Wow!
This book is harrowing but impossible to put down!
I read it in one sitting.
A Very well written account of the times leading up to, and after, the horrific murders of Shannan Watts and her children by their seemingly perfect husband/father.
This is NOT an easy read, but true crime fans everywhere will appreciate how factually excellent it is, and also how neatly it is written in chronological order.
A Fascinating and insightful read.

I've been following this tragic story in the news and have had an interest in it since then. So when I saw the talented John Glatt was writing a book about it I knew it would be a book I needed to read. I wasn't disappointed! John has clearly done his homework for this case and he laid out everything perfectly. While the story is sad in it's own right, it's certainly one people need to know about! Highly recommended.

As always, let me thank NetGalley, the publishing house, and the author for allowing me an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.
Wow this book lingers. OK. Where to start? The author chose to introduce the reader to Shanann first. She seems to be slightly high-maintenance, extremely motivated, and very Type A. Definitely a helicopter mom. And then Chris. He had a tiny bit of sympathy from me for being with such a dominant wife. But then he lost his mind! But he seemed to have lost his mind in a controlled, calm manner. Another woman involved (of course).
But the part that gut-punched me was the author describing what Chris had done to his children. And the police accounts of retrieving their bodies. I also VERY much appreciate the follow up reporting how the events affected the detectives and police dept.
I could totally keep typing about this but I don't want to give too much away.

John Glatt has a way of making you feel like you aren't just reading facts about a crime. It feels like you are right there in the middle, watching things unfold as the story plays out. It's hard to say I loved it, but I did finish the story filled with emotion for each character involved. The story was told in a very unbiased way. We see some of Shan'ann's faults along with Chris's. We see that they may not have had the perfect marriage they portrayed to the world on social media. This by NO means implies that she deserved to have her life taken by someone she loved in such a horrific manner. This story is filled with tragedy and left me feeling very raw.

The Perfect Husband is a timely true crime novel about the tragic fate of the Watts family. Divided into a history of the family, the murder of the wife and children, and the trial aftermath of Chris Watts for their deaths, this novel is not for the faint of heart. With heartbreaking detail and interviews with family and friends, this novel helps to flesh out what has unfortunately become an all too common crime.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Not bad at all for a true crime book. The subject was immensely fascinating psychologically. The author brought out quite well how the control and OCD of the wife could have made him snap. But there is no psychological attempts to figure out how he cpuld have murdered his beloved daughters in such a cold, dispassionate, remorseless way. Surely someone close to him growing up must have noticed something wrong....an inability to really connect emotionally.

As all the books I have read recently, this one could have used some judicious editing, but it's better than most.

The outline of the story of what happened to Shan’ann Watts of Colorado in August 2018 is fairly well known. She, along with her two daughters and the son who was due the following January, disappeared and her husband Chris was all over the media, pleading for their safe return. TBH I had no idea what had been going on in their lives that led up to the grisly conclusion to this mystery, and being a true crime junkie, I was happy to receive an advance copy of The Perfect Father by John Glatt from St. Martins Press and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The subtitle of the book is “The true story of Chris Watts, his All-American family, and and a shocking murder,” so there’s no spoiler to say that there was a horrible resolution to the disappearance and subsequent search that was all over the media that summer. Also, it is pretty well accepted that Chris is a monster, and NOTHING justifies his actions…but it’s a real train wreck, and sometimes it’s hard to look away…

I wasn’t aware that although Chris and Shan’ann Watts appeared to be the “perfect family” and she posted EVERYTHING on social media to reflect that perfection, the true story is that the reality didn’t match the presentation. (As my friend says, “I wish I had the life I put on Facebook.”)

After moving from North Carolina to Colorado, Chris worked for Anadarko Petroleum and Shan’ann sold weight loss supplements (Thrive). He made over 60K a year and she was VERY successful in the world of multi-level marketing, selling $720, 699 (!!) worth of Thrive products in 2017, winning vacation trips, a Lexus, etc.

But no matter how much they earned, they spent way more. Shan’ann was pregnant with their second daughter in mid-2018, and they filed for bankruptcy in June. At that time, despite their combined earnings, they owed almost $450,00 (including $70,000 in credit card, medical, and student loan debt). They lived in a huge house and she drove a Lexus but they had less than $10 in their two savings accounts and $860 in their checking account. So no matter how it all looked on social media, things were not good financially, although she tried very hard to always appear as the happy, successful, beautiful family.

In addition to the financial issues, there were ongoing problems between Shan’ann and Chris’s parents, and because she was ALWAYS the dominant person in the marriage, she basically told him his parents couldn’t visit the grandkids. In a very creepy passage, one of Shan’ann’s friends was relating a conversation she had with Sha’nann about that visit: “I told him over my dead body…they don’t get to disrespect me and him and his kids and get rewarded.”

At some point in 2018, Chris began an affair with a woman who also worked for Anadarko, and it got very hot and heavy over that summer when Shan’ann and the kids were gone for several weeks on vacation. Shortly after she returned from that vacation, Shan’ann went on a business trip, and the morning after she got back to Colorado, she and her kids were reported missing. They apparently just vanished, and Chris was seen all over the media as the distraught spouse. It wasn’t long before the horrible truth came out…and OMG was it horrible. That man is the WORST.

The book is well done, and although it didn’t make my feelings about Chris in ANY way positive, I found it very interesting to. find out that the reality was SO different from my perception (admittedly derived mostly from media sources including mainstream news and People magazine). For a true crime book aimed at a general audience, this is definitely five stars. It includes grisly details, possibly (OK, definitely) more than some readers want to know, but I’m not sure there is any way to tell this story without that level of detail. True crime fans will love it.

***I received a copy through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.***

I knew the story before reading this book. A seemingly perfect husband and father kills his wife, two daughters, and unborn son. I appreciated the background story of Chris and Shannan’s life, however I felt like this book might be a little one sided. There felt like a big push to show how controlling Shannan was.

Excellent account of the murders of a while family by a seemingly good dad and father. Very good information. Nicely done book.

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

This book was well written and was such a quick read, it’s sad to think that this story is true and what they have all gone through

The murder of Shanann Watts and her two young daughters was a case that shook the country. The disappearance of the family from a small town in Colorado quickly gained coverage on news stations around the nation, and masses of people followed the case, watching in horror as the gruesome facts came to light.

Chris and Shanann appeared to have it all — two beautiful daughters, a baby boy on the way, a beautiful house, wonderful jobs, and a stable home life full of love. Their picture-perfect life was heavily documented on their social media accounts, and their family and friends were shocked to discover that Chris - who made himself to be a devoted, loving father and husband - had murdered his family and disposed of them at a nearby oil site. It’s a heartbreaking tale full of scandal, indefinitely, secrets, and lies, and it’s a grisly reminder that things are rarely as “perfect” as they seem to be.

I was really excited to receive this book for review. I love true crime and like many others, I watched this case unfold in real-time on the news.

The author does a very good job of recounting the events that led up to the murders, as well as the murders themselves and the aftermath of them. However, while I did enjoy it, I felt like it read more like a book report or a newspaper article and I found myself struggling to immerse myself in it.

It also didn’t seem to paint Shanann in a very good light; the first half of the book felt as though it was trying to portray her as a toxic person, almost seeming like it was subtly trying to say, “She was terrible and controlling! She drove him to it!” I’m sure Shanann wasn’t a perfect person, but the way she’s talked about almost feels slanderous at some points.

Overall, this was a good book and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys true crime, especially readers who may not have followed the story closely when it was in the news. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

An absolutely absorbing read. One of the best true crime books I have ever read. Loved it. Although frightening and dark. It’s a very hard to book to put down x

I think John Glatt is one of those who truly knows how to write a true crime book, in a way that is factual but also in a way that lets the reader be able to be intrigued. While this case is a very sad case, it’s one that raises so many questions, because the signs and even criminology profiling just doesn’t show Chris Watts as your typical family annihilator, because of this I wasn’t new to the case; but did find value in reading Glatt’s book. I think he did a good job of bringing up important information to try and portray a clear picture of one the most heinous tragedies we’ve faced. Well researched, written, and while sad very engrossing read. Highly recommend to those who enjoy a well written, disturbing true crime book, which will break your heart especially when you think of Bella and CeCe (as for me children are always the hardest to hear about being murdered). I think Glatt knows that fine line of providing enjoyment but remaining respectful and people who are okay with victims being children, will enjoy learning more about this terrible crime. It does try to show what helped Chris Watts snap and do something beyond norm, it will always be one of the most fascinating and terrible crimes. It was written in a manner that didn’t bore with too many of the legalize segments, but instead painted a photo of a family and possible motivations for these heinous crime. Enjoyed learning more about the victims and perpetrator. This is not for those people who cannot handle hearing about children being murdered, as there were two toddlers and unborn baby that lost their lives with their mother Shannan. Think only those who can handle the reading about the children and wife suffering should read this.
Will make sure to buzz up on all the different platforms.

