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TWO FACE: DRILLING THROUGH DISCOVERY
“The last chapter in particular is grueling and grotesque…”
The fifth book in Nick van der Leek’s definitive TWO FACE series on Chris Watts does exactly what the title claims: it drills deep through the mountain of Discovery Documents.
The fifth narrative not only makes sense of the 1960 pages of discovery, it also integrates the video footage for the first time into a seamless narrative. Missing pieces are found and new insights revealed and contextualized in the most comprehensive assembly of facts and psychological analysis around this puzzling case yet.
The main focus of the narrative is on the three hour FBI interview with Chris Watts on Tuesday night, August 14, and the astonishing follow-up interrogation leading to Watts’ confession the next day.
Drilling Through Discovery does nothing less than uncover Watts’ thought process leading up to the murders.
The fifth book in Nick van der Leek’s definitive TWO FACE series on Chris Watts does exactly what the title claims: it drills deep through the mountain of Discovery Documents.
The fifth narrative not only makes sense of the 1960 pages of discovery, it also integrates the video footage for the first time into a seamless narrative. Missing pieces are found and new insights revealed and contextualized in the most comprehensive assembly of facts and psychological analysis around this puzzling case yet.
The main focus of the narrative is on the three hour FBI interview with Chris Watts on Tuesday night, August 14, and the astonishing follow-up interrogation leading to Watts’ confession the next day.
Drilling Through Discovery does nothing less than uncover Watts’ thought process leading up to the murders.
- GenresTrue Crime
284 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 27, 2019
75 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 6, 2019
Fascinating, Dreadful Case
Van der Leek does a good job on this account of the interviews that cracked Chris Watts. At least his aim is clear and that is an analysis of Watts personality. He tries to get into his brain as far as is possible to figure out how Watts finally came to the point of Murder as a Personal Problem Solution. There is a huge hole, though, just where we were most riveted, and that's the moment we feel let down. Just as Watts concedes that he did murder Sha'nann the narrative quits on us. Van der Leek goes into other details. He says he's going to delve deeper in the next book but we do feel a bit ripped off after hanging in there so long.
The author said s the question is not whether Watts did it or why he did it. This is precisely true. IMO this one is about a desperate, low functioning man who felt intolerably trapped. He had to get out of his situation and vent if it meant life in prison or death. Only a retarded person could think his plan would work.
Van der Leek does a good job on this account of the interviews that cracked Chris Watts. At least his aim is clear and that is an analysis of Watts personality. He tries to get into his brain as far as is possible to figure out how Watts finally came to the point of Murder as a Personal Problem Solution. There is a huge hole, though, just where we were most riveted, and that's the moment we feel let down. Just as Watts concedes that he did murder Sha'nann the narrative quits on us. Van der Leek goes into other details. He says he's going to delve deeper in the next book but we do feel a bit ripped off after hanging in there so long.
The author said s the question is not whether Watts did it or why he did it. This is precisely true. IMO this one is about a desperate, low functioning man who felt intolerably trapped. He had to get out of his situation and vent if it meant life in prison or death. Only a retarded person could think his plan would work.
March 7, 2021
Fifth book in the series, focusing on the polygraphy and first confession of Chris Watts. The book is longer than the others - over 250 pages, compared to around 150 in the other books) - and there is a great amount of detail. I especially found the way in which the two agents - polygrapher Tammy Lee and Agent Kroder - got Watts to confess particularly interesting.
Chris Watts: "The main thing is like .... I could never really be myself. [...] I could never just ... be who-who I was like, before I met her, like .... and she could never see me ... but it was like ... we had that disconnect."
"Lies, by their very nature, are statements that appear truthful at face value, on the surface. And yet when a single lie can be snagged, the lines the lie connect to reveal a fabric of deception, and in this case, annihilation."
Again, another sad chapter in this story of family annihilation. 4 stars.
Visit my new blog "I Love True Crime Books"
Chris Watts: "The main thing is like .... I could never really be myself. [...] I could never just ... be who-who I was like, before I met her, like .... and she could never see me ... but it was like ... we had that disconnect."
"Lies, by their very nature, are statements that appear truthful at face value, on the surface. And yet when a single lie can be snagged, the lines the lie connect to reveal a fabric of deception, and in this case, annihilation."
Again, another sad chapter in this story of family annihilation. 4 stars.
Visit my new blog "I Love True Crime Books"
February 26, 2019
Replete with misspelled and missing words, colloquialisms like "cottoned to", and once again lacking much in the way of insight into the "why" Chris Watts killed his wife, daughters and unborn son and how he might have thought he could get away with it. Book 5 is a classic example of the downsides for the reader of self published, unedited books written by a self aggrandized author. I didn't go into reading this book with high expectations since the first four in this apparent series were equally or more flawed, but at least I didn't pay for them. Bottom line: anyone with some intelligence can glean the same conclusions from reading and watching the discovery documents including videos of Watts's interrogations by law enforcement and statements he gave to the media and others.
November 28, 2019
Mr. Van der Leek guides us through Chris Watts' interrogations, failed polygraph, and ultimate confession. The author is as thorough and meticulous as Chris Watts was at crime scene clean-up . My favorite part was the ending, where he discusses how Chris' thought processes slowly, over time, led him to make the decision to kill them all. It reminds me of James 1:15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. For me, that is the best explanation of how a man could do what Chris Watts did.
October 21, 2019
And the rambling continues
“The cushion represents a separation, as does the pillows on the couch”, no sir, the man shoved the phone to hide it, quit the psychoanalytical BS please. You are not a forensic psychologist or a crime analyst. There are way more stupid suggestions like these in this book. I thought the books would get better instead of more tedious, I was wrong.
“The cushion represents a separation, as does the pillows on the couch”, no sir, the man shoved the phone to hide it, quit the psychoanalytical BS please. You are not a forensic psychologist or a crime analyst. There are way more stupid suggestions like these in this book. I thought the books would get better instead of more tedious, I was wrong.
July 1, 2019
Wow
This was like a roller coaster of facts and emotions thrown at the reader from both angles of the story, and with zero room for sensitivity- which is exactly how you try to the truth.
This was like a roller coaster of facts and emotions thrown at the reader from both angles of the story, and with zero room for sensitivity- which is exactly how you try to the truth.
December 24, 2020
I love Nick’s work. He totally sets the bar for true crime analysis.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews