Gregg Olsen has become a well-known name in the true crime genre. I requested American Black Widow, not knowing that it is actually a re-released version of his book from 1998. This book tells the story of Sharon Nelson, a woman who plotted the death of two of her husbands. It is a fascinating story about human nature, religion, sex, greed and psychopathy. Unfortunately, the writing style and pacing make it a chore to read. Olsen seems to at times have tried to channel a hard-boiled detective style of writing, but it rings false. Most of the dialogue must be from his imagination and it’s just … not good. There are so many unnecessary details that ruin the pacing. There is an odd redundancy of describing Sharon’s physical attributes that becomes extremely annoying. I really wanted to like this book but it needed to be shorter, rewritten, and with better pacing in order to keep my interest. Thank you NetGalley and Thread Books for letting me read it in exchange for an honest review.

I always think that if you love Dateline, you will love Gregg Olsen books. As I was reading I could almost hear Keith Morrison's dulcet tones telling me the story. This was a well-told story of a woman not unlike someone every one of us knows - someone that has that pull with men and isn't afraid to use it to get whatever they desire. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The ONLY thing I would have liked more of was a better indication of where we are in the timeline at the beginning of chapters since they are not all sequential. Read this book!

This book is a rerelease of an earlier book. The book has no updates, no pictures, no “where are they now?”, no nothing. It wasn’t very well written the first time around, and this changed nothing.

Mr. Olsen has a field day with his thesaurus in this one. Sharon Nelson was horrible. She had two of her husbands killed. Got it. I don’t want or need to read every imaginable variation of the word slut. I swear like a sailor, so it’s not the language or anything like that. It’s the constant descriptions of what a whore she was that takes the place of actual information. There’s no real depth to this book. It seems like he spoke to people, but not as many as he needed to to write a book. This reads like an awful Lifetime movie. Maybe his other books are better, but if this is any indication, I don’t think I’ll be reading them.

By the way, Sharon died in prison and Gary is still locked up.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you @ntegalley for my ARC of American Black Widow. Gregg Olsen is generally one of my go to authors for thrillers and true crime. Unfortunately, this one fell short for me. It was a story that I had never heard of and I tried looking up the information and couldn't find much about it. I felt like it lacked depth and was just a series of actions that were put together. Sharon's figure and appearance were described on every few pages as well as her tight clothes. There wasn't much variation on the wording either. The timeline jumped around a lot without much explanation. I would have liked to have more depth with the relationships of Sharon and other people. It was mentioned multiple times that people didn't like her, but no mention of why or how they interacted with her. The beginning mentioned her home life and religious abuse, but then it dropped with no correlation to her actions.

Sharon Douglas grew up in a strict religions home. She married Mike Fuller, a minister to escape. That marriage was unloving and abusive and Sharon was unfaithful. She jumped from husband to husband and when they died, Sharon showed little remorse.

American Black Widow by Gregg Olsen was an intriguing, unputdownable read. This is a chilling true story of Sharon Lynn Douglas Neilson was a minister's wife, a doctor's wife, a fireman’s wife, and murders two of them.
The book is professionally researched and written.

Sharon married her first husband Mike Fuller, a preacher who adores her. She quickly became bored of being married, and goes on to have an affair with Perry Nelson. Perry was also married at the time of the affair. Both Sharon and Perry end their marriages and decide to marry one another. Once married to Perry Nelson an Optometrist, Sharon begins to have multiple affairs again. After Perry’s car was found without his body, Sharon wanted the death to be ruled an accident. Which it was, Sharron quickly moves on and marries for a third time. She marries firefighter dispatcher Glen Harrelson. When his charred remains are discovered with two bullet holes in his skull after being married to Sharon for six months. The police start to investigate this tragedy and realize Sharon is more involved with his death than they had initially thought. This leads the investigators to re-open the case of her second husband Perry’s death as well.

Gregg Olsen has an amazing gift of making these characters come to life and makes you feel like you are living in the moment with them. This book is a nail-biting true crime book which once you pick up, you cannot put it down because you need to know what happens next.

I had the honor of reading this ARC thanks to Netgalley, the Author, Gregg Olsen, and the publisher, Thread Books.

Okay, the good - I love true crime and this did not disappoint were that is concerned. I did enjoyed the overall story. Yet, I often found myself confused trying to follow the characters throughout. There is a huge info dump in the beginning and it definitely confused my brain.

I think when it comes to true crime, I prefer podcast over books like this. It just felt long and only held my interest for so long

3.5 rounded to 4 ⭐️

This read like a sensationalized, salacious Netflix true crime docudrama. While I would have preferred more depth - for example: the insurance investigations, arrest and sentencing, etc - this was engaging and the timeline was easy to follow despite jumps.

