This book is extremely detailed and informative and an excellent resource if you are interested in these crime cases. The case itself is terrifying - that a simple, common over the counter medicine could be tampered with - and Olson gives it the full attention that it deserves. Because this book is thorough, it did take me some time to get through it, but it was worth the read. One of the things that makes true crime books interesting to me is all the detail and the people that have played a part, no matter how minor, in piecing the case and complete timeline together. Olson does an excellent job here.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I don't read much True Crime any more; lately I find Fiction to be sufficiently disturbing. The 70's was my decade of True Crime obsession; but in 2014 I devoured Gregg Olsen's STARVATION HEIGHTS, a significantly perturbing narrative, and I've read several of his novels, so that I trust him to deliver an engrossing read.

AMERICAN MOTHER examines the "Excecdrin Tampering" cases in Western Washington in the 80's. Not quite like Chicago's "Tylenol Murders," (two deaths, not multiple), a suspect was charged and tried. I think the best part of this non-fiction work is the depths to which author Olsen both delineates and vivifies these characters. We really feel we can "know" them even as we recoil at their deeds. It's also a remarkable examination of Genetics and Environment (Nature vs. Nurture).

American Mother: The True Story of A Troubled Family, Motherhood, and the Cyanide Murderess That Shocked The World
by: Gregg Olsen
2022
4.0

#americanmonster #netgalley

Thank you to Netgalley for sending this novel for review.
On June 5, 1986, an emergency call for help was made by Stella Nickell. She said her husband, Bruce, was having a seizure. This phone call eventually lead to an investigation, which revealed something much worse. Something sinister.

It would become a well known tial, the Cyanide Murders. Bruce Nickell and Sue Snow both took capsules from a bottle of Excedrin that had been tainted with cyanide. How did this happen and how many more bottles were out there? They were all recalled.
Gregg Olsen shares a detailed and extensive look into these murders and into the past of the characters, and the complex relationships between them.
This engaging story begins at the crime scene and with the deaths of Bruce Nickell and Sue Snow, and slowly unraveled the details and plot of the poisoning.
Gregg Olsen is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, and also a new York Times bestselling author. His ability to be so in-depth and thorough, and make it so compelling and interesting, make him a true crime author I look forwatd to reading.
Recommended.

I still cannot fathom the things people, real people, will do to the people they supposedly love. This was a hard to read book but the author did a great job making me feel as though i was there. It was a book that I'm still thinking about and am glad I read, even though it was really hard to read in places.

I was unaware of the events that happened in Washington State decades ago.

I love true crime, and those who can deliver the message and facts correctly! Gregg Olsen does just that! He offers a unique, and fresh perspective as well as answering questions with the latest shocking facts!

Thank you NetGalley for the copy! I’m truly grateful

"American Mother" by Gregg Olsen is an incredibly detailed and captivating exploration of what was to me an unfamiliar true crime story. I would consider this a must-read for fans of shows like "Snapped" or anyone intrigued by true-crime stories. Olsen's journalistic deep dive into the subject matter is both engrossing and thought-provoking. If you're looking for a gripping, true-life narrative that keeps you on the edge of your seat, "American Mother" delivers an intense and immersive experience.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I read If You Tell awhile ago and was gripped from the beginning. Not just because of the story, but the writing was excellent, as well. So, when I saw the author had a new true crime out, I was really excited to grab it from NetGalley. However, I just never connected with this one and found myself skimming toward the end.

From Goodreads: At 5.02 pm on June 5, 1986, an emergency call came into the local sheriff’s office in the small town of Auburn, Washington State. A distressed housewife, Stella Nickell, said her husband Bruce was having a seizure. Officers rushed to the Nickell’s mobile home, to find Stella standing frozen at the door… Bruce was on the floor fighting for his life.

As Stella became the beneficiary of over $175,000 in a life insurance pay-out, forensics discovered that Bruce had consumed painkillers laced with cyanide.

A week later, fifteen-year-old Hayley was getting ready for another school day. Her mom, Sue, called out ‘I love you’ before heading into the bathroom and moments later collapsed on the floor. Sue never regained consciousness, and the autopsy revealed she had been poisoned by cyanide tainted headache pills. Just like Bruce.

While a daughter grieved the sudden and devastating loss of her mother, a young woman, Cindy, was thinking about her own mom Stella. She thought about the years of neglect and abuse, the tangled web of secrets Stella had shared with her, and Cindy contemplated turning her mom into the FBI…

Gripping and heart-breaking, Gregg Olsen uncovers the shocking true story of a troubled family. He delves into a complex mother-daughter relationship rooted in mistrust and deception, and the journey of the sweet curly-haired little girl from Oregon whose fierce ambition to live the American Dream led her to make the ultimate betrayal.

I really love a great true crime story and have a solid addiction to the ID channel, but I was endlessly bored with this one. This one offered a lot of backstory that I was bored by, and when we get to the trial, many of those chapters are just trial transcriptions. Instead of having a truly evil killer, Stella, she was just obnoxious, selfish, and not all that bright. I rolled by eyes a lot at her. I can’t say I’ll recommend this to everyone, but to those who love true crime might connect with it in a way I didn’t.

