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  • My Daddy Is a Hero

  • How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer
  • By: Lena Derhally
  • Narrated by: Tanya Eby
  • Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (28 ratings)

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My Daddy Is a Hero cover art

My Daddy Is a Hero

By: Lena Derhally
Narrated by: Tanya Eby
Free with 30-day trial

$16.45/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

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Publisher's Summary

A husband. A father. A killer. 

Chris Watts was a family man. Everybody, including his family, believed that. Yet, on August 13, 2018, he murdered Shanann, his pregnant wife, and two young daughters. 

As terrible as his story is, it is also a warning because to this day, living behind bars, Watts is still acting out the character traits that made him kill in the first place. 

In this, the first and only psychological exploration of the Watts family murders, psychotherapist Lena Derhally has pieced together the crime, the events leading to it, and most of all, her beliefs about the "why". She explores the childhoods, families of origin, meeting, and early relationship of Shanann and Chris Watts. She also examines Watts's double life and duplicity regarding his well-publicized affair with a coworker. 

The audiobook includes an in-depth look at community psychopaths, the different subtypes of narcissism, how to prevent this type of violence, and interviews with a neuroscientist, a criminal psychologist, and a journalist. Using her knowledge of attachment theory, Imago relationship theory, and psychopathology, Derhally draws a profile of the real Chris Watts and - just as important - she warns listeners that he is still a danger today.

©2019 Lena M. Derhally (P)2020 Tantor

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What listeners say about My Daddy Is a Hero

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Didn’t drag told all the facts which was great

I enjoy that it went into the psychology and the time line not just from using on the actual crime itself I learnt a lot more about the monster than I knew before

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book & Narration

I thought this book was really well researched and helped resolve some of the pressing questions that many of us have had as to how on earth this terrible crime could happen. Turns out Chris Watts was a narcissistic psychopath hiding in plain sight, there were telling clues but still, no one could have predicted he was capable of this.
The narration was really good, I’m not sure why another reviewer didn’t think so. I found her expressive and easy to listen to.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unbelievable tragedy

Interesting and well written. I like how we got the story in the beginning then given the psychological insights later. Another terrible narrator who thankfully sounded better at the end. There’s no need change the voice when quoting a male researcher!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

best book on this case

read others this is the best one.
facts and personal opinions plus expert analysis

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Robotic voice but intriguing read

This book was excellent. Covered in detail the story and told the tragic story in order as events unfolded. The reader is robotic and a bit monotone but after you get used to it, I didn’t notice it. The end of the book where there is psychological analysis of the family was very and gave great insight.

Would recommend

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Analysis later in book

Until about chapter nine there is not much new here, so keep reading if you want to get to the analysis and deeper insights. The author is clearly terrified of being sued or of upsetting anyone as this book has more disclaimers than you can count, prefacing everything remotely contentious with some sort of qualifying statement. Some of her analysis is quite interesting and worth wading through old material to get to.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Lazy research, blergh narration. Don't bother.

This book contains no interviews, no actual insights apart from the author reading the court discovery documents and spewing them back onto a page. The narrator was given one job: Make Shanann sound positive and/or forlorn. Make Chris sound gruff and uncaring. Totally biased, absolute rubbish. Don't bother. Ever.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Robotic reading

The narration was dreadful & made it hard going to finish this book. The story was a rehash with a sprinkling of a little “expert opinion”. Don’t waste your time on this one unless you are an insomniac as it could help you drift off.

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1 person found this helpful

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