I could have done with less descriptions of Sharon's body and her... fluids. Like we get it, men thought she was hot, I guess. And also - ick.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an e-version of this advanced reader's copy. American Black Widow follows the tale of Sharon Lynn Nelson, from her life as a troubled and rebellious child/teen abused by her ultra-fanatical religious parents to her sex-crazed young adulthood that led to her murderous intentions.

After reading the full book cover-to-cover, I still do not know how to feel about the whole Sharon situation. Prejudiced by individuals in her community (for the way she dressed and her frivolous attitude, at first), always as an outsider, with the way this author writes it is hard not to feel an ounce of sympathy towards the protagonist. However, when you line up all of her mis-deeds and crimes, ranging from infidelity and adultery, to the first-degree murder of her two husbands, it is staggering in what this lady managed in such a short time - three marriages (four if you are counting the not entirely legal ones), and quite a few children to boot, alongside insurance fraud and murder... there's no denying that Sharon managed a lot with a little of time.

The author's writing itself is detailed and provides ample background to the setting, as well as good introductions to our main 'characters'. It is hard when it comes to narrative non-fiction, to tell whether the story at all has been embellished, and in some areas I believe that the author has taken liberties in this - which is not necessarily a bad thing - but interpreting the thoughts and emotions of killers (and mass manipulators) is a dangerous game so I personally had to take this with a pinch of salt.

This is a really nice introduction to the true crime narrative non-fiction genre, however, at times I felt like the plot of this book would be better suited to a Netflix documentary limited series - perhaps that is a shining light on what this book should become! The whole story is fascinating and I still can't get my head around why so many men fell for Sharon, what was so alluring about a character that women seemed to instantly dislike or label as 'trashy'... perhaps the rapid 180 of what a preacher's wife is 'supposed' to be as opposed to what Sharon actually was.

Overall, I thought some of the descriptions of the land/area itself to be negligible and detracted from the story, which made it harder to keep the tale linear for me personally. I think it would have been better to make the 'flashbacks' clearer; for example, when switching between the officers questioning Sharon back to the actual events.. perhaps adding dates at the beginning of these sections would have made it clearer? I also got confused about who was who (at times), the author has helpfully provided a list of characters at the beginning of the book, but as I was on an e-reader, I found it difficult to flit back and forth - perhaps a flaw in my own character, rather than a detriment to the book!

Pacing was good, a very quick read for me, and I enjoyed the overall story, but for me - better as a Netflix documentary!

Sharon Nelson, the 1980s femme Fatale /Black Widow who would stop at nothing to get what she wants.

A true crime thriller based on sex, lies, and greed is the story of a preacher's wife who
seduced, married, and murdered 2 of her husbands for the insurance money.
I felt sorry for the families who were affected and for the children whose father was murdered. They went through so much heartache, and I was glad that justice was finally served in the end.

This book had a lot going on and many characters to keep track of, so I was thankful for the list of ' Who's who' at the beginning of the book.
Gregg Olsen is a go-to author, and I have loved most of his books.

Thank you to Netgally and Bookature Audio and Thread Books for the Arcs.
The review was voluntary.

This was a page-turner for sure! I appreciate the attention to detail, interviews, and research that go into a story like this. There were a couple of passages that felt a little padded and could have been condensed. I liked the format, switching from a chronological timeline of the crimes and the investigation and prosecution. I looked for updates online and found that Sharon had died in prison. I would’ve liked more information in the epilogue about her prison time and if she spent it corresponding with Gary or her children before her death.

I really enjoyed this book, it felt like I was watching a documentary, the details were good and felt accurate without feeling too much and disrespectful.

Gregg Olsen is my go to author for true crime books. His stories are always thoroughly researched and very well written. He presents all sides of the tale and never lets the story get stale. I took a star off as this apparently is the third generation of this book but has not been updated with the latest outcomes of the killers. Also Gregg usually includes pictures and there are none. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was my first non fiction true crime attempt,and while I love the topic, it just didn't hold my interest. I felt that it took a while to get interested in and there were a lot of people to keep track of. I appreciated the character list at the beginning.

I enjoyed American Black Widow. I was excited to see a "new" book by Gregg Olsen and since I hadn't read it when it was published before (under the title of Bitch on Wheels) I was even more excited. I thought the book was well researched and enjoyable. I wasn't a huge fan of the timeline jumps, but that is just a personal preference on my part. All and all it was a very interesting story.

Black Widow 101!! What a crazy story!! I both listened and read this one. There is ALOT of characters so it does get confusing. I appreciated the who’s who section at the beginning of the book.

