Skip to main content

Review: "Prophet's Prey" by Sam Brower


From Goodreads:  From the private investigator who cracked open the case that led to the arrest of Warren Jeffs, the maniacal prophet of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), comes the page-turning, horrifying story of how a rogue sect used sex, money, and power disguised under a favßade of religion to further criminal activities and a madman's vision.

Despite considerable press coverage and a lengthy trial, the full story has remained largely untold. Only one man can reveal the whole, astounding truth: Sam Brower, the private investigator who devoted years of his life to breaking open the secret practices of the FLDS and bringing Warren Jeffs and his inner circle to justice. In Prophet's Prey, Brower implicates Jeffs in his own words, bringing to light the contents of Jeffs's personal priesthood journal, discovered in a hidden underground vault, and revealing to readers the shocking inside world of FLDS members, whose trust he earned and who showed him the staggering truth of their lives.

My Thoughts:  "Who's that?" was the question I received from my coworkers when I told them I was reading a book about Warren Jeffs.  To me, it was quite shocking that they didn't know who this person was.  Jeffs has made national news off and on for the past several years and was even on the FBI's most wanted list so I assumed that most people have heard of him.  So for those of you who don't know, Warren Jeffs is the now jailed prophet of the FLDS sect that predominantly lives in Southern Utah/Northern Arizona.  Sam Brower, the author of this book, is a private investigator who was brought in to help in a variety of cases against Jeffs and wrote Prophet's Prey about his experiences with Warren Jeffs and the members of his church.

To start, I knew Warren Jeffs was a pig before I read this book but Brower exposes a lot of evidence that showed just how disgusting Jeffs really was.  Brower includes parts of Jeffs' journals and information from audiotapes made by Jeffs discussing his marriages to young girls and one tape is even a recording of him having sex with a 12 year old!  Brower's book basically allows the reader to see into who Warren Jeffs is, how he became the prophet of that sect of the FLDS church and how he cemented his authoritarian rule over the members of his church.  It was pretty eye opening and I was surprised to see the extent to Jeffs' power over his flock.  They even sat by quietly while he essentially used his father as a puppet when his father was too ill to lead the church on his own.   I have been interested in this topic for a while but it never ceases to amaze me when I see how truly brainwashed many of the members of the FLDS are.  The book did seem to end rather abruptly and I would have liked to see what had to people Brower helped after Jeffs was put in prison.  There were several girls who escaped and brought charges against Jeffs and I would have liked to see how they are adjusting now that he is no longer a huge threat to them.  In short, this was nonfiction written for the everyday reader about a pretty fascinating topic.  3 stars.

Comments

  1. I've read a few books that our memoirs of girls who have left FLDS that I wound really interesting. Although I don't remember their names if you're curious enough I'm sure you could find them in my blog archives. Reading them you do get an idea of what life was like for girls that left, and while it is better it still hasn't been an easy life for them.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review and Giveaway: "Distant Signs" by Anne Richter

Synopsis: Distant Signs is an intimate portrait of two families spanning three generations amidst turbulent political change, behind and beyond the Berlin Wall. In 1960s East Germany, Margret, a professor’s daughter from the city, meets and marries Hans, from a small village in Thuringia. The couple struggle to contend with their different backgrounds, and the emotional scars they bear from childhood in the aftermath of war. As East German history gradually unravels, with collision of the personal and political, their two families’ hidden truths are quietly revealed. An exquisitely written novel with strongly etched characters that stay with you long after the book is finished and an authentic portrayal of family life behind the iron curtain based on personal experience of the author who is East German and was 16 years old at the fall of the Berlin Wall. Why do families repeat destructive patterns of behaviour across generations? Should the personal take precedence over

Mailbox Monday (49)

It's time for another Mailbox Monday post!  Once again I could not resist the cheap ebooks that Amazon and Barnes and Noble were promoting this week.  I really need to stop!  I already have more than I can read.  I also was able to spend a little time browsing at the library and I came home with a nice stack of books.  These days, I hardly ever get to spend time at the library by myself for more than a minute or two so it was wonderful to have time to just wander and see what I could find. Purchased (for kindle): The Color of Secrets by Lindsay Ashford The One I Was by Eliza Graham House of Bathory by Linda Lafferty   Purchased (for nook): One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore  Becoming Queen Victoria by Kate Williams From the Library: The Messenger by Daniel Silva   The Ripper's Wife by Brandy Purdy Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner Brazen by Katherine Longshore What books did you get this week?

Mailbox Monday (78)

 Happy Sunday everybody!  September is over and I can hardly believe it.  It seems as though the month has flown by.  Now I'm excited for fall and all of the upcoming holidays.  October is the start of my favorite time of year and I'm hoping there will be plenty of room for reading in between all of the upcoming events. I requested some new holiday books from the library and had no idea all of my holds would come in at once so I need to get moving on these.  I'm really excited to dig into some sweet, fluffy reads and these will do just the trick. From the Library: A Snow Country Christmas by Linda Lael Miller This is the fourth book in a series that I really enjoyed so I'm eager to get started on it. Holly and Ivy by Fern Michaels The Christmas Room by Catherine Anderson I was so intrigued by the cover on this one that I had to pick it up. For Review (from NetGalley): I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon     I really need to st