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If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood Kindle Edition
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A #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon Charts, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s shocking and empowering true-crime story of three sisters determined to survive their mother’s house of horrors.
After more than a decade, when sisters Nikki, Sami, and Tori Knotek hear the word mom, it claws like an eagle’s talons, triggering memories that have been their secret since childhood. Until now.
For years, behind the closed doors of their farmhouse in Raymond, Washington, their sadistic mother, Shelly, subjected her girls to unimaginable abuse, degradation, torture, and psychic terrors. Through it all, Nikki, Sami, and Tori developed a defiant bond that made them far less vulnerable than Shelly imagined. Even as others were drawn into their mother’s dark and perverse web, the sisters found the strength and courage to escape an escalating nightmare that culminated in multiple murders.
Harrowing and heartrending, If You Tell is a survivor’s story of absolute evil—and the freedom and justice that Nikki, Sami, and Tori risked their lives to fight for. Sisters forever, victims no more, they found a light in the darkness that made them the resilient women they are today—loving, loved, and moving on.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherThomas & Mercer
- Publication dateDecember 1, 2019
- File size4464 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“This riveting account will leave readers questioning every odd relative they’ve known.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Olsen presents the story chronologically and in a simple, straightforward style, which works well: it is chilling enough as is.” —Booklist
“An unsettling stunner about sibling love, courage, and resilience.” —People Magazine (book of the week)
“If You Tell accomplishes what it sets out to do. The result is a compelling portrait of terror and a powerfully honest, yet still sensitive, look at survival.” —Bookreporter
“This disturbing book recounts the unimaginable abuse and torture three sisters Nikki, Sami, and Tori Knotek endured from their own mother, Shelly…the strong bond they form to survive and defy their mother’s sadistic tendencies is inspiring.” —BuzzFeed
“A true-crime tour de force.” —Steve Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of No Stone Unturned
“Even the most devoted true-crime reader will be shocked by the maddening and mind-boggling acts of horror that Gregg Olsen chronicles in this book. Olsen has done it again, giving readers a glimpse into a murderous duo that’s so chilling, it will have your head spinning. I could not put this book down!” —Aphrodite Jones, New York Times bestselling author
“A suspenseful, horrific, and yet fascinating character study of an incredibly dysfunctional and dangerous family by Gregg Olsen, one of today’s true-crime masters.” —Caitlin Rother, New York Times bestselling author
“There’s only one writer who can tell such an intensely horrifying, psychotic tale of unspeakable abuse, grotesque torture, and horrendous serial murder with grace, sensitivity and class…A riveting, taut, real-life psychological suspense thrill ride…All at once compelling and original, Gregg Olsen’s If You Tell is an instant true-crime classic.” —M. William Phelps, New York Times bestselling author
“We all start life with immense promise, but in our first minute, we cannot know who’ll ultimately have the greatest impact on our lives, for better or worse. Here, Gregg Olsen—the heir apparent to legendary crime writers Jack Olsen and Ann Rule—explores the dark side of that question in his usual chilling, heartbreaking prose. Superb and creepy storytelling from a true-crime master.” —Ron Franscell, author of Alice & Gerald: A Homicidal Love Story
“A master of true crime returns with a vengeance. After a decade detour into novels, Gregg Olsen is back with a dark tale of nonfiction from the Pacific Northwest that will keep you awake long after the lights have gone out. The monster at the heart of If You Tell is not your typical boogeyman, not some wandering drifter or man in a van. No. In fact, they called her…mother. And yet this story is about hope and renewal in the face of evil and how three sisters can find the goodness in the world after surviving the worst it has to offer. Classic true crime in the tradition of In Cold Blood and The Stranger Beside Me.” —James Renner, author of True Crime Addict
“This nightmare walked on two legs and some of her victims called her mom. In If You Tell, Gregg Olsen documents the horrific mental and physical torture Shelly Knotek inflicted on everyone in her household. A powerful story of cruelty that will haunt you for a long time.” —Diane Fanning, author of Treason in the Secret City
“Bristling with tension, gripping from the first pages, Gregg Olsen’s masterful portrait of children caught in the web of a coldly calculating killer fascinates. A read so compelling it kept me up late into the night, If You Tell exposes incredible evil that lived quietly in small-town America. That the book is fact, not fiction, terrifies.” —Kathryn Casey, bestselling author of In Plain Sight
From the Publisher
Despite their childhood, the women survive, even flourish, after their mother is incarcerated. But the PTSD and triggers abound to this day. For one, a morning shower can be a trigger; for another, it’s the smell of bleach that brings on the bad memories.
New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen is a master of both true crime and domestic suspense, and with If You Tell he has brilliantly combined his talents. The riveting true story told by the three sisters who survived their brutal childhood in the tiny coastal logging town of Raymond, Washington, reads like a fast-paced thriller. But unfortunately, it is all true. Every single excruciating detail.
- Liz Pearsons, Editor
About the Author
#1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Gregg Olsen has written more than thirty books, including Lying Next to Me, The Last Thing She Ever Did, and two novels in the Nicole Foster series, The Sound of Rain and The Weight of Silence. Known for his ability to create vivid and fascinating narratives, he’s appeared on multiple television and radio shows and news networks, such as Good Morning America, Dateline, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and MSNBC. In addition, Olsen has been featured in Redbook, People, and Salon magazine, as well as in the Seattle Times, Los Angeles Times, and New York Post. Both his fiction and nonfiction works have received critical acclaim and numerous awards, including prominence on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Washington State officially selected his young adult novel Envy for the National Book Festival, and The Deep Dark was named Idaho Book of the Year.
A Seattle native who lives with his wife in rural Washington State, Olsen’s already at work on his next thriller. Visit him at www.greggolsen.com.
Product details
- ASIN : B07Q5TL9SQ
- Publisher : Thomas & Mercer (December 1, 2019)
- Publication date : December 1, 2019
- Language : English
- File size : 4464 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 431 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #174 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

I live in rural Washington State (about a mile as the crow flies from Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard's infamous Starvation Heights sanatarium). My thriller, THE LAST THING SHE EVER DID was an Amazon Charts bestseller. LYING NEXT TO ME was a reader favorite, charting at No. 1 in the Kindle store and the bestseller's list at the Washington Post. My true crime book, IF YOU TELL, found a home on Amazon Charts for more than 140 weeks. In fact, it was the bestselling Kindle ebook of 2020 (and the second-bestselling of 2021). I've been a guest on Dateline NBC, NPR, Good Morning America, The Early Show, FOX News, CNN, Anderson Cooper, Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, Extra, Access Hollywood, 20/20, Snapped, Deadly Women, William Shatner's Aftermath, and A&E's Biography. You can find out more about me at www.NotoriousUSA.com.
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At times I was shocked at all the times no one did anything to leave or get help. But I forget how pervasive fear is. The whole “don’t rock the boat” mentality. I should know better because I was raised by a violently turbulent mother who could be the sweetest, funniest and lovable person and in matter of seconds (always feels instantaneous) turn into the devil. I saw a little bit of myself in each of the sisters. The living inside your head fantasizing about revenge or better yet leaving them behind and forgotten for good and then the sicker and more confusing part of you that still loves them and yearns for the unconditional love in return. But this mother was unhinged 24/7 and completely unredeemable. EVIL.
These children were conditioned their entire lives by this “master manipulator” (gaslighting a very powerful tactic) that this is what family is. This what’s normal behavior. But they knew deep in their souls that this wasn’t right. The children I could understand. They were too afraid to speak out because they had been taught that they had no where to go. Their worse fear was that no one would believe them (because sometimes they had a hard time believing, “aka understanding” it themselves) and being brought to even greater heights of torture in retaliation. What I had trouble fathoming were the so called adults.
I suppose that shouldn’t have shocked me either, because I’m more than aware that most adults don’t have it all together and can live the majority of their lives in a perpetual state of ignorance. It’s so easy. Out of sight out of mind and all that nonsense.
But some people, like Shelly, who was referenced as an apex predator throughout this story had that uncanny ability to sense and then weed out the very vulnerable. People who needed a friend. Were given the barest of minimums in kindness and support and then had it all taken away. By that point they were already in too deep to really understand what they had gotten themselves into. Broke my heart. There are so many lost souls in this world just trying to figure things out and at the same time willing to give everything they have to offer to others. Making it easier to be taken advantage of, which would be bad enough.