It’s hard to say I “liked” this book, as it is such a sad, terrible true story. The book has three parts: the background of Chris and Shanann Watts, the murders of Shanann and her children, and then the aftermath. I read this very quickly, and even though I knew of the case from listening to a podcast, this book provided much more detail than I knew. It was especially hard to read the part about him killing his two innocent daughters. I did not like that in the first part of the book, there seemed to be a lot of victim blaming, which I think was unnecessary and unfair to Shanann. I do feel that people who are fans of true crime will find this a satisfying read. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Author John Glatt is truly a standout true crime writer. The Perfect Father reflects this skill as he expertly weaves the true story of Chris Watts into an "Impossible to put down" book. It is a story of tragedy and horror that will grip all readers. The background details of each character and their lives are revealed in rich detail. We follow the unraveling of the crime with mounting disbelief. The Perfect Father is a runaway winner. The book definitely deserves a 10 star rating! Thank you to NetGalley.

I was very interested in this book because I was following this case very closely in the news. I typically enjoy true crime, however, I was disappointed this time. I felt that the writing style was very choppy and read almost like a child's book report. There was very little voice in the writing. Additionally, the book is divided into 3 parts (before the crime, leading up to it, and the aftermath). I felt that there was a gross amount of victim blaming in the first two parts! I couldn't believe how much the victim is slandered. Chris Watts' mistress is also mistreated by this author - they delved very deeply into the sexual nature of their exchange and I don't think that is fair to the mistress or necessary to paint the picture. I gave this two stars because I was compelled by the story which drove me into finishing this book quickly, but that is no credit to the style of writing.

I remembered hearing about this case on the tv and when I saw this book go up on NetGalley I felt like this was a good time to get a book based on a true crime. I use to love reading true crime but kinda gotten away from it and this was a good book to start back up. I felt we got a lot of information. I devoured it in just a few hours. I felt like I learned a lot more about the case then what was told to the public. I still don't feel like we are getting the true story of what happened and we will never but this book gave me more of a perspective of who Chris was before the murders. Huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this opportunity!

I may not be the best person to review this book, as I followed the case from the very start when Shanann and her children were missing. I guess already having so much prior knowledge of it, I was hoping to learn new details from the book. The book gives a great timeline to the events leading up to this tragedy. I found the verbatim recounting of social media posts to be a bit annoying though. I’d recommend the book to readers who aren’t familiar with the case.

Riveting. Like many others had been following this story as it unfolded, but it is difficult to know the facts with the sensationalism occurring in which people aren’t always honest. This author did an awesome job with this as his work of non-fiction read like a work of fiction. The people were well developed characters leaving you feeling as you knew them. There were enough background facts to set the stage without being boring. The one issue I had was how unlikeable the victim was made to be - whether or not that is who she was in real life I felt some sort of victim blaming as though her behaviors towards and treatment of her husband, couple with the product she was pushing him to do was the reasoning behind what he did; regardless the senseless way in which he murdered his children is unthinkable. The book laid out the type of father and husband he was until he wasn’t. Was all of this to be with another woman or much more and I still don’t understand why no psychological evaluation was completed in court. I was up long after finishing this book just looking at my own kids and wondering how anyone could do something so horrific and then go on to show absolutely no emotion. For me, this is one book that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Very well written, interesting to read even though this case has been covered and covered. The author is smooth and concentrates on the family dynamics while following the timeline to.....the end that we already know. Very good writing as I say. Problem is no matter how many times we view the known facts and watch the videos and listen to the podcasts of the actual people involved, we can't really get a handle on Chris Watts' thinking. We just can't. What he did was so stupid, i.e., he had to know it couldn't have worked.
But let me not digress. I'm supposed to evaluate the writing and for the third time, it's good.
Although it's not my job I have to wonder what the market is for this book, as there's so much already out there.
I guess a final chapter by a good forensic psychologist would have raised this book higher than others because what everyone still doesn't understand is what motivated Watts to do something beyond diabolical. Personally, I have to believe another person spurred him on to do it.