If You Tell cover art

If You Tell

A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood

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If You Tell

Written by: Gregg Olsen
Narrated by: Karen Peakes
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About this listen

2021 Audie Award Nominee for Best Nonfiction Audiobook

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.

©2019 Gregg Olsen. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
True Crime Disappearance Emotionally Gripping Exciting Scary Fiction Disturbing Thriller Mystery Serial Killers True Crime Amish Nonfiction
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What the critics say

"Peakes's performance sucks the listener into the scenes of abuse, torture, sadism, and, eventually, murder committed by Shelly.... Peakes's narration is compelling." --AudioFile Magazine

"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

What listeners say about If You Tell

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Well written Horrible story

Unbelievable how someone can be so cruel.
Good explanation last chapter. Hard to wrap your head around it.

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Dark But Powerful Story With Documentary Style

This is an extremely powerful story with a documentary like narration. It’s definitely very dark, but extremely engaging, and the sisters in the story showed tremendous courage in coming forth and having their story told.

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absolutely chilling with a fantastic narrator.

the narrator was amazing and the story just keeps escalating and escalating beyond belief. normally with true crime stories I'll feel like there is padding but that wasn't the case here.

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Very engaging

A shocking yet engaging story of siblings sticking together through the toughest (and sickest) of times.

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OMG

this is a captivating and frightening story with a just end. absolutely must read!! enjoy!

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Hooked from the first chapter.

A mother of 3 daughters...still can't believe ppl like her do exist. Horrifying but couldn't stop reading.

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Couldn't stop listening

I was hooked from the start. Simply amazing what these girls have endured and survived. Must read.

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Very Dark story

The author and narrator are both good. The story is very disturbing though. I cannot believe the evil of the main character and the complacency of all the people in the story. 3 people are tortured, and killed. They die a slow painful death and yet no one tear themselves out of the situation, and the family members held their silence until its too late. And the murderer only got less than 20 years!!!

It is a story that has to be told but I can't help but think that there is something seriously wrong with our system to allow such atrocities to happen.

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Wow

I was shocked and horrified by this book! Yet, I couldn’t stop listening. The Author gets my vote for telling such a brutal story in such a way that I wanted to hear more.

It wasn’t until the end that I found out it was a true story. Holy. Cow. Some people!!

Thanks Audible, for keeping me entertained!

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chilling tale

unbelievable story about abuse. can't believe this took place. feel so bad for the girls involved

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