I picked this up not only because true crime is interesting, but as a native Pacific Northwesterner who grew up in Tacoma , vacationed at Willapa, and has family in Battle Ground, I found the story and setting interesting. While it was a mostly compelling read, I did feel like some of the details could have been edited out for a more narrative approach that would appeal to a larger audience. My biggest quibble with the research of the book, is that Tillicum was mentioned as a neighborhood of Tacoma, when in fact it is not. It is part of a Lakewood, which is part of the. county, not Tacoma.

Great book. Gregg Olsen is a great writer of true crime events. He wrote this in great detail about the life of Shelly Knotek, her husband (she had more than one), her children, her friend Kathy, and all of the victims lives that she touched and manipulated. What a horrible person she was. It is unimaginable the things that these children and Kathy went through, or that she convinced her husband to help her. She was a conniving, sadistic manipulator all the way around. It's very sad that people actually suspected that she was evil and left children in the midst of this and did not intervene. You have to wonder what makes a person even be able to do these things. I do have a hard time believing that the girls went on to live normal lives. I just don't see how after all the suffering they went through they could just move on from this. As for her husband, he was a grown adult and he knew wrong was wrong. He is not much better than her, since he did allow it go on, but no just went along with her. The book is graphic, so if you don't like graphic, it's probably not for you.

Wow! I simply could not put this book down! Well written account of such a terrible true event.
Such horrifying accounts of the torture and pain that the Knotek sisters went through at the hands of their mother and father. I had never heard of this story before but found myself in shock and awe by what these girls went through.

#I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I haven't read true crime in quite awhile but Gregg Olsen was always a favorite author. Mostly due to meticulous research with the ability to put out the facts and letting you draw your own conclusions. And for the instinct to pick out really interesting cases. This book is no different.

I found it ontensely scary and I was practically reading it by peaking through my fingers. This mother was a really scary person. Her ability to completely control people with simple mind control was amazing.

I would like to point out that a lot of people may assign some blame to the daughters and nephew for not calling police. But I don't think most of us know what it's like to be brought up in constant fear. Where fear is your normal yet you never stop hoping it will change. So I would suggest withholding judgement. I do blame the husband, however. He was a grown man and participated willingly. He had the physical strength to say no.

There is also the matter of the lack of justice and I do assign some blame to the police for the second death.

All in all a very distinctive book.

This is a deeply disturbing book yet it's also quite fascinating. It's a book about a very evil and manipulating woman and mother. Michelle Knotek and husband David have three daughters and live in the state of Washington. She's very abusive to the daughters, but not so much while they're babies, and the oldest suffers the most along with a nephew who lives with them. The mother's friend also moves in and she abuses, tortures, and starves her which eventually results in her death. The same thing happens with another man who later moves in. The husband David goes along with everything, he is actually a victim of her abuse as well, but but he apparently lacked the power within to escape her. He is actually responsible for killing the nephew. After the two oldest daughters have been away for several years and realize the youngest daughter is now being abused, and struggling with the knowledge that their parents are responsible for the deaths of these people, they come forward and turn them in, they realize they have to get their sister out. This is the first book I've read by Gregg Olsen and he did a great job telling this story. It's a must read for lovers of true crime! My mind is still trying to digest the evil that lurks in Michelle Knotek, this book will stay with me forever. The fact that she will be released from prison in 2022 is scary and unbelievable. I highly recommend this book, and I give it 5 stars. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Outstanding telling of the ordeal centered around Shelly Knotek Who found joy in causing another’s pain. Time stood still for her daughters when their mother tortured her victims. Throughout the entire story and to this day, none of what happened was bad or Shelly’s fault. They made her do these things to them.

It’s amazing what happened went on for so long, and the inability to detect something was wrong. Too often we find comfort in believing things can’t possibly live up to our worst fears. I’m glad the daughters survived, and can move on.

Wonderful job presenting this story with respect.

This was not an easy read.

It details the horrors inflicted by Shelly Knotek on her kids, her friends and her family and is based on a true story.

The child abuse was in itself hard to read, but reading about the number of people that failed the kids, as well as Shelly's victims, Ron and Kathy including the police was infuriating. That no one noticed the abuse, the lies and the manipulation was maddening. Not to mention that the daughters themselves let this go on for so long and did nothing to prevent it, turning a blind eye to their cousin's murder as well as in the case of the older two their younger sisters torment. It just boggles my mind.

It kept me engrossed from beginning to end, although sometimes I just needed to take a break because of the content, but I wish it was written in more of a story style than a narrative as it made it a bit harder to engage with.

There were A LOT of details packed into this book, and I was worried it would be difficult to follow along, but the writing was descriptive, flowed well, and was so engaging that I couldn’t put it down!

