When the Moon Turns To Blood


The murder of innocents, an adulterous affair, end time prophecy religion, near death experiences, book authorship, Mormon Church history, and beauty contests make a strange stew in this true crime murder narrative.

On May 12, 2023, Lori Vallow was convicted of her part in the deaths of her two children, and her current husband’s late wife. These murders were not a random wild act on her part, but the end result of a series of rash decisions, and erroneous thinking,

In 2017-2018, Vallow became enthralled with Chad Daybell, a writer of fiction based on end time philosophy, and the pair became convinced they were meant to be together forever in a celestial kingdom. That meant, however, certain obstacles needed to be eliminated. These obstacles were two spouses and two children. Hence, all the murders occurred.

The Mormon Church, formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is discussed in relation to Lori Vallow’s unusual worldview and belief system. Some people may want to skip over or skim through these parts, but it does give the story a depth it otherwise may not have had.

This is a good read in the true crime genre.

Thank you Leah Sottile, Twelve Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC e-book. I have followed along with this case from the beginning and this is also not my first book on the case that I have read but each time I read something a new fact pops out to me and this book was so well rounded and really made you think what lengths would the human race go to if the end of times was truly coming, This book covers all aspects of the case and a look into Vallows mindset and her "beliefs" on what she claims happened.

This was an iinformative account of this heartbreaking case. I learned quite a bit I hadn't heard on the news and TV shows. The added information about religion in Utah and its origins, etc. was interesting.

Sometimes one person can change our life in tremendous ways when Laurie Vallow met Chad Daigle a prominent member of the Mormon sect who was known for writing books A podcaster in the Man who thought he was a God. She would go from mother of the year to a murderer and she thought all her homicides were sanctioned by God. This is a crazy book and although this isn’t the first book I have read on Lori Vallow and Chad Daigle I still wanted to read it because I had heard they had new details in this book and they did including stuff not about the crime but just as interesting. This is one crazy book and it’s one I thoroughly enjoyed. I do want to say the Mormon religion is not a Christian religion it was made up by Joseph Smith and it is more a popularity contest than a religion but that isn’t what this book is about I just wanted to make it clear that they were not A part of any Christian Church. Having said all that this is a very interesting book and one any true crime fan would find interesting it is a sad tale and Leah Sottile has done a great job telling the story. I received this book from NetGalley and 12 books but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I was given this book in exchange for a honest review. Thank you to Twelve and NetGalley for this e-ARC. Well written. The author clearly researched the topic and the events thoroughly.

This book is not just a true crime book. It also tells of the history of Lori Vallows and Chad Daybell and friends/followers who played a part in their lives during these events. It also goes into the history of the LDS Church and other dooms day preppers in the LDS history that shapped the ideology of Lori and Chad.

Disclaimer: I received a gifted copy of this book via netgalley and in exchange I'm leaving an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Anyone who knows me knows that I listen to a lot of true crime content. It's interesting to me for a lot of reasons, but I like to think about what happened leading up to the crime, and the backgrounds of the people involved. Im very particular about it though because a lot of true crime content is inconsiderate and unprofessional in delivery. Doesn't say much about the victims, when they should be the focus, etc. When I requested this book I had listened to a couple podcasts and videos on the topic. They didn't go nearly as in depth as this author did.
Y'all this book is wild. Chad and Lori are monsters for obvious reasons, but what gets me is that Lori Vallow is often described as kind and compassionate. Just to fucking kill her kids and have her ex husband murdered!! Chad Daybell is like a Mormon, modern day version of Jim Jones too. Had a huge cult following and everything. But at the end of the day they're both monsters and killed people. And they had massive followings of people who insisted they were innocent
It really makes you think of how vulnerable the mind is to manipulation. None of the podcasts I've listened to have covered the manipulativeness of Chad, and this book actually delves into that, and the fact that Lori may have actually been manipulated. She's still a monster, obviously, but I had no idea about that aspect.

This book has me really conflicted. I found myself skipping past so many parts that seemed either redundant or off-topic or both. It's good for someone who is interested in a deeper dive into the religious side of Lori Vallow, but that's not really how the book was advertised, so I did not expect it. It had some interesting parts in it, describing the nefarious acts of Vallow and Daybell, but there weren't as many of these as there were deep dives into uninteresting topics. It left me wanting more, even though it was already a long book.

