Reviews tagging 'Death'

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

127 reviews

kamrynkoble's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.5

This was the best true crime nonfiction I’ve read so far. I flew through it.

I know this is a personal preference, but I liked that this focused on an active narration and witness/victim perception. I prefer this style to true crime that’s mainly comprised of court docs, police records, and criminals’ journals. This still summarized the police and court case, but it’s not the focus. It was organized well, wonderfully paced, and struck the right balance of being thorough without being laborious to read. 

Some of the other reviewers commented that this was too much “what” and not enough “why.” I, for one, prefer not to have authors inject their own personal opinions and speculations. I appreciated the afterword which spoke more to psychology, and a bit more analysis of Shelly specially would’ve been interesting. But for someone who reads a lot of true crime, I liked the author’s “position” in telling the narrative—telling, without injecting himself. 

It’s so evident that the three children of the abuser were highly involved in this project. I was invested in these girls, and had real emotional reactions to what they and the other victims faced. 

This includes heavy trigger warnings for abuse/torture of all kind against adults and children. If you’re sensitive to these elements, I’d recommend checking out a more thorough warning. 

If you’re looking for a riveting and perfectly executed true crime book, I recommend this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Murder, Death, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Blood

gellyreads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.5

I feel like I should probably give this 5 stars because I devoured it. But, it just felt like something was missing. I'm not sure. Although, this is the best true crime book I've read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, Death, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Child death, Torture, Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, Slavery, Cursing, Confinement, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Blood

emilyrosebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

As far as true crime goes, this is fast paced, fascinating, and like watching a train wreck happen. I apparently don't have the stomach for true crime, at least now when it comes to child abuse, because I thought this was horrific. I am giving it 5 stars because as far as true crime goes it is a fantastic book, but you better have a strong stomach to get through the prolonged sadistic torture Shelly Knotek dispenses on her many victims. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Torture, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Child death

reneeschauer's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Gaslighting, Cancer, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

debc64's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Murder, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

systemofanoun's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Slavery, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Cancer, Body shaming, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Animal death

asmokeybear's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Cursing, Confinement, Drug use, Torture, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Excrement, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

megansreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.25

Wow. I’ve never read a true crime book before and this was diving into the deep end. The author tells this horrific account with great compassion for the sisters and other victims. I would recommend this story to true crime lovers, criminal psychology enthusiasts, and people who believe in the power of sisterhood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Excrement, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt

marycfrank78's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Bullying, Torture, Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, and Murder

ohyeahshebomb's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Abandonment, Violence, Addiction, Excrement, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Torture, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical trauma, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder