Jennifer Klappich

Story Is Not Horror

Reviewed: 06-25-22

The story was good. That being said it was not in anyway shape or form scary. I think the ending could have been more profound. The writing is good but there is something in the story I found lacking. The narrator is incredible and I found my self interested.

Spoilers:

I think that there should have been additional interaction with the entity. I think that has the individuals had additional encounters realizing that perhaps the evil was all around us to begin with it would have been deeper. Seeing the same creation in man consistently.

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Did She?

Reviewed: 06-01-22

SPOILERS INCLUDED!!

The book is pretty good. Held my attention and kept me interested. That being said it built and built and built but never had that ah ha moment that conclusively proved that the woman was 100% guilty. I think there is a strong chance she was but I am not sure that the evidence shows without a shadow of a doubt that she killed her daughter.

I think the best evidence, which was more or less glossed over, was that her son did not have any further issues after he was removed.

I would have liked direct comments from the perp or the family or if the author had talked directly to Melody… it does not seem that he did.

I would recommend it. It’s interesting but not the be all end all of info (legal or medical) on the presentation of MsBP.

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1 person found this helpful

Sad / Fascinating

Reviewed: 01-27-22

This books is sad but fascinating. Great story for fans of true crime. Performance is great. Readers voice is perfect for the story.

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1 person found this helpful

Heartbreaking

Reviewed: 07-01-21

Heartbreaking but fascinating. Worth the listen but it is very heavy and graphic. I would not listen around children.

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Tragic but Fascinating

Reviewed: 11-17-15

This story was incredibly fascinating but tragic all the same. When I purchased the title I did not realize that I knew the story from the news. After a while I realized what story this was and I knew how it would end. That did not take away from the story or the tragedy of the situation.
Both narrators were excellent.

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1 person found this helpful

Compelling Crime

Reviewed: 08-05-15

It is amazing how much it is suspected that this man did and he was never prosecuted. I think in the coming years that we may learn a lot more about this crime.
I think this story is a perfect example of how the justice system for the rich is different from the justice system for the poor. There is no way some poor down and out person would have been able to get away with this much crime!

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1 person found this helpful

Good Story

Reviewed: 06-16-15

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I really wanted to know how the story ended, although I was pretty sure I had it figured out at the very beginning.

Any additional comments?

Good book. I really enjoyed listening to it.

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Damning Evidence

Reviewed: 06-16-15

Where does Beyond Belief rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book is in the top 10 that I have listened to.

What other book might you compare Beyond Belief to and why?

It was somewhere between the books I have read about leaving the FLDS church and other books about Scientology.

What about Sandy Rustin’s performance did you like?

Her reading was fabulous. Not to over the top. Not like she was trying to act a part. Just reading with emotion as you would imagine the writer would read it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole story was overwhelming. It is hard to believe that the law allowed this poor girl to go through what she did and that no one ever stepped in to rescue these children from their parents madness.

Any additional comments?

Even if I had not read anything else about Scientology reading this alone would be damning evidence for me. Aside from the fact that she is the current leaders niece and she has insight into him what she experienced was terrible.

It blows my mind to think that she recieved better treatment than some children because of her families standing in the church.

I feel disgusted as a US citizen that we are allowing this kind of abuse to go on in out country under the false veil of religion. We should not allow these people to blackmail our government and get away with the kind of abuse the reader suffered.

I guess you could say this book made me feel very passionate. =)

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Interesting but annoying

Reviewed: 06-16-15

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I am somewhat Catholic and somewhat Buddhist. I do not subscirbe to any particular religion as I feel that it keeps me from the real truth. I think a super Christian (not really a Catholic) would enjoy this. Or someone who really dislikes the Mormon church.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Seven Years in Tibet --- I need a break from Christianity.

Would you be willing to try another one of Julie Lyles Carr’s performances?

Yes! I thought the performance was good. It was the writing that I took issue with.

What character would you cut from Unveiling Grace?

Jesus. I wanted to hear about an escape from Mormonism in an intellectual light. This focused to much on super religious stuff that I just don't get behind. By the end of the book I really wanted to punch someone every time I heard "the dancer of grace". It annoyed me to no end.

Any additional comments?

This book was okay. It was interesting that they left the Mormon church and found Jesus, but I thought it would be much different than it was. I guess I should have done more research before hand.

I was interested in an academic approach to explaining the flaws in Mormonism and the fact that there is zero historical basis for many of their teachings. I also thought I would be getting more of an insiders opinion. Since she and her husband joined Mormonism it seemed like less of a deal that they left. I would have been more interested to hear from her son Michas point of view, since he had been indoctrinated into the faith since birth.

My other issues is that the book became to preachy at the end. I have no problem with the fact that they left to join another church, but it really was not why I read the book. I also would have liked more facts and sources on certain information regarding Joseph Smith. Also there was a lot of scripture quoting but no quoting of documents of intellectual standing.

Lastly, reading this book as a semi- Catholic and not a super christian there was a lot of phraseology that came off as ridiculous to me and there were certain things that I just thought were over the top and / or hypocritical. She speaks about how when converting to Christianity she learned things were not all about her but then everything she goes on about is her and how things affected her and why she cares.

Overall it came off amateurish and over-the-top preachy.

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4 people found this helpful

Mind-blowing but has possible triggers

Reviewed: 06-16-15

Would you consider the audio edition of Stolen Innocence to be better than the print version?

I did not read the print version. But I enjoyed the audio version. There were times when the narrator tried to hard and exaggerated certain parts that I feel would have been powerful enough had she not "acted" them the way she did.

What did you like best about this story?

It is a hard story to hear and it could trigger victims of abuse, but it was inspiring and amazing. The fact that this was going on in our country and the world still knows so little about it makes me sick. The fact that there are still women and children trapped in this environment makes me sick. The book has inspired me to find a way to help .

Which character – as performed by Renée Raudman – was your favorite?

I was not a fan of the way she separated the characters. The way the story was written it was very clear what characters we were switching between and I feel like her performance was more appropriate for a work of fiction.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were definite times it make me cry. There were aspects of this book that made me very uncomfortable thinking of children being treated in certain ways. But the strength shown by Elissa holds the reader up through the book.

Any additional comments?

This woman is an inspiration to all women, but especially to women who have survived abuse. I think there is a lot that any one can learn from this book.

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