It blows my mind that this story is based on real events. Shelly is literally the embodiment of my worst nightmare; the type of psychopath who can easily lure people in and bend them to her will. She is a perfect example of someone who should never have been a mother, yet she had three daughters of her own. What those girls experienced and had to witness throughout their childhood would haunt you for a lifetime. How they manage to survive is beyond me, but it just goes to show you the strength of the human spirit.

While not everyone who entered Shelly’s life made it out alive, her daughters made sure they received justice and weren’t forgotten.

While it was at times a difficult read and downright disturbing, it was eye opening and overall a great book. Highly recommend!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3088143875

I received a free ARC of If You Tell from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Decades of child abuse with multiple victims, multiple murders. Readers might question how the horror experienced inside the Knotek household could have possibly been kept a secret. How does Shelley Knotek convince her husband and others to be cruel when they are victims themselves? Shelley, the mother of three girls, had a long history of financial deception and deceit that should have raised questions through the most basic of investigations. Such financial mismanagement is usually an easy sell to investigate. Yet she managed to talk her way out of every situation, big and small, to the point where she ruled her family and boarders with an absurd stew of terror and concern, unbelievable cruelty and professed love. If even overt financial malfeasance doesn't bring intervention then the hidden bruises, filthy clothing and bodies, and missing individuals don't stand a chance.

The three girls - Nikki, Sami, and Tori - are used to walking on eggshells around their volatile mother. Never knowing what would set her off, they are abused in ways that read like a horror novel. Their father/stepfather, Dave, follows Shelley's directions and participates in some of the most horrific abuse. Sleeping outside naked, having open sores scrubbed with bleach, restricted from bathroom facilities are just a few of Shelley's punishments. When boarders like their cousin Shane or misfits Kathy and Ray are brought into the household, there is a temporary reprieve while Shelley has a new target. Ironically, Shelley is perceived as a kind savior to these loners and their devotion to her is confusing as the level of violence toward them increases. Even her daughters express their love for her.

What this book most reveals, however, is the failure of law enforcement, social service groups, and educational systems to imagine the worse and ask questions. Even when authorities are notified of disappearances there is little done to thwart Shelley's demon-like behavior. Somehow, the three girls manage to keep their sanity and their love for each other.

This is not an easy read since the abuse and violence are clearly enumerated. But, perhaps, each of us has a responsibility to read someone's real nightmare so we can then recognize our responsibility to step up when we sense something is wrong.
#IfYouTell #NetGalley

Like many readers these days, I'm a big fan of true crime - there's something a little twisted about it, but it's a gripping genre. If You Tell is technically a true crime book, but it's off to me - it did not appeal to me in the way that many other favorites in the genre did. If You Tell is about Shelly Knotek, a narcissistic and truly evil woman who tortures, and terrorizes her three young daughters and three others who become her victims. She has an inexplicable way of dehumanizing and abusing her victims but keeping them mum, giving them just enough affection that they come back and never tell.

Here's what was missing for me.
(1) Although Olsen adopts a narrative format like many riveting true crime books - he tells the story of the evil Shelly Knotek from even before her birth - I don't think this is the right format for this story. There's no "origin story" for Shelly - she is evil to her core, and there's really no one event that made her who she is. She exhibits attention-seeking, pathological lying, violent behavior even at a young age, and it makes you as a reader even more frustrated that these issues couldn't have been eradicated from the beginning.

(2) It's an extremely depressing read with little redemption for anyone. For the first 40% or so of the book, it's nothing but an unrelenting litany of Shelly's evil acts, deception, violence - cruelty so unthinkable that it makes you sick to your stomach. I can't even convey how difficult this was to read. Although I understand the psychology of parental/familial abuse and the reasons that victims stay silent, it's nevertheless frustrating to read and infer the number of opportunities that Shelly's abuse could have been exposed - if not to police, then to a family member or teacher or any sort of trusted person.

(3) It lacks the "procedural" element that makes many true crime books riveting. In many works in the genre, the plot builds with a cat-and-mouse sort of game: the initial crime occurs, police start on a trail and keep discovering new leads, the perpetrator continues, with his/her crimes often escalating until they are caught. This book does not follow such a narrative - in terms of plot development, it is fairly flat until the end - and even then, the police are shown as incompetent even when faced with many accounts of abuse.

Overall, this book was tough to read because of how senseless and unceasing Shelly's violence was to anyone who would become her victim. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to her actions, only that it gave her pleasure to dehumanize and abuse those around her. It's frustrating that this went on for so many years without anyone finding out. Of course, I feel so sad for the Knotek daughters and all who were victims of Shelly's torture - I'm sure this will affect them for the rest of their lives. Prepare yourself to read some truly shocking accounts of violence and maternal abuse here - it's not easy to read.

While she may have sought to keep them apart, to control them forever, she underestimated the strength of their bond. Sisters forever. Victims no more.

