SOCIAL SCIENCES

Children of Darkness and Light: Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell; A Story of Murderous Faith

Pegasus. Sept. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781639367108. $28.95. CRIME
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Readers may be familiar with this case from the grim headlines of 2019, but former attorney Hellis’s well-researched and page-turner book dives deeper into the environments that Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell were raised in and the resulting chaos. Her book shows that Vallow appeared to be a charming Mormon housewife when she met Daybell. Believing themselves to be visionaries of the end times, the two (tried separately) were charged and convicted in connection with the deaths of Vallow’s two children and Daybell’s ex-wife. Daybell’s specific ranking system by which he determined whether souls are “light” and the verbose text messages the pair sent while they were married to other people are just some of the exclusives offered in this comprehensive view of the case. The book also includes the perspectives of family and friends who didn’t see warning signs.
VERDICT Readers who enjoy true crime will love this chance to go beyond the headlines and discover the whole story of the horrors that landed this couple in prison. Daybell was sentenced to death; Vallow’s sentence was life without parole.
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