Children of Darkness and Light Audiobook By Lori Hellis cover art

Children of Darkness and Light

Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell and the Story of a Murderous Faith

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Children of Darkness and Light

By: Lori Hellis
Narrated by: Aimee Reid
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About this listen

In this gripping work of true crime, a criminal lawyer takes listeners inside the notorious Lori Vallow case and the devastating doomsday murders.

A blonde beauty queen, missing children, six suspicious deaths, and the twisted Mormon doomsday writings of her fifth husband are only the beginning of a tragic crime saga that gripped Americans and instigated frantic searches all over the country.

It all started when Lori Vallow met Chad Daybell at a doomsday prepper event. Their story grew like a wildfire that creates its own weather, and what happened next will shock even the most experienced true crime listener.

Clinging to and manipulating one another, Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell believed the return of Jesus Christ was imminent and that God had chosen them to lead the 144,000 and usher in the new millennium. When the people closest to them began dying, it became clear they would stop at nothing to be together and fulfill their mission. When the bodies of Lori’s missing children—J.J. and Tylee—were discovered in Chad’s backyard, the strange and complex story of their fundamentalist Mormon beliefs was revealed in all its true horror.

Author Lori Hellis, a retired criminal lawyer, had just moved to Arizona when news of J.J. and Tylee's disappearance broke, and there were reports about these missing children that linked them to a neighboring community. She began to follow the case closely, trying to understand this perfect storm of people and circumstances that culminated in the death of innocents. In Children of Darkness and Light, Hellis digs deep into the investigation, trial, and verdict to craft a haunting narrative that illuminates one of the most confounding crimes in recent memory.

©2024 Lori Hellis (P)2024 Dreamscape Media
Media Studies Murder Disappearance Good and Evil Mormon Royalty
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What listeners say about Children of Darkness and Light

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Accurate storyline but not pronunciation.

The one thing that stood out to me is that the narrator did not do her pronunciation homework. Best to consult with the locals on how to pronounce Manti, Moroni and Nephi .. each one of these nouns ends with a LONG I sound. It is silly to hear Manti pronounced Mantie. Likewise with the other two. Like, seriously, go back and edit these!!!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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awful soryline

I've followed this from the beginning and learned more than anticipated about the church. lots of research, it shows.

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

Too long

Way too long with irrelevant info about other cases. I had to fast forward through a lot

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and I thought I new EVERYTHING about this case.

This book narrates the story of the tragedy that happened to Tylee, JJ, Charles and Tammy. The author shows us how we got here. The background on Lori Vallow Daybell and the Mormon religious beliefs over the years combined with the law and the effects of social media in criminal court cases made for an excellent read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Detailed reporting

Hellis delivers detailed reporting on troubling crimes including the unusual theology and twisted ideology that motivated them.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent summary of the Vallow)Daybell case

The story of Lori & Chad's murderous cult is well researched and well written by Lori Hellis. The background information is organized and illuminating. Lori Hellis's career in law makes her uniquely qualified to explain the case to less-informed people like me. The analysis of family and church history was helpful in understanding motivation, although at many levels this case defies any understanding. Good book!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good story

Good synopsis of this case. Pulling all the information & facts of this horrific crime.

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Fact based Crime story!

I liked the explanation of some of the Mormon religion as it seemed to have ties to so many recent cases. I now understand so much more about the "cult" factor vs. real religion! Mormonism is not to blame here.

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Excellent Read!

With excellent syntax and sentence structure the author weaves the history of the LDS church into the case of the century!

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    3 out of 5 stars
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The Wrong Narrator

Let me start by saying that I have followed this story from the beginning so I was very excited to read this book. The story is well researched but assumes the readers have a prior knowledge of the crimes. It was repetitive and there were some small mistakes that bothered me. For example: referring to Lori as Lori Vallow Daybell BEFORE she had married Chad. My biggest gripe was with the narrator who sounded like she was reading a high school book report. Tip for narrators of true stories: look up the proper way to pronounce the names. Ruby Franke's name was pronounced FRANK instead of FRANKIE. Jodi Arias is AIR-ee-us not ARE-ee-us. Zulema's name was mispronounced as well as many of the LDS names. The angel is Moroni sounds like EYE and not EE. There were so many others. Just so frustrating.

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