Two Pollyannas : Beneath the Oil (K9, Book #3)

Title: Two Pollyannas: Beneath the Oil (K9, Book #3)

Author: Nick van der Leek 

Publisher: A Shakedown Title 

Release Date: November 12, 2018 

Genre(s): Family Killer, Filicide 

Page Count: 185 

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 

Read book blurb here

The third in a quickly-written series of books about the Watts family murders, this book contains some interesting commentary and insights into the Watts case.

The author focuses quite a bit on the financial state of the Watts family. Regarding Shan'ann's commitment to selling Thrive: "But to pretend something is working when it's not is something worse than defeat: it's delusion, deception, deceit."

And "We want to shake Shan'ann and say, can't you see what's happening in your life? Can't you see if you don't do something, something terrible to going to happen to you? Please stop. Please just look at your life, for God's sake." 

And finally "Unlike Shan'ann with her pretty patches, his [Chris Watts] work was hard and greasy. He muscled his way through engines, loosening and tightening bolts, making broken things fixed, getting motors to power to their full-blown growling, gutteral potential. And that's why he wanted to do: roar."

Overall, I would give the series so far 3.5 stars, as the author has quite a bit of incorrect information, but does provide an interesting viewpoint on the case as this series of book inexorably pulls us along the awful path to family anihilation.  

Two Face : Beneath the Oil (K9 Book #2)

Title: Two Face : Beneath the Oil (K9, Book #2)

Author: Nick van der Leek 

Publisher: A Shakedown Title 

Release Date: October 1, 2018 

Genre(s): Family Killer, Filicide 

Page Count: 119 

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 

Read book blurb here

This is the second in a quickly-written series of books about the Watts family murders, and again while many of the basic facts are incorrect - given that the book was published less than two months after the murder -  many of the author's musings are very insightful. 

The author tends to toss out several larger theories (Becker's theory of identity for example), and then winnows down to bits and pieces that pertain to the Watts family.  If you are a fan of this style of writing (which I personally am), you will probably be willing - as I was - to wait to see how this all relates.  Otherwise, you may find the whole series somewhat off-putting.

But having said that, I am fascinated by the way the author puts forward some very concise nuggets of wisdom. He compared Chris Watts to Scott Peterson in that they share the same persona : "the strong, silent charisma, which cast a temporary spell on Shan'ann and Laci - until it didn't."  Each kept up appearances until "these women were trapped in a lie they themselves were breathing life into, and it was the death of them."  It's the eventual heartbreak where "marriage is a reality check, especially if your marriage is founded on a fairy tale." 

The author also gives us a blow-by-blow account of a horrendous Christmas video with Chris as Santa and their two daughters sobbing in fear .... as Shan'ann continuing to film for 15 minutes cajoling them to sit on Santa's lap and smile for the camera. It's beyond sad and very telling in how Shan'ann's tone-deaf desire for that "fairy tale" moment is such a gut-punch for Chris and their family.

3.5 stars, and I'm moving on to the next book in the series, which is currently available on Kindle Unlimited, FYI. 

Two Face : The Man Underneath Christopher Watts (K9, Book #1)

Title: Two Face : The Man Underneath Christopher Watts 

Author: Nick van der Leek 

Publisher: A Shakedown Title 

Release Date: September 10, 2018 

Genre(s): Spousal Murder, Filicide 

Page Count: 117 

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 

Read book blurb here

Written in the fall of 2018, only a month after the horrendous Watts family murders, the author had a LOT of incorrect information here (the footnotes at the end of the book make some corrections and additions for this edition), yet I found some very worthwhile commentary here about the nature of the Watts' marriage and relationship. 

The author provides some interesting food for thought about the nature of Chris Watts' rage - at a financial crisis looming over the family (a second bankruptcy in 5 years?), a third child coming in a few months, the relationship with Chris' parents torn apart by Shan'ann, the constant camera recording their "perfect life" with Thrive MLM products, etc. 

In contrast to My Daddy is a Hero, where the author spends a great deal of time stressing how no one say this coming, and that Watts was a very nice man that murdered his family out of the blue, van der Leek fairly clearly lays out the contributing factors that drove Watts to murder and they read pretty convincingly. 

There are some off-the-wall conclusions, but there was enough here that I found Two Face a good companion piece to other books I've read about Chris Watts. 3.5 stars.

We Thought We Knew You: A Terrifying True Story of Secrets, Betrayal, Deception, and Murder

Title: We Thought We Knew You
Author: M. William Phelps
Publisher: Kensington Books
Release Date: December 29, 2020
Page Count: 400
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Mary Yoder was beloved by just about everyone who knew her, and when she died an agonizing death in 2015, poisoned by a fairly unknown drug, the person eventually convicted for her murder was someone no one suspected.  To this day, members of Mary Yoder's own family believe the wrong person was convicted.

The story is a convoluted one, but Phelps does a stellar job in detailing why Kaitlyn Conley was the only person who could have murdered her boss, Mary Yoder.  Kaitlyn was son Adam Yoder's on-and-off girlfriend, who started working at the Yoder chiropractic clinic part-time while attending school. She was an attractive young woman with dark hair and a lovely smile ... but she also spent months crafting a murderous plot to place the blame on her ex-boyfriend.  

Phelps really has his work cut out for him detailing all the twists and turns in the planning of the murder, and he does a good job in showing how all the little details connect into the larger picture.  Given that Kaitlyn's family and friends refused to talk about her, the picture is less than complete, but bit by bit, the detectives on this case uncovered and put together a series of actions and deeds that clearly showed Kaityln as the guilty party.

Phelps' writing style here is clear and well-organized, something that I felt was lacking in his earlier works.  4.5 stars and I highly recommend this book.  

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Kiss of the She-Devil

Title: Kiss of the She-Devil
Author: M. William Phelps
Publisher: Pinnacle
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Page Count: 320
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

As prep for reviewing Phelps' newest book "We Thought We Knew You," I quickly read his 2013 account of the senseless murder of Martha Gail Fulton by Donna Kay Trapani. 

Gail Fulton was a good Catholic woman, married to George for over 25 years and mother of 3 good kids. When her husband George began an affair with his boss, Donna Trapani, he opened a Pandora's box of craziness caused by this psychopath who lied horrifically, stalked his family and hired killers to shoot her rival Gail. 

The story is fairly straightforward with the case and trial never in doubt, but what I found especially difficult to read is how Gail's husband George had no concept - or just didn't care - how his actions brought about Gail's death. He cheated on his wife, strung Donna along when he did not want to make a decision about leaving Gail, strung Gail along and expected her to make enormous concessions, lied to his children, etc. George's actions are deplorable throughout and his lack of judgment is appalling.  

Phelps gives us all the facts, but at times his writing style is fragmented and doesn't always read smoothly. He is very dismissive of Donna Trapani, which is understandable given her behavour and action, but I would have preferred a bit more distance and less strong opinion. 

However, at the end of the day, this book does what it needs to do. It tells the story of a family shattered by poor decisions and actions on the part of George Fulton, and full-blown insanity from Donna. 3.5 stars.