Every Woman's Nightmare: The Fairytale Marriage and Brutal Murder of Lori Hacking

I couldn't put this book down. The adacity of this man... .it was her fault that he had to kill her because she had the "nerve" to berate him. When this crime happened I remember thinking "he did it" but his reasoning because she stood up to him. I hope he rots in prison. I hope all Mormen men don't think like this!

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.

It's interesting that Steven Long is attacked here for looking at Mark Hacking's Mormon religion in his book Every Woman's Nightmare, to try to understand why someone like him would kill. This author also took some flak for his last book too, Out of Control, as I recall. That was another darned good read - about Clara Harris, convicted of driving her Mercedes over her husband David's body multiple times. Those two were Southern Baptists and yes, Long pointed out some of that church's more unusual beliefs. But he did it by quoting members of the church's congregation! Just as in this book, he cites things about Mormons, but things that he learned from devout Mormons. So go figure! Lori Hacking's death was triggered when Mark's phony world came falling down around his ears. He slaughtered his pregnant wife because she'd caught him out in his web of lies just before they were due to move so he could start medical school. Except this man she trusted with her life, her childhood sweetheart, wasn't enrolled there. She was pregnant, so imagine her devastation? Long says that they had a big fight about it until Lori, totally worn out, finally went to bed. Unfortunately for Lori, though, Mark knew she was going to expose him. Mark's father was a prominent pediatrician, his siblings had also done well for themselves, so failure wasn't an option. It is so tragic to imagine Lori's devastation, and how she went to sleep that night, heartsick, with no clue what was to come. Her narcissistic husband just had too much invested in this mythical life of his to let her destroy it. The sick thing is that to him, killing his pregnant wife was a better option than losing his status as some kind of hero to his family and friends. So she had to die. Long tells both sides of the story. He also shows Lori Hacking as brilliant but with a temper and a sharp tongue. Long doesn't lay the blame for everything Mark Hacking did on his faith, he just puts it forward as a factor. To suggest otherwise is unfair and inaccurate. I'd recommend this book.

Boy! Is there something in the water? Maybe some reviewers here are angry just because this author reinforces what he writes about Lori and Mark's Mormon beliefs and faith by quoting some of the most provocative passages about male dominance in its Journal of Discourses? Or maybe they're mad because he talks about the Mormon doctine of Blood Atonement - justifiable homicide where the faithful are given permission to kill apostates? Perhaps they don't want us to know about these things. Well, don't be put off by any overtly biased reviews you read. Every Woman's Nightmare is a fascinating book. You can't hear about a crime like Mark's coldblooded murder of his wife Lori without wondering why, and Long explores various whys as any good journalist would do. As I understand it, Mormonism's always been a male-dominated religion. Boys are taught that they'll be gods of their own planet and the only way a woman can get into the Celestial Kingdom, the highest plane of Mormon immortality, is if she's alongside a husband. I can see that Mark Hacking did think he was some kind of god here on earth. And when Lori found out about the pack of lies he'd told her about getting into medical school, etc., she challenged him. With fatal results. Yes, Long thought Mark's faith played a part but he only came to the same conclusion as many others have done. Great book, give it a chance.

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.