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A review by maddness22
If You Tell by Gregg Olsen
dark
sad
fast-paced
0.25
I do not respect this book in the slightest. It's an attempt to capitalize on one family's horrible tragedy during the height of the true crime fascination. This is poorly written without any substance to the cruelty it outlines. There's no additional psychological insight into the mother's sadistic nature, no actual mention of the "bonds of sisterhood" until the final 10% of the book and even then it's a rather weak grab, and the timeline of events is written in the worst and most confusing manner. This was literally just composed for shock value and really only lists the acts of crimes committed by the narcissistic and sadistic mother and her pathetic husband.
If it was meant as a warning for Shelly's release or even as a toolkit for others to recognize how severe abuse can be so subtle in its nature to integrate so fully in a victim's life, the message could've been conveyed with about 200 less pages and repetitive drawn out torture scenes. However, these lessons are barely conveyed successfully anyways. The writing is vague, confusing, and the author truly uses the word "niggled" un-ironically at one point. Like? Seriously? That's not even a real word and it sounds childish at best.
Skip this shock value torture nonsense. Just know their mother was vile and we need to believe in victims.
If it was meant as a warning for Shelly's release or even as a toolkit for others to recognize how severe abuse can be so subtle in its nature to integrate so fully in a victim's life, the message could've been conveyed with about 200 less pages and repetitive drawn out torture scenes. However, these lessons are barely conveyed successfully anyways. The writing is vague, confusing, and the author truly uses the word "niggled" un-ironically at one point. Like? Seriously? That's not even a real word and it sounds childish at best.
Skip this shock value torture nonsense. Just know their mother was vile and we need to believe in victims.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail