I'm not a big True Crime reader, but American Mother was fascinating and quick moving. I was immediately drawn into the story and the accounts of the deaths and families. Gregg Olsen does a wonderful job pulling all the details together to write a cohesive narrative. I was too young to be aware of the Cyanide Murders in the mid-1980s, so I went in with no knowledge. The short chapters made it easy to read quickly. I listened to the audiobook which was perfectly narrated. Definitely recommend this book if you're looking to read well-written narrative nonfiction about a notorious case.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I couldn't get into this book, I managed 150 pages which was about 30% of the book but it just didn't grab my attention enough to want to pick it up.
It was written well and was incredibly detailed but it was too much for me! I absolutely get setting the scene and understand the relevance but there were so many people involved in this crime that I kept getting confused.
I'm sure it's a fab book if you keep reading but it just wasn't for me.

American Mother by Gregg Olsen

Published: November 8, 2022
Thread
Pages: 497
Genre: True Crime/Non-Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Gregg Olsen lives in rural Washington State (about a mile as the crow flies from Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard's infamous Starvation Heights sanatarium). His thriller, THE LAST THING SHE EVER DID was an Amazon Charts bestseller. LYING NEXT TO ME was a reader favorite, charting at No. 1 in the Kindle store and hitting the bestseller's list at the Washington Post. His true crime book, IF YOU TELL, found a home on Amazon Charts for more than 125 weeks. In fact, it was the bestselling Kindle ebook of 2020. Gregg Olsen has been a guest on Dateline NBC, NPR, Good Morning America, The Early Show, FOX News, CNN, Anderson Cooper, Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, Extra, Access Hollywood, 20/20, Snapped, Deadly Women, William Shatner's Aftermath, and A&E's Biography. I live in rural Washington State (about a mile as the crow flies from Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard's infamous Starvation Heights sanatarium). My thriller, THE LAST THING SHE EVER DID was an Amazon Charts bestseller. LYING NEXT TO ME was a reader favorite, charting at No. 1 in the Kindle store and hitting the bestseller's list at the Washington Post. My true crime book, IF YOU TELL, found a home on Amazon Charts for more than 125 weeks. In fact, it was the bestselling Kindle ebook of 2020.

“And sometimes dreams morph into nightmares.”

When Bruce Nickell died suddenly, people were shocked. Several people close to the man were taken aback by his wife, Stella, seemingly stoic behavior. When Sue Snow died suddenly, her daughter, Hayley, was distraught. No one could have imagined these two people being connected in death. No one could have anticipated the hurt to come. No one would have suspected a mother of murdering her husband only to be turned in by her youngest child. But that’s what happened.

This was unlike any true crime book I’ve read. There is so much to this case, and it is evident that Gregg Olsen has spent decades complaining about what he could.

It’s scary to know that there is still so much we don’t know. The cast of characters is long, and the case facts are dense.

This is not light evening reading. You have to pay attention, and even then, trying to process the facts as they are presented is a lot.

My heart aches for Hayley. She and her family are genuinely victims in this situation. Part of me thinks Cindy knows more than she admitted to and that she withheld a lot of information.

But part of me also wants to empathize with her. Turning your mother in, testifying against her, and ultimately being the cog that started the legal process resulting in Stella going to prison has been devastating.

The loyalties in this novel are intense and deep. Those who claimed allegiance to Stella are unwavering in that support. But I also think those people have opinions that might not match their actions.

The writing for this book was fantastic. Heavy and deep as the case was, Olsen presented an unbiased look at the story from start to finish.

I appreciate how Gregg approaches a case; he truly doesn’t present his personal thoughts, so he isn’t influencing the reader at all. The research was beautifully done and eloquently presented.

I found the emotion presented fairly and honestly, and I don’t think anyone was made to be anything they aren’t. I genuinely hope Stella never gets out of prison.

When you pick up a Gregg Olsen book you can expect a well researched and detailed book, American Monster is no different. An interesting true crime non fiction book about a strange case of cyanide poisoning. I did find the pace a bit slow but it was a well written exploration of an unusual case. I think those who like an in-depth deep dive into murder and the court case that follows would enjoy reading American Mother.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

American Family is the gripping and horrific story of the murders of Bruce Nickell and Sue Snow after unknown to them taking cyanide pain killers.

What an horrific death.

Gregg Olsen originally wrote about this troubling murder in Bitter Almonds in 2002 but American Mother is provides a fascinating update.

The research is so well done, thorough and presented so well that at times I had to remind myself I was reading a true crime event.

The investigation and the trial will have you shaking your head as you delve into the relationship of Stella Nickell and her daughter Cindy.

I found I could not put the book down.

The Authors notes are fascinating and tie things up beyond neatly.

Gregg Olsen always does justice and writes a compelling true crime story (not to mention all his fiction books) and American Mother is no exception.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thread Books for a compelling read.

I usually love this authors work but American Mother true crime was too much detail it became overwhelming and very confusing. It needed slimming down as I the reader was bombarded with too much information. I stuck with it till the end but not one of my favourite reads from this very talented author.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I was delighted to get an ARC for this book, given how much I love Gregg Olsen’s work. It starts off as a gripping nonfiction murder mystery and I was certainly hooked, but the book got completely mired in excessive details and the thrust of the story was lost. There are many people in this true story and they all have many relationships and some have several names. They are pretty much all depressing, sociopathic people although some are just low-functioning after surviving dreadful childhoods. It was hard to read such dark material but I REALLY wanted to find out who had committed the murders.
This was in the 1980’s when law enforcement had only a fraction of the technology that is now available, and I was full of admiration for the hard work done in this case. I. wish American Mother came in an abridged version. When I have to keep a diagram of characters and story lines, it’s usually not a good sign. Unless you’re reading Tolstoy.

