Customer Reviews

A Twisted Faith: A Minister's Obsession and the Murder That Destroyed a Church

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found Gregg's latest book, the third of his I've read, to be a chilling cautionary tale that I couldn't put down. It's the telling of an unspeakable crime that sent shockwaves out in so many directions, affecting so many people. This story is a reminder of how insidious some forms of abuse can be...coming from directions one might not expect...the consequences of which are tragic for EVERYONE involved.

Set close to home, I find that many of the places mentioned in Gregg's book are very familair to me, adding much personal interest. I recall reading the headlines, and wondering then, just as I do now, how this could have happened. As the story unfolds however, the author provides an in-depth look that the news media could not, providng me with some new perspective. I found A TWISTED FAITH to be a fast read...but this is not to say an easy read. It's a complex story, that by necessity introduces the reader to several individuals.

Gregg reveals some extremely personal details from the lives of those involved, but appears to do so without malice or moralizing. While the facts of the case resulted in a conviction, the reader is still left with much to think about...

Once again Gregg has taken a difficult tragic topic - a persons death - and put us on a ride of deception, truth as the facts are presented in an addictive fashion - I like many others could not put this book down. People never cease to amaze me in the many forms of abuse that we do to one another! The way that Gregg puts in the details & locations makes it easier for the readers who are from/in the area that may not have been closely affected to be able to relate. However if you have read this book and are not in some way affected then you need to check your pulse --- or just turn yourself in to the police now so Gregg doesn't have to write about you taking someone's life!!

I like that this one along with many of Gregg's other books leave you to think; unlike some authors he doesn't write to frame your mind or make up your mind about the matter - just presents it to you & YOU get to use your brain to come up with what you think!!!

Well done Gregg ... I look forward to more of your writing!! Sadly we are a vicious species so I am sure you will not draw any blanks!!!

NaPua

(formally of & can't wait to get back to Silverdale, WA)

I am always confused and dismayed when people who hold positions of authority in a church or religious organization abuse that power for their own gain. I'm even more dismayed when people who follow them end up following the person instead of their faith, letting charisma and personality overrule what they *know* to be right and wrong. Gregg Olsen portrays one of those situations in his real-life crime drama A Twisted Faith: A Minister's Obsession and the Murder That Destroyed a Church. Twisted Faith shows what happens when no one confronts evil or is willing to think for themselves and take action.

The book centers around a death that occurred in Bremerton Washington in 1997, the day after Christmas. Dawn Hacheney, the wife of youth pastor Nick Hacheney, dies in a house fire that took her life in the early morning hours as she slept. At least that's what it appears to be, and for quite some time, that's the story that all the officials signed off on. But the reality of her death is far different. Olsen documents how Christ Community Church, a Pentecostal church on Bainbridge Island, went from a small community gathering in the mid-90s to a church embroiled in power struggles, sex scandals, and ultimately the murder of one of their own. Olsen pieces together the story from interviews, news stories, and other sources, and shows how the abuse of power can destroy both the person who has it and those who follow.

There were so many emotions going through my head during this book. I was dismayed that a group of leaders could abuse biblical teachings so blatantly and repeatedly. I was also amazed that so many people can look the other way when everything they see tells them that something is very wrong and needs to be addressed. Letting a person become the focus of your faith instead of God is a sure recipe for disaster. A Twisted Faith is primarily a crime novel (and a good one), but it can also be a wake-up call to check your focus when it comes to your faith, and to make sure you're basing your beliefs on the correct foundation.

Disclosure:

Obtained From: Library

Payment: Borrowed

I ordered this book because I used to live in the Bremerton area and vaguely remembered when Dawn Hacheney died in the house fire in Bremerton. As I read the book, I was amazed at the gullibility of so many people involved in this church. How could so many people, especially women, get sucked into this guy's BS? And to use the guise of faith? Sad! I think it took a lot of courage for some of these people to tell their story and the author does a good job of weaving the different individual stories together. Unfortunately, the "main event" (Dawn's death) sort of gets lost in the shuffle, but still it is an engaging book.

I'm a fan of true crime and have enjoyed Gregg Olsen's work in the past. This book, however, just didn't do it for me. The story itself is interesting, but I prefer an account that details the work of detectives unraveling the crime. This was an agonizingly slow account of a cast of insecure women manipulated by an arrogant, sex-crazed pastor. **SPOILER** It wasn't until the final pages of the book where it's mentioned off-handedly that an arrest and conviction took place. So one long whine ended in a whimper. Again, I'm a fan of stories that feature the cat and mouse game between suspect and detective. I love when a murderer is tripped up by a minor detail that a sharp detective catches - and this book had none of that. My copy is headed for Goodwill.

My only issue with the book is that at the end I didn't know a thing about the victim. What kind of person was she? I don't have a clue. All I know about her is that her name was Dawn. Somehow this doesn't seem right.

Having a personal interest in this story because Dawn is my niece, I read it with a critical eye. None the less, I found nothing to criticize in Gregg's reporting or writing in this story of shocking incidents that led up to Dawn's murder as is told in "A Twisted Faith". In particular, Gregg gave us a glimpse into the husbands's twisted mind. The control Nick exhibited over his victims, let alone the murder of Dawn that Nick was convicted of, was a shocking glimpse into a dark and evil thought process of a killers mind. I aqppreciate Gregg's honesty and reporting of the grave story, as well as his expertise investigative skills and comprehensive writing of those facts. The story flowed in an easy to read manner that made it difficult to put down. Thank you Gregg for your portrayal of Dawn's murder and the murderer in "A Twisted Faith".