But these unfortunate souls had the bad luck to make contact with Shelly. And be sucked into her abyss of gaslighting, finger pointing and violent rhetoric that had everyone under her roof a husk of their former selves. And that’s what she thrived off of. Like a vampire sucking the life out of her intended victim. She’d drain them of their confidence, free will and any sense of purpose until they were as empty as she was.
It’s hard to imagine that some people are just born evil. But I 100% believe that Shelly is one of those people. Maybe she’s missing something in her brain that provides the ability to truly empathize with others and know what it means to do right by someone other than themselves. But Shelly lacked all of the qualities that make us truly human. I know we all have the ability to be savage and take on the world when we’re being cornered. But Shelly, even as a little girl relished in her ability to be rotten.
There was a family history of abuse and neglect. Maybe it was in the blood or learned behavior? Maybe it was too late for Shelly to change by the time she was already brought to live with her estranged father at 6 years old? That’s terrifying.
There are no answers as to why this woman did what she did. It’s frustrating that so many people were aware of the situation and did nothing, but it’s not hard to understand why. If not for her inherent laziness and her incredible sense of entitlement, she could have been the leader of a cult that took over entire communities or a country if her vision went beyond just humiliating and dominating over one person at a time. She was so very good at lying and manipulating. Not everyone bought into. But she knew how to pick her battles and who to mess with. She was always in it to win it. She just never realized that her crimes would come to light by her own daughters. Her original victims. The girls by all accounts should have been her own mirror images. But they were born with a conscious. And after years of trying to make it out and stay out they could finally do the one thing that was never an option before. Stand up to the monster.
I’m emotionally wrecked after reading this. But it’s paced so well and the subject matter really hits home. Triggering for sure, but written in a way that makes it hard to put down. Sorry for this incredibly long and irrelevant review.
I had so many thoughts and emotions as I read this!
If you have any sort of abuse trauma or are not comfortable reading about abuse and torture I do not recommend this book to you, but if you are familiar w this story or other true crime you may be a fan. It is the accounts of what this family went through so it’s not sugar coated and it is not fiction.
My heart ache because all the people who actually live through this kid of abuse and are stuck in these situations.
Olsen did an incredible job bringing the story to life. Not just Shelly, Dave, and the children, but their home life, their family visitors, the abuse, the fear, and everything in between. The things that occurred in that household are inhumane and despicable. Truly, Shelly Knotek deserved far worse than she recieved.
My only issue with the writing was the back and forth through time. At times, it made it harder to follow what was going on as the reader is forced to determine what point in time the story is at and what already transpired. The back and forth would not have been so bad were it just each part that began again at a specific date and moved forward through time. However, even between chapters within a single part the timeline would go back and forth, requiring the reader to pay close attention to what the date is in order to maintain a clear frame of reference. It was not a deal breaker, but it simply makes it harder to read with ease.
Top reviews from other countries
We get to first meet Shelly as a kid who comes to live with her dad when he remarries. To be honest it didn’t take long for me to understand why her own mother didn’t want her. As a mother I didn’t think it was possible to give up on a child but Shelly would test the patience of a saint. You do wonder what her life was like before hand and if this resulted into the person she became or if she was just born evil.
Over time she gets married a couple of times as well as having kids. You would hope that this might have softened her but sadly she is as manipulative and mean with her children as she is with everyone else in her life. The more I read of her actions, the more angry and infuriated I got. At times I couldn’t understand why some of the adults allowed her to treat them as she did but she is a master of getting people exactly where she wants them and making them fear her.
Events and what went on behind closed doors is told by the people who knew her best. To start with her step mother and then later her own daughters. Even her husband who whilst I understood how he was manipulated, I couldn’t forgive his actions and not for standing up to his wife and his part in the murders especially. The levels of abuse her poor daughters had to endure as well as the victims was horrific. The fact it was a woman that was behind it, somehow intensified the horrors of what I was reading.
There is no happy ending as such with a true crime novel. What was endearing though was the sisters bond and relationship. These are women of which you couldn’t blame due to their background, if they had turned out differently. They have gone on to show though that with love, hope and strength, that what happens in the past, does not have to define you. Living in the UK I hadn’t heard of this family before but I am so glad I have read it and am grateful to the sisters for sharing their story and for the author for doing a great job in bringing it to a wider audience.

























