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121 reviews for:
My Daddy is a Hero: How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer
Lena Derhally
3.64 AVERAGE
121 reviews for:
My Daddy is a Hero: How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer
Lena Derhally
3.64 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
“Chris was cheating on his pregnant wife, he murdered his wife and children, pleaded guilty to all charges, and yet some people were trying to find a way to blame Shanann for everything that had happened.”
My daughter was almost two when I saw video of Christopher Watts pleading for the return of his pregnant wife and children on the news. Horror dawned as I watched him speak, because I knew what he had done. Mother’s always know, don’t they? Later, I was horrified yet again as Shanann was all but crucified on social media and podcasts as “driving” this seemingly “nice guy” to commit these devastating crimes.
Lena Derhally, a licensed psychotherapist certified in Imago Relationship Therapy, explores the psychology and explains her theory of what lead to this unimaginable event. Her research is clear and easy to follow. She does an excellent job of linking her information with the facts of the case and letting you draw your own conclusions. She does not victim blame or use psychology as an excuse for why Christopher Watts committed these heinous acts. This was an extremely compelling and thought provoking book and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the true crime genre.
The first half of this book gives a detailed timeline of events leading up to and including the crime. It may be difficult for some readers or listeners to take in so please take care of yourself and proceed with caution.
Thank you to my fellow bookstagrammer & true crime reader @readtwistswithtrisha for this recommendation. My Daddy is a Hero is available in paperback, Kindle and audiobook. It is also available for free to KU subscribers.
For more information on this case, I also recommend ‘American Murder: The Family Next Door’ on Netflix.
My daughter was almost two when I saw video of Christopher Watts pleading for the return of his pregnant wife and children on the news. Horror dawned as I watched him speak, because I knew what he had done. Mother’s always know, don’t they? Later, I was horrified yet again as Shanann was all but crucified on social media and podcasts as “driving” this seemingly “nice guy” to commit these devastating crimes.
Lena Derhally, a licensed psychotherapist certified in Imago Relationship Therapy, explores the psychology and explains her theory of what lead to this unimaginable event. Her research is clear and easy to follow. She does an excellent job of linking her information with the facts of the case and letting you draw your own conclusions. She does not victim blame or use psychology as an excuse for why Christopher Watts committed these heinous acts. This was an extremely compelling and thought provoking book and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the true crime genre.
The first half of this book gives a detailed timeline of events leading up to and including the crime. It may be difficult for some readers or listeners to take in so please take care of yourself and proceed with caution.
Thank you to my fellow bookstagrammer & true crime reader @readtwistswithtrisha for this recommendation. My Daddy is a Hero is available in paperback, Kindle and audiobook. It is also available for free to KU subscribers.
For more information on this case, I also recommend ‘American Murder: The Family Next Door’ on Netflix.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
sad
Why does it feel so difficult to find good true crime books? I don't feel as though I have this problem when I am looking at documentaries, docuseries, blogs, or podcasts. But for some reason, almost every time I pick up a true crime book it feels forced and dull.
Sadly, My Daddy is a Hero was no different. Don't get me wrong. If you want a book that talks about the basic facts of this case and the DSM-V read to you word for word - this book may be for you. But as someone who already knew about this case with a background in psychology, I was just bored.
Derhally's discussion of this case was extremely long-winded. She did not offer anything that you couldn't find elsewhere about this case.
The blurb touts how this is a case narration from a psychotherapist. But even these components of the book were extremely basic, in my opinion. This may be a different experience for readers with no knowledge of psychology or psychological diagnosis. However, I have come across countless podcasts, in particular, that have had similar, much more engaging, discussions in much more detail.
Note: Review copy received from Libro.FM. This does not impact opinions within this review.
becandbooks.com ‧ trigger warning database ‧ book depository ‧ more links
Sadly, My Daddy is a Hero was no different. Don't get me wrong. If you want a book that talks about the basic facts of this case and the DSM-V read to you word for word - this book may be for you. But as someone who already knew about this case with a background in psychology, I was just bored.
Derhally's discussion of this case was extremely long-winded. She did not offer anything that you couldn't find elsewhere about this case.
The blurb touts how this is a case narration from a psychotherapist. But even these components of the book were extremely basic, in my opinion. This may be a different experience for readers with no knowledge of psychology or psychological diagnosis. However, I have come across countless podcasts, in particular, that have had similar, much more engaging, discussions in much more detail.
→ trigger warnings: murder, child death, domestic violence resulting in death
Note: Review copy received from Libro.FM. This does not impact opinions within this review.
becandbooks.com ‧ trigger warning database ‧ book depository ‧ more links
The true crime "novel" of The Watts Family Murder was written in a very stilted and research based way. From the beginning the facts and characters (for lack of a better word ) are laid out in a non emotional to the point way.
The book is written in 3 parts;
1The morning of with basic lead up to the horrendous events through the trial but this was done is such a perfunctory way and is only 30% of the book. How is the actual crime only 30% of a book about the crime?
2 The supposed main lead up from childhood to the morning of but again is done is way that has little emotion just flat essentially bullet point facts
3 The authors research paper (literally there is no other way to describe the last 5 chapters and nearly half of the book ) The author delves into everything from psychopathy to a break from reality and ultimately gives no real hypothesis as to why it was just a bunch of guess work and maybes, could have been and in the end we will never know but perhaps all of the above.
Really as a psychiatrist that was not associated with the crime she could have at least tried to delve a little deeper than saying yes to every plausible reasoning .
Overall if you want a bullet point boom boom boom lay out of the crime with a bunch of hemming and hawing this a definite choice for you.
Also did Thrive and Le-Vel pay the writer because I can not for the life of me come up with a reasonable explanation for the the words to be used a combined 31 times.
The book is written in 3 parts;
1The morning of with basic lead up to the horrendous events through the trial but this was done is such a perfunctory way and is only 30% of the book. How is the actual crime only 30% of a book about the crime?
2 The supposed main lead up from childhood to the morning of but again is done is way that has little emotion just flat essentially bullet point facts
3 The authors research paper (literally there is no other way to describe the last 5 chapters and nearly half of the book ) The author delves into everything from psychopathy to a break from reality and ultimately gives no real hypothesis as to why it was just a bunch of guess work and maybes, could have been and in the end we will never know but perhaps all of the above.
Really as a psychiatrist that was not associated with the crime she could have at least tried to delve a little deeper than saying yes to every plausible reasoning .
Overall if you want a bullet point boom boom boom lay out of the crime with a bunch of hemming and hawing this a definite choice for you.
Also did Thrive and Le-Vel pay the writer because I can not for the life of me come up with a reasonable explanation for the the words to be used a combined 31 times.
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Parts of this book were VERY tough to read. Having said that, it was a great read for several reasons. The information and explanations about The various kinds of mental illnesses and personality traits that are a mystery and unknown to many make that in itself worth the read.