If anyone reading this book is not religious (which I’m guessing the author is not) let me be clear: Jehovahs Witness and LDS Mormons are not Christians. Their religion is false, and a lot of people confuse it with Christianity because they claim belief in Jesus Christ. They do not rely on the inerrant Word of God (The Holy Bible) but instead rely on the teachings and “prophecies” of human beings. While they might take excerpts from true scripture, they add in most of their own extra (for lack of a better word) crap. Do not confuse these people with Christians, because they are not. Mormonism is polytheistic. They believe that there are many gods; that they will eventually become gods themselves. Christianity proclaims that there is only one true God, and we have a relationship with him through the death and resurrection of His son Jesus Christ who suffered and paid atonement for our sins. Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll continue with my review. Chapter 5 could have been way shorter, or left our entirely in my opinion. We didn’t really need a deep dive into cults like Manson and the Branch Davidians. I liked how the author gave insight into what was happening in the world during the events that are collected in this book. It isn’t necessary, but it’s nice to have a little padding around the facts and it was interesting to read about. I don’t understand what Lori’s fathers view of federal income tax has to do with the subject of this book, or why it was added. That whole section could have been left out entirely and it wouldn’t have made a difference. His silence on the matter of the missing children is a different story entirely. I think that should be the focus, not his views on the government. Chapter 8 also could have been left out. Honestly I feel like this book was more of a look into the LDS and their cult like belief system than about Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell and their heinous acts. This would be marketed better as a religious book instead of true crime. Or political, because the author has an obvious liberal viewpoint. DNF @ 43%

I normally will devour any and all true crime reads. This book felt more like a book written about LDS than the case itself. Such a difficult subject and case to read about and this really fell flat. I was expecting more from this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I read it before the trial started and now as I am catching highlights from the Vallow side - it is interesting to look back at the facts from the book. Any true crime reader needs to put this on their list!

I have been following this case VERY closely. I am a member of the LDS church, so it was interesting reading this author's take on the church. Chad and Lori were members of the LDS faith in the open, but in secret, they were completely doing their own thing. I was shocked at the brazenness of their beliefs and the boldness they had in bringing others into their cult. They take things the LDS church believes in, mingled with their own crazy. Add that to the search for power, sex and its recipe for disaster. The author was a great writer, and I agreed with a lot of her take on it. I would love to see a second edition when the trial is over.

Thank you to NetGalley, Leah Solittle and Twelve Books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my non-fiction for the year. I struggle to read too many like this because I struggle to get through the background. This one was no different that way, and I understand that we need a lot of background on mormonism but it’s quite a lot. It’s also not something I’m terribly interested in. Otherwise, I was quite interested in this story and I think these two are despicable humans.

From page one, it is clear that Sottile is a passionate journalist who pours her heart and soul into her work. While I was just expecting a book on the events surrounding the murders, I received so much more. Sottile dives into the history of the LDS religion and even deeper into the disturbing cult groups stemming from LDS. She walks through the details of the entire case and provides new information to me about the case. As a true crime fan I was excited to read this book. While I prefer more true crime and less history, I would recommend giving When the Moon Turns to Blood a read.

Hearing so much about this story on the news made me think what will this book have to offer me that the news didn't and I was very surprised to have the book answer that question for me. I'm still very upset that a mother can do something like this to children that she is suppose to love and protect.

This book is very good, but very heavy on the background of the LDS and all the groups that stem from that. I wanted more about the case, but I understand that this helps you understand both Lori and Chad. It was a little much at time to read so much of that though.

I am sure there are others who thought this book would be more about Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, maybe not so much the actual case since it's still ongoing, but more about them in particular. A deeper dive into their actual faith and how it took a turn from the LDS faith.

Although it did touch upon this, it did take a deeper look into faith as a whole and especially the LDS faith. I do believe to begin to understand Lori and Chad, you need to have an understanding of the Latter Day Saints and this book definitely delivered. I will also say, it is a long section devoted to LDS and it can be hard to focus, especially if it is not something you are familiar or interested with.

