DNF at 32%.
This book is way too long for what it talks about. I was so interested in the beginning but then it just dragged with this family’s story.

I was not familiar with the Stella Nickell’s case until I read the synopsis for this book. The 1980’s cyanide murders is an extremely fascinating case about a woman looking to kill two birds with one stone, receive a large sum of money, while also ridding herself of a husband she hated. She used the very famous Tylenol murder case as the vehicle to do so.

I liked the overall format and layout of this book. We begin with the actual crimes and immediate aftermath, and are then taken through Stella Nickell’s upbringing as well as her relationship with several men. We also take a deep dive into her relationship with her daughter Cindy, whom she physically abused, and who ultimately brought Stella to justice. Olsen then takes us through the entire investigation and court proceedings in which Stella is found guilty and sentenced to prison.

My only criticism of this book is that it is way too long. Coming in at 500 pages, there were parts of the book, Stella’s history for one, that dragged on a bit. I think it would have benefited significantly by being 150 pages shorter. Most of the criticism I have seen has been in relation to the length and some parts being very slow moving. A shorter book would have allowed for more even pacing.

All that said, I still really enjoyed the way Olsen presented the cyanide murder case and the vast amount of research and background he did for it. It is a fascinating case that gripped the country back in the 1980’s and has had decades long repercussions.

Read if you like:
•domestic suspense
•legal procedurals
•infamous criminal cases
•family dramas

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the gifted finished copy, and Bookouture and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

The book was obviously well-researched but included so many upfront details that it was a bit too grueling and I found myself reading other books instead. Sadly to say, I just couldn't finish it so this rating is based on approximately a little over half the book.

I like listening to the odd true crime podcast and as I had temporarily run dry, this seemed like a good option. I remember here in the UK hearing about the Tylenol poisonings and now, whenever I see or hear about the brand, I immediately hop to the terrible publicity surrounding it.

I had never heard of the Excedrin capsule poisonings and therefore was intrigued to know more. Stella Nickell was put on trial for killing her husband and another innocent stranger.

There is a good level of detail as the author unpicks the whole case and meticulously goes through the people involved both within in the family and in the broader community. My interest was certainly piqued for the first quarter, when the scene was largely being set – discovering that there were containers of the medication laces with a poison, and the investigations found green elements with the cyanide and it felt like the forensic journey was about to start. It then seemed to meander off up rabbit holes – all doubtless important to full understanding – but I guess I lost my early level of interest.

I found the story wasn’t sufficiently sharp and peppy for my taste, and at times felt laboured as the author trawled back and forth through the details of lives that were blighted by violence and deprivation. It was well written and well narrated, I just didn’t feel gripped.

This was my first book by Gregg and it will definitely not be my last. I love anything true crime. Thanks NetGalley for letting me listen to the audiobook.

Much Anticipated Audiobook…
The audiobook version of the complete and updated true story of Stella Nickell and the cyanide poisonings that shook small town America and resonated everywhere. The narrator does a sterling job here highlighting how, with sleight of hand, the author paints a detailed and credible picture of the the main players in this real life drama, the families concerned and of Stella herself. Narration is well nuanced and appropriate. The narrative itself takes the reader right up to and after the court case and never lets interest wane. An account which is as unsettling as it is compelling and immersive. This is a much anticipated update of the author’s original book ‘Bitter Almonds’ - should the reader have read the original book, as I have, this updated edition contains recent enlightening and intriguing information which is more than well worth a visit. True crime aficionados should not be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the early listen. What a listen. I remember when that happened and this really put it into perspective. Narrator did a great job.

I LOVED if you tell so the second I saw this I had to request. I love his stories because they are mostly true crime and not a functional story line. I do have to say I wasn’t as into this book tho as I wanted to be. He definitely does his research regarding the matters but something didn’t grasp my attention as badly as I was hoping it would but still I give it three stars. It was a nice long book and I live for long books! Def be aware tho this is a sad story line before diving in.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Bookouture Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest true crime novel by the one-and-only Gregg Olsen and wonderfully narrated by Karen Peakes - 4.5 stars!

A few years after the Tylenol tampering tragedies, Stella Nickell is on trial for lacing Excedrin capsules with cyanide, causing both her husband and a complete stranger to die. Gregg Olsen meticulously researches the background and family of Stella, including Cindy, the daughter who would later testify against her in court.

I have been a true crime junkie since my teens, and have eagerly awaited Olsen's books, whether his true crime or fiction books. I really enjoyed listening to the discussion between the narrator and author at the end of the book, as well as his afterword. It's so frightening to think that someone could be so evil as to tamper with a product that could kill any one of us. In this case, as in so many, it all comes down to money. Another winner by this author!

I'm really torn with this one. It's the second Gregg Olson true crime book I've read, although I had a kindle version of the other one.

He is excellent at writing true crime nonfiction and I went into this completely blind, knowing nothing about the cyanide poisonings in Excedrine capsules in the 1980s or the people involved. I found the whole case really interesting.

The audiobook is well narrated however it feels super long. In the middle it dragged a little but that's because of the amount of information necessary to relay the events of the case. I would certainly read/listen to another Gregg Olson book again.

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for an advanced copy.

I still cannot figure out if she was guilty or not!! I’m so on the fence about it. Someone else read this so we can discuss and figure it out! This one is good for anyone who enjoys true crime. It dogs deep into history to give us the full picture of what happened.

🌀Synopsis
It’s June 1986 and there have just been two deaths from cyanide poisoning. They both have some odd circumstances surrounding them and facts don’t seem to be lining up.

Finally, the picture starts to come together and a potential perpetrator is identified. Stella Nickell. She has a tumultuous past and her daughter is claiming she knows her mother killed her husband.

They go to trial where mother is against daughter. It’s intense and the evidence swings either way. The jury feels that and gets slightly hung up. When a juror comes forward about a call she received, the whole trial is at risk. The lawyers decide to move forward and now Stella will learn her fate.

Gregg Olson does a fantastic job of writing true crime nonfiction about dysfunctional families and deplorable women who have killed others. I was horrified by “If You Tell” and his book “American Mother” was equally as horrific. American Mother follows the case and people involved in the cyanide poisonings in Excedrine capsules in the 1980s. The audiobook is well narrated and I recommend checking it out, especially if you love true crime!

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

This book is about 1986 murders of Bruce Nickell and Sue Snow. Both died after they took cyanide-laced pain relievers. It was actually a copycat crime and I remember when this all went down.

Gregg Olsen clearly has done a lot of research and this is a well told, detailed telling of the story of the accused, Stella Nickell. It's a sad, shocking story any way you look at it.

Being a true crime fan, I loved the detailed look back at the psychological aspects of the case and relationships of everyone involved, including the innocent people who were not a party to all of the madness but got swept up in this nonetheless.

A solid true crime book! If you're a fan, check this one out.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Thread Books for ARC and ALC. Receiving both allowed me to knock this one out in a day!

Admittedly I did not have any prior knowledge about the famous Cyanide murders before listening to this audiobook. I was shocked but kept turning the pages to find out if she did it. I found that Greg obviously did a lot of research for this one and appreciated his thoughts at the end of the book. Greg portraited a very entertaining read. The writing really brought the characters to life and told this story with great passion. I liked it.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to review this ARC.

This was originally published back in 1993 and titled Bitter Almonds .

How scary to think that medicine you rely on for headaches or a 'caffeine boost' has been tampered with and could have fatal consequences.

Featuring ~ true crime murder story from the 1980's, cyanide poisoning, 2 main families ~ with MULTIPLE side characters, dual timeline, references to molestation & child abuse & child neglect & infidelity, court proceedings

Sometimes books are slow going for me, but then pick up ~ vice versa for this one. I enjoyed the beginning, but then it got super draggy and too informative and I was just ready to be done, so I bumped er up to 2.5x. The excessive amount of information makes for a longer read/listen, which I suppose might be common with non-fiction. It was narrated by Karen Peakes for 14 hours and 17 minutes. Her male voices were okay.

If you are a True Crime fan, Gregg Olsen should be on your radar. You can tell he spends so much time researching and learning about the cases he writes about. American Mother was a bit lengthy but so good. I would highly recommend the audiobook!

I am a sucker for true crime stories - so after having read one of Greg Olsen’s true crime/ non fiction reads, I was excited to request this audio on Netgalley. However, while the writing was good, I found I wasn’t that invested in the story and considered not finishing on multiple occasions. Where it’s such a wide net for a crime, it didn’t have that personal feel and I’ve realized that is something I tend to find the most interesting. The intricacies and psychology. I’m also not interested in reading about the Unabomber so I think this is just personal preference here. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Thank you to Bookouture & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc

I am a true crime junkie. As a teen, the ONLY books my mom checked out of the library were true crime. Ann Rule lived on our coffee table. Being an early reader, I was always picking up her finished books and consuming them.

As an adult, I read a variety of genres, but still come back to true crime repeatedly. Gregg Olsen has written a couple dozen books and I've read several. One thing is clear, this guy digs deep into the crime and becomes as knowledgeable as one can into the mind of a killer.

American Mother tells the story of the mid 1980s cyanide killings by Stella Nickell, copycatting off the Tylenol tampering murders earlier in Chicago.

Murder should not be entertaining, but Olsen manages to share the facts methodically and captivatingly.

My personal experience - as I was listening to this soon to be released title I kept thinking it sounds so familiar. Ultimately I went to Goodreads, and discovered this was an updated version of a book released in 1995 under the title Bitter Almonds. I read that book. Goodreads didn't have it on my shelf because, alas, that was the early days of the internet. All of the story came back to me. And within this book they kept referencing another true crime book read by Nickell, Bitter Harvest, and I had read that one too.

Two small critiques - I dislike the book title on the new version. I wish they had kept it titled Bitter Almonds. I also think, as an audio book, this was a tad too long. So much detail which could have been trimmed because 14 hours is a real investment and with the exacting amount of information included, my mind did start to wander.

Love Olsen, happy to encourage you to read this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to listen in advance of the November 8, 2022 release.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC for my honest review.

I really enjoyed listening to most of this book. It was meticulously researched, written with a literary flair, and very clearly told a story without taking a strong bias. The story itself was dramatic because a few of these people are larger than life. Throughout this entire book, I wasn’t sure whether the main suspect had committed the crime, because the author let the facts speak for themselves. The narrator did a great job bringing life to the different people in this book.

However, in exchange for being meticulously researched, there were large swaths of this book that were verbatim court records or records from the law enforcement officers. Some of it was also verbatim testimony given directly to the author. I feel like some of this could have been summarized in favor of getting to the point.

Overall I would recommend this book if you were into true crime and want to hear about a few women with big personalities!

I am mixed on this one. While I enjoyed the storyline, I felt like it had such extraneous facts that easily could have been chopped to make it better. This was a mystery I had never heard of and I would love to read more like this, little known true crimes.