The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story

Growing up, David Crow believed his Cherokee father was a war hero. He was actually a violent ex-con—and he turned his own son into an accomplice.

Spur Award Winner for Best Western First Nonfiction Book • Spur Award Finalist for Best Western Contemporary Nonfiction • IPPY Silver Award for Best Memoir • Next Generation Indie Award for Best Memoir (Overcoming Adversity) • International Book Award for Best True Crime • Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal, Nonfiction Drama

David and his three siblings grew up on the Navajo Indian Reservation idolizing their father, a self-taught Cherokee who dazzled them with stories of his World War II feats. But over time, David discovered the chilling truth: Thurston Crow was an ex-con and pathological liar whose twisted moral code justified cruelty, violence—even murder.

Using beatings and intimidation, Thurston forced him to carry out his criminal bidding. David’s mother, crippled by mental illness, was unable to protect him.

Through sheer determination, he carved out a life of his own, putting himself through college and building a successful career. When he finally found the courage to refuse his father’s demands, he unwittingly ignited a deadly plot of revenge.

David had only twenty-four hours to outsmart him—the brilliant, psychotic man who bragged that the three years he spent in the notorious San Quentin State Prison had been the easiest time of his life.

Raw, unflinching, and impossible to put down, The Pale-Faced Lie is a memoir of survival, resilience, and the staggering cost of escaping the grip of a dangerous parent.

“Both gut-wrenching and inspiring.”— Kirkus Reviews

“Empowering missive about the long shadow cast by an abusive parent.”— Publishers Weekly

“For fans of Tara Westover’s Educated , The Pale-Faced Lie . . . is a disturbing yet captivating memoir about how one man’s psychotic delusions can imprison an entire family.”— New York Journal of Books