Gregg Olsen has a talent for writing true crime. His books are chock full of information and gives a great account of the actual events leading up to the tragedy being written about.. I was aware of the previous Chicago Tylenol tampering case, but hadn't heard about this one. You really get a feel for all the individuals involved. This book is a must read for any true crime aficionado!

What a compelling read! I had never heard about the product tamperings depicted in this book before reading it, despite living in the same region they occurred in all my life.
I love the way Olsen walks you through events leading up to the murders, and through the trial and thought process of many people involved. I can't even imagine how much work was put into collecting all of the information, especially for events that took place in the 80s. While I would have like to see more of what happened to the Snow family, I understand that the main focus turned to the Nickells, especially in regards to the trial.

This had the trappings of a good book, just needed an editor. So much information, some of which was not relevant to the central story. Some word for word testimony....which became cumbersome when the author also paraphrased the information for us. Just needed a good trimming. Posted review on goodreads

I wanted to enjoy this book but after the first few chapters of the murders it becomes a tornado of information about the family and everyone gets confusing. The family is horrible and everything they do is not ok. But it just keeps repeating itself over and over.

I really enjoyed this book. I love Greg Olsens books. He is an amazing author. This book had a lot of good information how what happened and I would definitely recommend to anyone.

I was disappointed to find that this is a re-print of a previously published book under a different title. While I've enjoyed Gregg Olsen's other works, this fell flat for me. It seemed disjointed and could not hold my attention.

My rating isn't reflective of the writing in the book. It was well written and covered the story of the crime and trial well. My rating is based on the people in this story. I didn't care for the parties in the story. I felt bad for the victims but not going to lie, any of the other people could have been the guilty party and they deserved to be imprisoned.

I received a Kindle copy of American Mother from Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own and not influenced by receiving the book for free.

Bruce Nickell dies unexpectedly and the coroner rules it natural causes. Soon after, Sue Snow, a complete stranger to Bruce, dies under mysterious circumstances. Turns out Sue Snow died from cyanide laced excedrin. Bruce's wife hears the news of Sue Snow and wonders if her husband Bruce could have died from cyanide. He took excedein daily.

What unfolds in American Mother (formerly Bitter Almonds) is the seemingly unconnected deaths by cyanide of Bruce Nickell and Sue Snow. Did the Pacific Northwest have its own tylenol killer? Did someone take inspiration from the infamous, still unsolved Chicago poisoning?

Gregg Olsen writes true crime so well that at times you forget it's not one of his fictional novels. True crime can sometimes be a bore but Olsen keeps you riveted and wanting to see the pieces come together.

I only gave it four coffees instead of five because there were so many people. It was hard to keep them straight at times. I would have benefited from a list of those involved and their relation to the case.

I would recommend this book to fans of true crime. I knew of the Tylenol murders but had never really looked into the story behind American Mother. I do recall seeing the Bitter Almonds book but had not yet read it.

Gregg Olsen is one of my favorite True Crime authors so when I saw he was publishing something new, I couldn't wait to read it. This book starts out compelling. At first, you're certain you know who did it. When the second bottle of Excedrin happens though, you start to realize there is more to the story. I couldn't wait to find out the conclusion to the poisonings that I had previously been unfamiliar with. It was a bit slower throughout the middle, but the ending is worth it!

This book didn’t disappoint, it had everything I wanted in a true crime book. But I will say that at the start of the book with the interdiction of all of the people it got a little muddy and I found myself flipping back to figure out who people were and how they were connected. I feel this could have been solved with a family tree at the beginning or even a little chart showing the key people of the book.

This woman and the people who supported her drove me nuts. She thought she was above the law. She played dumb when they told her how much insurance money she would receive if her husband's death was accidental (She seemed to think $20,000 and feigned surprise at $136,000), she played the victim, made people feel sorry for her, including her own daughter who took a whole six months to tell her suspicions to the police. She would have gotten away with it, until she told the authorities she thought her husband died of cyanide poisoning when they had initially ruled it was emphysema. She also killed a complete stranger who simply got in the way and bought the wrong bottle of pain medication. All these years, she has maintained her innocence when she is honestly nothing than a woman who took advantage of men and their money, and did all of this just so she could open her own exotic fish store. Once again, Gregg Olsen brought a true crime story to life and kept us readers interested. Although I found a lot of this book repetitive in many aspects of the case, he told the true story of Stella Nickell well, a true American monster.

American Mother is the story of Stella Nichols and how she poisoned Tylenol capsules in Washington state. It all came down to money, and her husband's insurance policy. The author, Gregg Olsen, does a fabulous job in laying out the story and giving out all of the details, for all of the victims and the investigation. I basically knew the story before reading it, but he gave details that I did not know and made it so interesting that it was hard to put down. I love his writing and he has never disappointed me in anything I have read of his. This is no disappointment either. The writing is superb and the storyline very interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone!

Disclaimer: I am not a true crime reader. I was really looking forward to this book, but ended up with more questions than when I started. All characters were seemingly unreliable and unlikeable and I feel like the story was told 2-3 separate times in different settings. Between police interviews, private interviews, and the retelling of the court dates, I grew bored and just wanted to finish in hopes of an exciting resolution which I did not receive.