American Mother by Gregg Olsen

I was familiar with the early 1980s deaths in Chicago that resulted from people consuming tainted Tylenol capsules…but I truly don’t remember the (copycat?) tainted Excedrin capsules in the Seattle area in the mid 1980s. In 2002, prolific author (of both fiction and nonfiction) Gregg Olsen published Bitter Almonds : The True Story of Mothers, Daughters, and the Seattle Cyanide Murders. And I recently received a copy of American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Motherhood, and the Cyanide Murders That Shook the World from Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

Olsen is known for his true crime and thrillers, and does a great job with both. I admit I cruised through some of American Mother, after reading about 100 pages, getting a strong sense of deja vu, then realizing I had read Bitter Almonds. I still thought there were some incredibly complicated family dynamics at work (to say the least) in the story about a woman so desperate to kill her husband (insurance $ is often a strong motivator!) that she poisoned him with cyanide and then, realizing her likelihood of being caught, she thought it would be a good idea to tamper with some more Excedrin and then scatter the bottles around Seattle suburbs. The mother-daughter relationships are fascinating, especially the contrast between the murderer/her daughter and the innocent victim/her daughter.

I had a day to waste, and I did it with this book! It will be appreciated by true crime aficionados, Gregg Olsen fans, and anyone who appreciates solid research. Four stars.

First thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion. I am such a fan of the author and always look forward to his books. I was not aware of this story so it was very interesting to me. Gregg writes in such a fashion that makes it hard to put down. My only critique would be that the trial could have been shorter as much of it was just a retelling of what was already stated earlier. A solid read though for any true crime buff!

Another great read by Gregg Olsen!
The amount of research and time spent in the writing of this story is amazing! There is so much detail and information included, makes a perfect read for a true crime fan!

This had a great build up as do all of Olsens novels however it becomes hard to follow. I really wanted to be able to follow along but too many people get thrown in and it becomes like a courtroom drama or circus. I couldn't follow very well despite wanting to. Some parts also read fairly choppy and text book like.

If you love true crime stories that unravel almost as if they were fiction, then you must read Gregg Olsen. After “If I Tell, “ a story of a toxic serial killer mother who almost included her three daughters as victims, Olsen has updated his 1993 “Bitter Almonds” narrative about another evil mother who also had a daughter who is key to mom’s downfall.

In this case, it’s Stella Nickell, a wannabe Tylenol poisoning copycat, who got away with killing her husband in 1986, was unhappy about the small “natural death” insurance payout, and then decided to tamper with Excedrin capsules, killing a total stranger. She then drew attention to herself by claiming her husband also consumed tainted product (which would increase her insurance claim) and sued Bristol-Myers for even more money.

Many people don’t remember the terror caused by product tampering. I had a friend who was a very young manager trainee at a drugstore in Chicago during the 1982 Tylenol killings. One of the only unopened bottles of poisoned Tylenol that was not purchased by a victim was found in her store and 40 years later she’s still traumatized by the fact that the unknown killer visited the aisles of her store. What did change after 1982 was a federal law that made product tampering a federal crime and better packaging. Stella Nickell’s mistake was not realizing that the FBI would be far more persistent than the local police. It was the FBI that determined the cyanide was mixed with an algae killer for fish tanks, and that Stella owned aquariums.

The story, however, is more than just Stella’s: the investigation around the second victim, Sue Snow, had police and family members wondering if her angry husband had actually killed her. The book explores what the victim’s family went through and how investigators followed up multiple leads unrelated to Stella before the truth was revealed.

Olsen reveals Stella’s complicated life and equally complicated relationship with her daughter Cindy — one that eventually convinced Cindy to contact the FBI. Real life is messier than fiction, yet this book distills all the events and becomes a true thriller. 4 stars! A great read for true crime fans and thriller lovers!