With that being said, I do still think this book is a good book for those who want to understand both the LDS faith, the faiths that splinter from the LDS church, and Lori and Chad Daybell. However, do go into this one knowing it is not a normal true crime book as it does not focus around Lori and Chad, the case, or even that of JJ and Tylee. It has more of a deeper focus on how faiths can be twisted into a doomsday or apocalyptical nightmare.

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette for allowing me to read this one!

An I ferreting look into the back brown of a splinter cell of the LDS. The case hasn’t wrapped up still, and it’s all up in the air. But I found the explainable knowledge of the background interesting on what drove Vallow and Daybell to commit such horrific crimes.

Leah Sottile’s 2022 text When the Moon Turns to Blood: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and a Story of Murder, Wild Faith, and End Times tells the story of the murders of seven-year-old JJ Vallow and his sister, sixteen-year-old Tylee Ryan—Lori Vallow’s children. JJ and Tylee’s bodies were found in Chad Daybell’s backyard; Vallow and Daybell had been recently married after the murder of Vallow’s previous husband, a murder she was also involved with. The murders of these two children are at the center of Sottile’s text, but Sottile is also very concerned with the road that led Daybell and Vallow to be involved in the murder of Vallow’s children. Sottile traces Daybell and Vallow’s extremist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beliefs throughout their complicated lives, showing the reader how Vallow and Daybell led each other to commit murder.
Sottile’s text is part true crime exposé, part religious history. Sottile spends a significant amount of time explaining the history of the LDS church, its extremists, and their often-easy slide towards violence. Sottile’s knowledge of the history of the LDS church and member’s many run ins with the government is impressive and trustworthy. Sottile has also reported on and studied conspiracy theorists and theories, and she uses this knowledge to great effect in When the Moon Turns to Blood. This is the part of Sottile’s text that may be polarizing to some readers—while her contextual information about the LDS church is importantly connected to Daybell and Vallow (who were both devote LDS members), as well as the crimes they are accused of, I found these portions of the book slow because I am not particularly interested in the history of the LDS church. However, I’m sure other readers who are interested in the creation of this complex organization will appreciate these sections of the text.
While researching Daybell and Vallow, Sottile takes a deep dive into Daybell’s religious writings and Christian fiction, attempting to “find an answer for his ideations of murder.” These sections of Sottile’s text allow readers to see into Sottile’s investigation and reveal her depth of consideration regarding her subjects. Although it was impressive as a reader to get to watch a reporter work, I couldn’t help but think that Vallow and Daybell were infinitely more interesting to Sottile than they were to me: to me, Vallow and Daybell were simply garden-variety religious extremists who deluded themselves to horrific depths. Sottile’s detailed reporting refuses this thinking in that it does its best to forge a timeline of events that led to two children murdered; it elucidates a complex web of missteps, fanaticism, mental illness, and failed relationships that created the people Daybell and Vallow became. Sottile’s reporting forced me to consider the ways that the extremes of the LDS church were the perfect breeding ground for the fanaticism that Vallow and Daybell chose. In the end, it is not that Sottile’s text made me more interested in Vallow and Daybell, but rather, her reporting allowed me to make big-picture connections between Vallow, Daybell, and the LDS institution that helped me understand their slow slide into the extreme conclusions they arrived at. The deaths of JJ and Tylee are dealt with by Sottile with extreme sensitivity and reverence, and she performs a importany act of service by explaining the nature of the decent of the two people who are responsible for their deaths.

When The Moon Turns To Blood: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybill and A Story of Murder, Faith and End Times
by: Leah Sottile
Hachette/Twelve Books
2022
**** ( 4 stars)

Looking for a gripping, fascinating tale of obsession, murder and extremism, and the danger of false prophets and perverted faith? The case of Lori Vallow checks all the boxes. When Rexberg Idaho police perform a wellness check on 7 year old JJ and his 16 year old sister, Tylee, Lori could not give an answer. The investigators returned the next day with a search warrant to find the home empty. As investigators look more deeply into their disappearance, dead bodies are being found, all relating to Lori.
A true crime story about a black widow, a dysfunctional family, and an examination of far-right extremism im America. This case is truly harrowing, and will chill you to the bone. It is well researched, insightful and a book Id recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley and Twelve Books for sending this ARC e-book for review.