This book is a stark reminder to everyone just how blinded we can become when we refuse to acknowledge what is happening before our very eyes. So often, as was the case with this congregation, we want to avoid conflict and just ignore problems, hoping they go away. Nick Hacheney wormed and weaseled his way into the good graces of the two pastors at this church and then turned everyone against each other so that he could carry on as he liked behind the scenes. Had anyone taken a moment to see what was really happening, maybe his wife would still be alive today. While her murder was the final straw in dissolving that church, it was destroyed long before that even happened. And really, Hacheney does not seem all that suave as these women make him out to be. Were they really that desperate for attention that his words seemed that appealing to them?

I saw this story on a TC doc on tv and so I think it made it easier for me to keep all the players straight and while I don't think this is Olsen's greatest work, he did a good job in the interviews on the show. I liked the book because I grew up in a small Pentecostal church and saw affairs, emotional and otherwise break up families and yes, even the pastor had one. The most troubling person in this story for me is Annette Anderson. You want to despise her for what she did to her husband and herself and her friend Dawn (the deceased fire victim) but she is actually likable. My only real complaint here is that I read the word "ensconced" three times to describe where people were sitting and that was a little odd. OH! And I had to update this review to include the fact that two of the best TC reviewers on Amazon are credited in the author's acknowledgment portion of this book!!! So that alone is worth ordering and supporting this book!!!

First let me begin my review by letting you know that I am not a religious person. Sixteen years of Catholic education has left me a bit jaded, to say the least. Therefore, as I read Gregg Olsen's latest true crime novel A Twisted Faith I was stunned not only at the depravity of the main character, Nick Hacheney, but also his ability to brainwash and control a plethora of seemingly intelligent individuals. I use the word individuals because I think that Nick's control was not limited to the women he victimized. So many people wanted to believe that this man had a direct line to God himself that they all failed to recognize the sociopath and predator that he truly was.

When Nick Hacheney's beautiful wife Dawn was tragically killed in a fire in the couples home on December 26, 1997 the members of Christ Community Church rallied around their youth pastor in a show of undying support. Although not everyone was a fan of the young pastor they all had to admit that he didn't deserve the fate that God had just handed him. Reservations about Hacheney and his inappropriate behavior towards some of the female congregants were dismissed. His behavior was viewed as that of a man in severe emotional pain who was in dire need of comfort. Yet the comfort Nick sought was not just emotional, but physical as well. Within a week of his wife's passing Nick Hacheney had manipulated at least three of the women from Christ Community Church into sexual relationships. Some of these women acted willingly while others felt they had no choice because God had told Nick this was how he would get over the loss of his wife. The women believed they were doing God's will. It would take years before one woman, nearly destroyed by the betrayal she committed, would move from Nick's grasp and face the truth of what really happened. Her need to come forward would lead to Nick's downfall and finally the truth surrounding his wife's death would be told.

As I read this book I was utterly disgusted. Not at the writing. Gregg Olsen does an excellent job telling this story. He is thorough in his reporting of the facts and it is obvious that he gleaned his information directly from those who lived it. He was even able to interview Nick Hacheney himself for this book. It was Nick Hacheney who disgusted me. First off, this is not a good-looking man. He was overweight and balding, although even in his younger days he was not very appealing. How could this total loser convince so many women to either fall in love with him or sleep with him? The answer is: he brainwashed them. Pure and simple. He preyed upon their faith and belief in God to manipulate them into doing whatever it was that he wanted. I found it impossible to believe that these women were that naive, but it is much easier to judge a situation for what it truly is when looking from the outside in. It probably didn't help that Christ Community Church was acting more like a cult than a legitimate place of worship. This is due to the fact that it was being run by an egomaniac who actually thought he was an "apostle" of God. In my opinion he was just a con man looking also to prey upon people for power and monetary gain, as opposed to Nick Hacheney who wanted physical dominance over those he controlled. What angered me the most about the book was that everything Hacheney did he blamed on "God's will." The man never once has ever taken any responsibility for his actions. Whenever he was caught in a lie or compromising position he claimed that his behavior was dictated directly by God and out of his control. The truly ludicrous part is that everyone around him accepted that answer and allowed him to continue his depraved and immoral life without interruption. Could Dawn Hacheney have been saved? I don't know, but I do think that it took way too long for the wheels of justice to catch up to her murderer.

One of the reasons I like to read true crime is that I enjoy reading about the pathology of those who will stop at nothing, even murder to get what they want. I enjoy complicated stories full of sordid details about seemingly normal people. A Twisted Faith definitely fits that bill. The details of this story are absolutely mind-boggling and are almost impossible to believe. Yet if you go to Gregg Olsen's website you can read guest blogs and comments from those who lived this real life drama. Another reason I enjoy true crime is that I love reading about the investigation and trial that finally bring justice to the victims. This is the only area where I am disappointed. Traditionally Gregg Olsen focuses his books on the events and the characters, often stopping his story at the point when the accused is finally apprehended. I would have liked to read more about the second investigation into Dawn Hacheney's death and the trial that finally put her husband behind bars. I definitely recommend A Twisted Faith to anyone who loves true crime. Gregg Olsen does an excellent job out outline this complicated story for his readers. It is absolutely a book you need to read in order to believe!