Taylor Helzer was raised a devout Mormon, a wunderkind of the faith, fast-tracked for a life on the pulpit. So how does he go from religious prodigy to stockbroker and New Age dabbler and then to conman and mass murderer?
Claire Booth’s treatment of Helzer’s story is clear-eyed and detailed. It doesn’t pigeonhole Helzer or sensationalize his life and deeds (even if the book’s cover does). It tracks Helzer’s growth with what looks like journalistic fairness. Without seeking to indict the Mormon church, it also indicts it (or we do, once we absorb the facts). It lacks the range of Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven and the urgency of Netflix’s Evil Influencer, but a common thread runs through all three works. Too much religion in an insular community can be a dangerous thing. This is one of the good true crime books on the market.