***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.

The Perfect Father by author John Glatt is a true crime that follows a barbaric crime that we read of in the news.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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.

I read this book in a day because once I began reading I didn't want to stop. Chris and Shanann both seemed utterly normal, although he was quiet and she was the opposite. The author meticulously documents their life before meeting and during their marriage and also the crime itself and the trial afterwards. The crime is of course horrific but the story of how this couple got to that point is fascinating in itself and well laid out. What also intrigued me about this book was how much of Chris and Shanann's lives and the murder itself played out on social media and how the case against Chris was largely built by reclaiming data from email, internet and webcam.

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartins for the e-review copy of this book.

An informative look at this horrific act a man who killed his pregnant wife and two young children .An act so horrific in a act that is almost impossible to think about..I had read about this sad act in the newspapers and on tvthis well written book really Steph by step tells us what this evil man did .#netgalley#st.martins,

I read this in under 12 hours because I was so excited to read more about this case. Unfortunately, I didn't learn anything knew. I wasn't someone who followed this case closely but somehow I still don't feel like I learned anything that I didn't already know except the background of Chris and Shanann. With that being said, it would still a good and informative read for someone who didn't know anything. The writing made it easy to understand and I never felt confused because the author told this story wonderfully.

I have read a couple of books regarding the Watts murders. This one didn't have any revelations,but it was an accurate account of the incidents. Such a sad event . Why didn't he just divorce Shanann? There is no stigma to getting a divorce. Killing your entire family though? Yeah,that one is hard to get over.

I absolutely adore true crime books, psychology & what makes a seemingly normal person commit such a heinous crime. Chris Watt, doting husband & amazing father & Shannann doing everything she could to look after her family....what was going through his head when he strangled his wife & his two young girls...the terror the younger ones must have felt at the hands of this man whom they were supposed to trust. Started off slow & to be fair It was all the talk of 'thrive' that was putting me off, I actually began to think the author himself was a thrive consultant. Couldn't put the book down in the end.

It’s an all too familiar story. A wife and children disappear and the tear stained, devastated father and husband makes an emotional plea for their safe return. Sadly, this family will never return and the man asking for help knows that because he’s the one who killed them. This story is based on the Watts family specifically Chris Watts, (who has been coined a family annihilator), the man who killed his wife and two daughters. Neighbors and friends were shocked, the man they knew could never have done something like this, but a closer examination revealed a man on the edge, more than capable of committing the most unforgivable of crimes. Do we read true crime to assure us that we are safe in out own little worlds? If so, then there is little reassurance here.