The Perfect Father: The True Story of Chris Watts, His All-American Family, and a Shocking Murder

Written by John Glatt

Narrated by Shaun Grindell

In the early morning hours of August 13th, 2018, Shanann Watts was dropped off at her Frederick, Colorado home by a colleague after returning from a business trip. It was the last time anyone would see her alive. By the next day, Shanann and her two young daughters, Bella and Celeste, had been reported missing, and her husband, Chris Watts, was appearing on the local news, pleading for his family's safe return.

But Chris Watts already knew that he would never see his family again. Less than twenty-four hours after his desperate plea, Watts made a shocking confession to police: he had strangled his pregnant wife to death and smothered their daughters, dumping their bodies at a nearby oil site. Heartbroken friends and neighbors watched in shock as the movie-star handsome, devoted family man they knew was arrested and charged with first degree murder. The perfect mask Chris had presented to the world in his TV interviews and the family's Facebook accounts was slipping-and what lay beneath was a horrifying image of instability, infidelity, sexual ambivalence, and boiling rage.

In this first major account of the case, bestselling author and journalist John Glatt reveals the truth behind the tragedy and constructs a chilling portrait of one of the most shocking family annihilator cases of the 21st century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jul 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781977346278

John Glatt

English-born JOHN GLATT is the author of more than thirty books including The Lost Girls and My Sweet Angel, and has over thirty years of experience as an investigative journalist in England and America. He has appeared on television and radio programs all over the world, including Dateline NBC, Fox News, ABC’s 20/20, BBC World News, and A&E Biography.

Reviews for The Perfect Father

[Patrick Landers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book was well written, the narrator has a good voice but I wish he had added more feeling to what he was reading.

[Erica McCarty · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book, no new information. I wish they had more about the girlfriends interviews and why she was dismissed immediately as not knowing anything. The fact he was consistently spending time with his wife, the wife he was supposedly separated from and divorcing is very strange...and Niki isn't stupid or naive so I feel she knew she was his side piece all along and did not care. This book did raise questions about shanann and her own health issues as well as her childrens- I walked away wondering if her constant attention seeking behavior played a part in her kids constant illnesses. She was portrayed in a way that made it difficult to like her at all. I feel like Chris maybe undiagnosed on the autism spectrum as he has many of the trademark characteristics and while that alone doesn't make him any more dangerous than anyone else I think her constant nagging and rules made his life very unhappy. I think it was apparent he told her multiple times he wanted a divorce but she would not hear it and continued to pretend he never said it. From ordering the self help book and having it sent to booking a weekend getaway, it clearly showed she still planned to make all the decisions despite what he wanted. The fights that spilled outside and her pretending everything was perfect, the living way beyond their means, the constant poor financial decisions Shanann made and her need to constantly control him and everything he did was most definitely a contributing factor. After hearing all the things she said and did I could easily imagine her telling him she would never allow him to see those kids again...she did after all insist he have limited contact with his parents and monitored his actions when with them so I am sure he knew she would be controlling him for the rest of his life if he allowed it and it finally became too much. I won't say she killed those girls but I felt like she would do ANYTHING to keep control. Possibly taking them completely away from him by killing them. I never thought that until reading this book. No one wants to believe she is capable of that..,but I do wonder. I think he could have snapped. He definitely didn't plan this because surely he would have done a better job of covering up the crime if he had. I think he was trained well by Shanann, you never let anyone see the truth...and he may be even now protecting her perfect image that was so important to her. We will probably never know. I have met couples that I think wow one day he/she is gonna lose it because of the constant micromanaging of the spouse and this story shows how someone without coping skills or problem solving abilities could be pushed to murder.
I wasn't sure about audio books. But I love that I can fold laundry or clean my kitchen and listen as I get stuff done. This narrators voice is soothing. At first the accent distracted me but after a few minutes I was engrossed in the story and found the voice very likable.

[Koda Henry · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Was a good read, provided a lot of information about the case that I hadn’t heard before. I believe the narration was quite harsh when referring to Shannan which was distasteful.

[Luis K · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After hearing all the media reports I thought I knew pretty much everything about the case but clearly there was plenty of more information. Its a book that details what led up to this tragic event. Very informative.

[Jessica Gillies · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

whilst certainly a harsher portrayal of Shannan, I found this an interesting read.

[Renee Thiel Cure · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written. Thought-provoking. I attentively listened to the entire book in one session. Thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.

[Thomas Burns · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don’t think Criss was ever really thrivin, but I could be wrong.

[Lisa Molloy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I will listen to many more books authored by John Glatt, as I found his factual detail to be well-balanced, as part of the shocking reality of Chris Watts’s evil crimes. In Mr. Glatt’s account of Watts’s disturbing crimes, the reader can almost feel the tensions that saturated Watts’s evil thoughts and ensuing actions.

[Kylie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book itself is okay - Glatt does make it sound a bit like Watts killed his family for some peace and quiet and not because he was a cheating hairball - but as true crime goes, it's fine. The narration is a bit distracting, though, as the editing occasionally makes the reader sound rushed and like he's squashing the ends of his words.

[Elizabeth Ireland · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A brilliant book & the narrator is excellent!
Learned some different facts about the case. I think it’s actually the most balanced account I’ve found. I am so sorry for the family, what an awful tragedy & they face a life sentence as well.

Don’t come for me but, I think that NK bewitched CW. I don’t think he would have ever done this horrific deed if not for her. She is culpable in some way because she chose to have an affair with a married man. She had checked out SW multiple times & almost immediately went looking for how much money she might receive.

I think that SW social media footprint was to much for CW. I think he felt over shadowed & actually in a moment of self reflection she quotes CW saying he just wished he could put a picture on the wall.

I also find MLM company SW worked for a potential nightmare as I am sure that she was very successful in this venture but I truly wonder about patches & weight loss shakes et al and the effect that some of this stuff has on people metabolism. Having used similar products in the past I have found myself a bit whizzy & hyper I wonder if there is some way it could affect mood & actions.

I know people aren’t fond of CW family but I have to say that I think they have rose tinted glasses on. It’s clear to me that Cindy wouldn’t have liked any woman that CW was with and their dislike for SW was obvious. But we have to remember they’ve lost their granddaughters as well and have to live with this tragedy and the hatred that is served to them from Joe Public is really unnecessary. Cindy clearly adores her son and of course she will stick up for him her love for him is unconditional. None of us knows how we would behave in such a hopeless situation. As a parent I would look to myself. I think he was tipped by the separation from his father. He is clearly very close to him but parents should really stay out of their childrens marriages it’s never going to end well although I think that this kind of incident is very rare thankfully.

Sending best wishes to all the people who have been so affected by this case. I think we forget what first responders go through and what they carry with them.

CW is absolutely detached from reality. I don’t think that he knows what happened either. I suspect he will break down at some point when he comes out from hiding behind the Jesus stuff.

[whymanen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It is an ok book if you just want to know about the case. Not great but not bad.