuts through with an odd voice, though, and this is definitely not one of my favourites out there. You can't really rate a true crime book based on the content, but you can definitely rate it based on the writing and I think this one just didn't click with me. There's no empathy here, towards the victims, it was all analytic and almost two-sided. I can understand the fact hat there are two sides to every story, but in this case there's something that feels almost hollow about the way he writes about Shanann. No one deserves what happened to her, and the fact that she's constantly portrayed as a problem or that she pushed him to it throughout seems almost callous. Definitely not a fan of this book.

This follows the true story of the murders of Chris Watts' family by himself. A harrowing and graphic examination of the events that happened and what may have caused this 'devoted' Father to commit these crimes.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and John Glatt for giving me an ARC in exchange for review! This review will be published on my Goodreads account immediately and Instagram account on May 15, 2021.

WARNING, this book is a true crime story of Chris Watts, a family annihilator. It contains moments of graphic description, and very heavy content. Proceed with caution, especially if you are unfamiliar with the case.

This is the best true crime book I have ever read. It goes into immaculate detail, it astounds me that we actually know THIS MUCH about a case. There are so many people who go missing or fall victim to horrible crimes that we don’t even know about, so to have this level of detail about the lives of both the victims and killer, and it being done in a compelling yet respectful way was impressive. I felt like I was reading a long, incredibly well researched true crime podcast, and that is EXACTLY what I wanted! I plan to read more of John Glatt’s books in the future.

This case is also featured in the American Murder: The Family Next Door documentary on Netflix. The book went into much greater detail, but if you would like to supplement the experience with a visual (and actual recordings of the investigation), the documentary was certainly well done.

I tried really hard to finish this book, but could no longer stomach the victim blaming. For a book supposedly about “the perfect father” who brutally murdered his pregnant wife and two young daughters, the author sure devotes a lot of time and energy to portraying Shanann Watts as a controlling, emasculating shrew. Glatt all but comes right out and states that she was basically asking to be murdered and that Chris — a grown-ass adult who could’ve just grown a backbone — was the real victim. Disgusting. There’s a 20-minute video on Youtube with a narrated play-by-play of the police bodycam video from the day Shanann was reported missing that does a better job of placing the blame exactly where it lies: with Chris Watts. Would rate this negative stars if I could.

This is a good one for all of you True Crime lovers out there! If you’ve watched American Murder on Netflix and want to learn more about Watts Family murders - this is the book to read. This book gives us more of a background on Shannann and Chris before they met, as well as a timeline of their relationship leading up to the murders, texts, emails, etc, that were not shared in the documentary. Very informative and well researched.

4 STARS

In The Perfect Father, New York Times bestselling author John Glatt reveals the true story of a Colorado family whose storybook life turned into a nightmare.

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THE PERFECT FATHER was an addicting, disturbing read. As a true crime fanatic, I had heard about the crime (it was all over the media) but wanted to know more. I won't go into details of the crime because I'm sure most of you are familiar with it. Even so, this book made me feel physically ill and there are definitely somethings that I will never "unsee." This one is dark, y'all.

The only reason that I didn't give THE PERFECT FATHER 5 stars is because of the author's (intentional or unintentional) bias towards Chris' wife, Shannann. Glatt set up the narrative from the very first page that Shannann was super controlling and constantly belittled Chris, essentially implying potential motive for his actions. . . . Yeah, hard no to that. What he did was straight up inexcusable.

Although I was stunned and appalled, I couldn't put THE PERFECT FATHER down (I read it over the course of a day!) Glatt did an excellent job stringing this crime's narrative together and making it compulsively readable. Thank you to the author and publisher for my finished copy to review! THE PERFECT FATHER is out now.

If you've watched Netflix's popular American Murder: The Family Next Door, you might be interested in reading more about the chilling case of Chris and Shanann Watts. In The Perfect Father, prolific true crime writer John Glatt thoroughly dissects the how and the why behind the tragedy. What could drive a seemingly perfect father to kill his family? This unsettling read is written with the author's trademark matter-of-fact tone. This approach ensures the story isn't told in a salacious manner, but it also doesn't add a ton of depth or emotion. Hard core true crime fans will enjoy this, but others should steer clear.

I would rate this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I knew only a little bit about this case going into the book so was excited to hear more about this tragic case.

John Glatt did an amazing job of providing the reader with a really clear picture of all the events leading up to tragic deaths of Shanann Watts, her 2 daughers and her unborn son. John Glatt also does a great job of the reader know that we will never really know the exact details of what happened on that awful day as we only have Chris's word to go from.

The only real qualm I had with the story is that it did feel a little biased against Shanann Watts, it almost felt at times as though the author was trying to make the reader feel sympathetic towards Chris Watts, which I absolutely do not.

A devastating look at a terrible crime.

Chris Watts is the perfect father. Chris Watts is a doting husband. Chris Watts is a family man.

At least according to his wife's Facebook feed. Every post details some element of their perfect suburban life. Their gorgeous house. Their fabulous furnishings. Their romantic relationship. Their perfect children and miracle third pregnancy.

But offline Shannan and Chris are in debt and out of love. But Chris has a plan to start a new life…without his old family.
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The Perfect Father is an account of family annihilator Chris Watts and a condensed history of his relationship with his wife and children prior to his crime. Utilizing Shannan's Facebook posts in addition to interviews, police documents, and public records Glatt presents the facts of the case in as unbiased and unemotional a way as it's possible to be in a case like this.

While Glatt doesn't sensationalize these crimes, the story lacks the kind of heart one might find in a Rule retelling of the same story. Shannan is humanized, but only through the lens of her social media posts and the hindsight of her friends and family. Her daughters are mentioned, but rarely as anything but victims.

Glatt has done his due diligence as a journalist, collecting and re-presenting facts, but his telling of the story lacks the humanity of great true crime, focusing on the perspective of the killer rather than the story of a family.

But maybe that has something to do with social media playing such a large role in this family dynamic. Shannan did such a masterful job of crafting the kind of family and identity she wanted the world to see there were few sources to go to to see who she, and her family, were in reality.


Watch: American Murder: The Family Nextdoor (Netflix)