If you haven't heard of the cyanide killings in the 80s and this sounds intriguing to you, read this book! American Mother is all about Stella Nickel and the murder of her husband and poisoning of her daughter. This book gives a lot of details, bordering on too many details. If you don't like courtroom details then I would pass on this one. Gregg Olson is clearly a fantastic journalistic investigator who does plenty of research, though this was not my favorite of his.

American Mother by Gregg Olsen
I give this book 4 stars

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.
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.
Are the two cases related!

A extremely well researched and detailed account of a horrifying true story. I’m in the UK so have no recollection of this happening. The author does a great job of including everyone who was involved so you get the whole story and the circumstances described are all true.
Its told through several timeframes (so you need to concentrate) The clever writing style makes it feel like you are reading more of a non fiction crime and l had to remind myself this actually happened.While exploring the toxic mother and daughter relationship between Stella and Cynthia at times I was unsure who to believe because there are lots of inconsistencies and loose ends. I found the trial part fascinating.
Make sure to read the authors afterword at the end it’s very enlightening.
A shockingly addictive read if you like true crime this one’s not to be missed.!
Thank you to Netgalley,Gregg Olsen and Thread Books for my chance to read and review this book.

I am a huge lover of true crime books and documentaries, bit this one just missed the mark for me. Well written, but lacking something. It just felt unnecessary

After finishing American Mother, I was not sure what this book was supposed to do or why this story had to be told. This is a sad story of lives thrown off kilter and a daughter Vs mother courtroom testimony.

In 1986, 911 gets a call from a woman, Stella, who "seemed calm" while her husband was lying there dying. A week later another family, a mom collapses on the floor and the autopsy reveals she had been poisoned with Cyanide in her headache pills. While the husband is being investigated as well as product recall of the batch is initiated, Stella calls in saying she found the same batch.

Following the investigation by Police, the FDA, the FBI and an insurance agent, the book tries to build a case to explain away the deaths. The personal lives of the people is probably hearsay and confusing and everyone in the case seems to be marrying or having affair or not caring for the family. And when the courtroom part starts, it becomes repetitive and detailing that doesn't add layers.

I was a bit concerned on the title - I mean what is American Mother supposed to mean? After everything is done, the author tries to wonder if it was right and were there other theories - but then there seems to very little conviction in the tone.

While true crime helps in understanding human thought process, this books successfully keep people in the dark. Okayish.

Gregg Olsen is a phenomenal story teller when it comes to true crime and this book is just another example. As someone who has “been into” true crime for a while I really appreciate that he tells the story without embellishments or gruesome details.

This book examines, in great detail, a case of drug tampering and cyanide poisoning that rocks a small community and tears apart two families. The level of research the author has done is formidable, and gives an amazingly in depth view of the characters who populate the case and their incredibly complex family dynamics; however, I think at times there was almost too much detail and information, and it could be hard to pick out what was and wasn't relevant. The author does a really good job of offering a balanced view so that the reader can try to solve the mystery as it unfolds, and it definitely kept me guessing.

I got really confused with this book. There are too many people to remember and I found it hard to follow because of this.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This one just didn’t do it for me. While the crime itself was interesting the books felt really repetitive and there were so. Many. People introduced throughout that I kept getting lost. Clearly the author did an Incredible job researching, but this book just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
American Mother, Gregg Olsen
Thread Books, November 8, 2022

Thank you NetGalley and Thread Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book because I love true crime (who doesn't?) and because I devoured Gregg Olsen's previous, disturbing true crime book, If You Tell.

American Mother explores the 1980's case of Excedrin tampering that let to two deaths. As Olsen does so well, he unwould the case and the family dynamics that played such a key role in what ultimately led to the loss of two lives.

If you are a true crime junkie, I cannot reccommend this book enough. At almost 500 pages it is a commitment, but well worth your time!

#AmericanMother #NetGalley @netgalley #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #truecrime #truecrimejunkie @threadbooks

Gregg Olsen's nonfiction is like true crime Pringles-- you're always in the mood for it and you can't stop till it's gone. This one was a bit more complex with a whole host of characters, which meant that it was a bit more "work" to get through than I often find from Olsen. It wasn't as much of a "pick up and read and if you fall asleep or forget your page you'll figure it out" kind of story. Nevertheless, this was another great Olsen read and covered a case that was new to me.

This one didn't do it for me. While it was well-researched, the story itself didn't hold my interest and too many people were introduced making the story boring and bogged down with useless information.

After reading if you tell I knew when I see this one I'd have to request it Immediately. This is a truly shocking, gripping and at times a hard to read book, I couldn't put it down. Perfect for all true crime lovers.

A big thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m a true crime junkie and I loved If You Tell so I was pretty excited for this one.

The beginning started off great (for lack of a better word), we’ve got two people completely unrelated but who’ve suffered the same demise - cyanide poisoning via tampered Excedrine. Was it on purpose, an accident? Are they somehow connected? I was intrigued.

So we dive into their history and end up with Stella, a promiscuous, attention seeking, gold digger and lousy, unworthy mother with an equally crappy daughter. And then comes a million details that I felt were unneeded and made it turn kind of dry and boring for a good bit but I was able to persevere.

It’s evident that the author put in a ton of research and dedication to this. It’s an interesting story, and I loved going back in the past to see how the FBI had to work even harder than they have to now due to a lack of modern day technology to catch a suspect and be able to charge them. All in all, I enjoyed it but I feel like it could have been about 100 pages less. Thanks to the author, NetGalley and ThreadBooks for my advanced copy. American Mother will be available November 8th, 2022.