A documentary of the Knotek family. Shelly and David Knotek whom they welcomed into their home 3 unsuspecting victims who were repeatedly brutalized and eventually killed. How did these three become victims? Why didn't their three daughters tell anyone of the abuse they saw and experienced first hand of their mother and father? What made their mother Shelly Knotek a monster and why did their father David Knotek do her bidding? A very disturbing read but one that tells the truth of how easy it is easy for one person as Shelly to victimize and manipulate those around her. This is account is not about judgment on the sisters part, but how their emotions turned into survival. How the cycle kept going of abuse and Shelly's need to control every aspect to keep her secrets. In Shelly's case, secrets kill, literally.

The author interviewed the sisters and David Knotek who is now released from jail and living quietly. The toxicity of his relationship with his wife is painful to read but important to understand as to not condone but to help those that fall into the trap of a toxic relationship. His wife will be out in 2022 and any attempt to interview her was met with excuses. The woman is in denial of any wrong doing.

If you tell is about fear. Running from fear to facing your fear.

A Special thank you to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley, and Goodreads win for ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read a copy of If You Tell.

Such a sad story of what these people went through and for how long it went on! Gregg Olsen kept me engaged in the book, wondering what craziness would be next.

I can count on one hand the number of true crime books that I have read in my lifetime. I read this by mistake. It was Greg Olsen and the description ( I only glanced and that was enough to interest me) sounded so crazy, so I just assumed fiction. Once I paid more attention, I was hooked. These poor girls!! That insane, evil Mother! I hated this book, but in a good way. I'm so glad the Knotek sisters are not only survivors but THRIVERS! This story is not for the faint of heart, even more so because it is true, but if you can, I recommend it.

Thank you #NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Gregg Olsen for this ARC!

The most disturbing true crime book since A Child Called It, If You Tell unravels the story of the Knotek sisters and the house of horrors that they grew up in. With an eye towards the psychology behind child abuse, this book follows the lengths that children will go to in order to survive. An easy read, this immersive book is perfect for fans of true crime!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my opinion.

Wow, this was a tough read. I went into this book somewhat blind. I was no where near prepared to read some of the things that I’ve read. I just don’t understand how someone could get away with doing such horrible things for so many years.
Although, hard to read at times, this story was compelling. There were times that I almost quit, but curiosity got the best of me. I wouldn’t suggest this book to any average reader, but I think that fans of true crime may enjoy it.

This is the first true crime book I have read and it was terrifying because you know the whole time that something so terrible really happened. I normally read mysteries and thrillers which obviously don’t have the same impact. I must admit that I also find it disturbing that one has already been released from prison and the main culprit is due to be released in a couple of years. Sometimes people commit the most horrible crimes and it’s hard to believe that they will soon be around you.
Dave and Shelley Knopek visited horror, torture and death upon at least three people while also torturing their three daughters.
This was a very hard book to read because of the subject matter and I can’t say I enjoyed reading it. At the same time there was never a point where I thought I would just stop reading.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gregg Olsen has done a marvellous job in turning this harrowing true story into a readable novel. Yes, it reads like a fictional thriller - where the reader can safely enjoy the gratuitous and gory from the comfort of their arm chairs by reminding themselves its not real, it’s only a story, but Olsen does nothing but show respect for the subject-matter. “If You Tell” is eminently readable and thoughtfully rendered into a thriller-like format. As readers we are not spared the worst aspects of this story, but perhaps this is how it should be when we are faced with the very worst of evil. Evil is not some abstract metaphysical concept - it has a human face. Whilst this is a thread that runs through the narrative, we are also reminded - but not in a mawkish way - that sometimes good can triumph over evil. The nefarious, nasty and somewhat inhuman actions of humans may sell books, but in real life sometimes the indomitable goodness of the individual spirit is ultimately triumphant.

A powerful true story, written with great imagination and sensitivity by the talented Gregg Olson.

This is a tragic story. I had never heard of this crime so all the information was new to me. I think this put me at a disadvantage because the author seemed to assume that the reader had some basic knowledge of the crime. The story was hard to follow, especially in the beginning, because the author jumped right in with the perpetrator's family and childhood. The crimes were brutal but for some reason that part of the book seemed to drag on. The author seemed to skip around and be repetitive at times. I think this is a fascinating story but could have been told in a better way.

4/5 stars for this true crime

This book reads more like a horror/thriller book than a nonfiction story. At different points in the book I had to remind myself that this was a true story. The parents in this book are truly awful. All kinds of trigger warnings for this book, if you're sensitive to those feel free to ask! It was very well written. Love the cover!
Will definitely be reading ore from the author

My goodness, this is not an easy read! Gregg Olsen did an outstanding job
of bringing this story to us! If this is the kind of book you like, it is a must-read!
It is so shocking how horrible she was to those girls.

Thank you so much, Gregg Olsen, NetGalley, and the Publisher for giving me the
chance to read this well-written book!