Another true crime thriller that makes you wonder about the evil in some people. This book has you asking how she got away with everything and how she had some much power over people.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thread books for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. I really enjoyed the book! I love Gregg Olsen’s writing style. It was a very shocking story! @greggolsen @netgalley @threadbooks 👏

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Release date: July 13, 2023

Summary:

This true crime novel tells the story of
Sharon Nelson, the preacher’s wife whose two husbands mysteriously end up dead. It is a must-read tale of greed, sex and murder in a sleepy Colorado town!

#AmericanBlackWidow #NetGalley #netgalleybooks #netgalley #greggolsen #booklovers #booksbooksbooks #bookworm #bookstagram #avidreader #truecrimebooks #thrillerbooks #bookaddiction #mysterybooks

Synopsis:

Sharon Fuller Nelson Harrelson - a name that many are probably unfamiliar with. However, she is known as the Black Widow, a woman who mated and killed. Despite her humble beginnings. Sharon chose to rebel against her upbringing and early adult life. After marrying a preacher, she began sleeping with a member of the congregation, resulting in her and her husband being booted from the church. Once in her new church, Sharon began her same tactics, finding prey and closing in to capture him. This time, her prey was none other than the local optometrist, Dr. Perry Nelson. After engaging in a long affair, the two leave their spouses for each other. Following suit, Sharon soon returned to her old ways and began having more affairs. One of these affairs with Gary Adams was, at its root, toxic and harmful. Gary was trapped by Sharon's sex and promises and agreed to kill Perry. Shockingly, Sharon got all of Perry's life insurance policies and sold his practice. No matter how much time the two spent in bed, Gary would never fully commit to Sharon, which led her to marry again; this time to Glen Harrelson, a fireman. Yet again, Sharon followed her pattern and convinced Gary to kill Glen as well. As a typical gold digger, Sharon and Gary created a "twisted love story forged on lies, sex, and greed."


Review:

Let me begin by saying that I enjoyed this book. Gregg Olsen has a way of taking a true crime story and writing it in such a way that reads like a thriller novel. Olsen spent a ton of time investigating Sharon and her motivations, which translates well into the story. Mr. Olsen focuses on developing the characters and attempting to explain the psychology behind their actions. We see Sharon uses her greatest commodity, sex, to her advantage. While we know the outcome of Sharon's relationships with men, this does not divert the reader's attention and interest in Olsen's narrative. The true-crime story is a page-turner and keeps readers on the edge of their seats.


Now for the negative parts of the novel. As mentioned, Olsen has an amazing voice and can tell the story with finesse. However, my biggest complaint with the novel comes at the beginning. From the start, we are introduced to so many people, which continues throughout the book. While I understand that many people were involved in the case, it can be arduous to follow. One way to mitigate this problem would be to include some form of a timeline at the beginning of the novel. The story is split into three parts, each devoted to a different husband, but it is still complicated to maintain all the characters and their place in the case. I have previously read a book by Gregg Olsen If You Tell, and that was not difficult to follow. It is partially the beast of the case, but there are ways this issue could have been resolved.

My other issue with the novel is the repetitiveness of the story. Of course, Sharon had her patterns and followed them, but I do believe that parts could be written differently to avoid this problem. I did not hate reading this part, but some did seem like I was reading the same thing.


Overall, I did enjoy reading this novel, but I don't think it is comparable to reading about Shelly Knotek. With Shelly, we understood a little more of her background and gain a deeper understanding of her. I give this novel 3 out of 5 stars. If you are looking to get into true crime, this novel would be a great place to start.


Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. Olsen's book will be out for purchase on July 13.

American Black Widow was an excellent read by Gregg Olson. The book is professionally researched and written and is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Sharon Lynn Douglas Neilson was a minister's wife, a doctor's wife, a fireman’s wife, and murders two of them.
Sharon is a woman who just has to catch every man’s eye and if you speak to Sharon, she is likely to try and seduce you but if you are very your lucky, she will spit you out and move on to the next bloke, but God help you if she decides to marry you.
Sharon married her first husband Mike Fuller a preacher and Sharon has her husband wrapped around her finger and bores quickly with married life. She goes onto have an affair with an optometrist called Perry Nelson. After the affair ends both their marriages, Sharon and Perry get married but Sharron cannot just be happy with Perry as she must go on and have multiple affairs once again. Sharon goes on to convince one of her lovers to kill Perry which will give her a nice large insurance claim after his death.
After Perrys death Sharron quickly moves on from that tragedy and she soon remarries firefighter Glenn Harrelson. But when the charred remains of Glenn’s body are discovered with two bullet holes in his skull the police start to investigate this tragedy and realis Sharon is more involved in the death of her third husband and this then leads to the reinvestigation of her second husband's death as well. Sharon’s first husband was lucky to get away.
Greg Olson makes all the characters come alive. This book is a nail-biting true crime book which once you pick up you will find you cannot put down as you need to know what happens next. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.