Customer Reviews

Every Woman's Nightmare: The True Story Of The Fairy-Tale Marriage And Brutal Murder Of Lori Hacking

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

There has been much written in the press and the review about this book. As Lori's brother I lived through the events that were written about. I have found the book to have its fair share of errors but nothing that effects the underlying story of the book.

Lori was every brothers dream and this book portrays who and what Lori really was. I feel the book was well written and provides a good basis for this case.

This book is not anti-mormon nor is the author anti-mormon. The people who write that this book is anti-mormon are portraying their own opinion. I know in my opinion that this book is nothing to do with the LDS Church, except for the fact, that this story occurred in Utah where so much of daily life is intertwined with the LDS Church.

This story is a tragedy that has affected not only the families involved but everyone who become in contact with this story. This book, in general, captures the feelings, emotions, and facts that occurred over the search for Lori, Mark's trial, and all points in between.

I am a true crime buff...and I found this book rather boring. I could have written the same book, as there was no "inside info"...it seems like the author just gathered all the television news stories and put them inside the book

Nothing new here. I knew most of this information from news reports. The detail on the last page was new, but it was put in a strange place -- it didn't seem to fit on the last page.

I kept waiting to find out what Mark did during his missionary trip -- but it was never revealed, unless I missed it. The subject was brought up several times, and it was the only thing that kept me reading -- actually, by the end, I was "skimming," because I was tired of wasting my time on this book.

I love crime books. I've read hunderds of them. This one, just might be the worst I've read in years. The story is just so shallow, the characters are so flat, and the ending totally predictable. I really can't recommend this book to anyone.

I don't know what to make of this book. I bought it and I just couldn't get into it. I read almost half of it and I was bored. I went out and bought another true crime book to start reading. I probably won't go back to reading this one.

It's written like a story-telling book. Much of it tells us what Mark Hacking was "thinking" when the author couldn't possibly know. I don't really like that sort of writing style. I'd rather just have the facts and contemplate myself what he might have been thinking. Example (page 52): "Mark Hacking looked down at the mass that was once his wife. He felt nothing but anger, no remorse, no sadness, nothing whatsoever other than the rage that drove him to kill Lori." How does the author know this?

There are no interviews with the major players in the case (or anyone) from what I've read so far. That's weird to me. I don't understand why someone would put together a book about a high profile case without giving that to the reader.

As far as the "eight pages of gripping photos".. Mark Hacking mug shot, Mormon Temple, the outside of the Hacking apartment building, a picture of a dumpster where "many believe he deposited Lori's body", outside of the convenience store where Mark bought cigarettes, picture of owners of the furniture store where Mark bought the mattress, missing flier, empty courtroom, Lori's grave marker before and after the Hacking name was taken out. Not very gripping to me.

I too followed this story when it broke, and then on Court-TV, and looked forward to the book that would surely result from this case. But this wasn't it. The book jacket says the author is a veteran journalist, but at times he writes like a high school student. I could hardly believe it when I read this (p. 58 of the hard cover edition): "Mark inserted the key into the ignition, put the car into reverse, then into drive as he crept across the smooth asphalt surface of the parking lot." There's too much filler like this in the book. There's also way too much in this book about what Mark Hacking was supposedly thinking - and since the author didn't interview him, who knows what he was thinking? And the same goes for his actions immediately following the murder - who knows what he really did?
I wish Ann Rule had written this one.

I followed this case in the magazines and newspapers, and bought the book because it was such a sad and extraordinary case. As always in these types of books, there is new information that I didn't know before (especially the last paragraphs....) Mark Hacking is probably the dumbest of all criminals I have read about -- and I've read about a lot of them. The things he did are just beyond comprehension, not only the murder itself, but his alibi and cover-up were stupid. In any case, he is locked up forever, hopefully. Lori trusted an untrustworthy man, to say the least. But then, maybe that's why they call sociopaths the killer's next door -- they live among us, but no one suspects anything until it's too late.

I don't know why most of the true crime books I've read lately have the feel of a remedial reader. This one offered little information of why someone would go to such lengths to make up a fake life, one that could easily be discovered. It's not worth the time especially if you don't have much to spare for reading.

I live in Utah, so I am very familiar with the Hacking case, and Mormon culture in general. I knew this was an "instant" book, not something that the author would have had a lot of time to research. Still, there are several sloppy mistakes that indicate Long doesn't really know Utah or the Hacking case very well.
Some of these mistakes may simply be typos-- mispelling an attorney's name, for example. When the reader sees such a mistake, she has to wonder how careful the author was with the facts. In "Every Woman's Nightmare", there are several mistaken facts as well. The Hackings didn't live in the shadow of the LDS Temple but a good mile away on Lincoln Street. I spent the first 37 years of my life in Salt Lake City, and I have walked those long blocks of downtown many times.
The biggest problem, however, is Lang's misunderstanding of Mormon theology. I was raised Mormon; on my mother's side we go back to the LDS Pioneers who came to Utah before the Civil War. I am no apologist for the LDS Church, though. I haven't attended since I was 12. It's obvious to me Lang talked with outsiders or extremely biased, disaffected Mormons-- he has information about Temple rituals that are inaccurate, according to my sources. I am married to a Mormon man, and believe me, I am not his obedient servant.
If you really want to learn about the Hacking case, wait until a serious writer can do the subject justice. There is a book there, just as Norman Mailer wrote a good book about another infamous Utah murder case. He may not have done his own research, but "The Exectutioner's Song" is far better at dealing with Utah and the Mormon subculture.

I had to laugh when I saw the first two reviews..it was just too coincidental how they both were so upset about how they felt the Mormon church was being portrayed. I wonder if it's the same person who has made up two identities on Amazon?? Anyway I felt it was written well and I read ALOT of true crime. I never once felt like it was attacking the Mormon church in anyway and I would recommend it to any true crime reader. BTW, if the two reviewers want to get mad at something, they should check out the new HBO series "BIG LOVE"..now that is something!