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.

I received a free copy of, American Black Widow, by Gregg Olsen, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Sharon Nelson is a piece of work, she is so self absorbed and narcissistic. Nobody not her kids, husbands, friends, matter in her life, unless she can use them for her own gain, usually monetary. I do not like Sharon at all, I have no idea how she was able to have so many men fall for her. Sharon murdered two of her husbands and I think she would of kept on doing it too. A well written book, about a truly horrible monster.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and was excited to read it because I really enjoy this author’s true crime books. Imagine my surprise when I quickly realized that I had read this book before. After a little research, I found out that this book had been published in 2013 under the title “Bitch on Wheels: The True Story of a Murderous Wife and Her Mountain Man Lover”. I don’t have issues with authors republishing their books but I feel that there should be a disclaimer on the cover for full disclosure.

That being said, this book did grab me from the beginning and held my interest throughout. Sharon Fuller Nelson Harrelson is truly an evil person and it is almost hard to believe how she was able to manipulate so many people around her. My only disappointment was the ending….it just seemed so abrupt. I felt that since there was a 10 year gap between publishing, there could have been an update added. If you enjoy tue crime, I would recommend this book.

Sharon Nelson, sexpot extraordinaire, convinced/sexed her lover Gary Adams to kill two of her husbands, optometrist Perry Nelson and fireman Glenn Harrelson. Women mistrusted her, most men adored her, and Sharon didn't care as she collected her dead husband's life insurance. She wasn't much into make-up, but she flirted shamelessly, and often dressed inappropriately.

I had not heard of Sharon Nelson prior to reading this book. Her story is fascinating and even more fascinating is how easily she manipulated and took over the lives of the men she was involved with. Sharon had a skill of getting men wrapped around her finger. People were either drawn to her or uneasy in her presence. Sharon began as a preacher's wife and soon became a black widow.

I enjoyed Gregg Olsen's books and jumped at the chance to read this book. I have always been fascinated by what motivates people and how some can be easily manipulated and controlled. Although I enjoyed this book, it was not my favorite book by him. I would have enjoyed a more straightforward timeline in this book, the police investigation, etc. I enjoyed reading about Sharon and how she got her lover to do her bidding. But I do feel that there were a lot of unanswered questions, again in terms of the investigation, etc. Plus, I found this book to be slow in parts.

I had both the book and audiobook versions of this book. This made for an immersive reading experience. While reading and listening, I thought this would make a good true crime docuseries (if it hasn't been made into one already).

Fascinating true crime about a woman responsible for the death of two of her husbands.

3.5 stars

As a lover of all Gregg Olsen's true crime books I was delighted to have a possibility to read :'American Black Widow'. I like his very descriptive style of writing, full of details and people involved. This book did not disappoint.
Waiting for other his books in the near future. Mr Olsen please write faster!!!!

An unbelievable story, for me personally I don’t think this was my cup of tea. Nothing against the author or the book, I just prefer fiction/psychological thrillers. Overall an interesting true crime story.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This is my first non-fiction true crime book I’ve read and it didn’t quite keep my attention. I am a lover of all things true crime- tv shows, books, podcasts… but this book was unfortunately a very slow burn and kept you wanting more.
This was a story of Sharon Nelson and her many husbands. I wish the storyline focused more on the murders and not so much on Sharon’s promiscuity- it was very repetitive. I understand it was a very important part of her but I don’t think it should have been the main part.
I wouldn’t recommend this to a friend- the slow burn was too much for me unfortunately.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been getting into true crime more and I enjoy Gregg’s story telling skills. I’ve read a couple books by him before so I was happy to be approved for this one! I felt like I was reading a documentary.

I was intrigued when I came across this book and the fact that it was based on a true story. However, I found it hard to get into the story. The timeline was a bit confusing and I couldn't really keep track of all the characters. The story ended up leaving me with more questions about Sharon.

Nonetheless, it is a well researched crime novel which crime fiction fans will love. It just wasn't my cup of tea, unfortunately.

This book was very enjoyable for me I got a soft spot for true crime and is one of my favourite genres. The only downfall for me will be the lenguaje that was a bit dated. I never hear about this story before but I enjoyed the book. I think is well writen for all the true crime fans this book is the book you need to read. Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the autor of the book for the access to this ARC I just reviewed American Black Widow by Gregg Olsen. #AmericanBlackWidow #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Another great one from Olsen.
Enjoyed this a lot. He puts a lot into his books and they are very thorough. This one is no exception.

I had never heard of the Sharon Nelson Harrelson case and was intrigued.

I expected to have this researched and laid out much like all true crime books.
I was mistaken.

First the author focused way too much on the sexpot and sexual exploits of Ms. Sharon Harrelson. To the point that it was overwhelming and really did not add much to the story.

I had no idea the timeline.

I still have no idea why Sharon confessed or how the police were finally suspicious of her.

I was left with more questions then answers from this book, these included:
What happened to the kids Danny and Misty?
Was her first husband the preacher interviewed? What did he think?
What happened to Gary Starr Adams and his family?
What led the police to Sharon?
Why did she confess?
How much did Sharon ultimately get from murdering Perry?
Why did she murder Glenn?

All of these questions but none were answered in the book.

This is NOT a good true crime book and I would not recommend it.

When it starts with a Who's Who at the beginning you know it's going to be a bit hard to follow. There's lots of people so it was a but confusing at times.
This is unlike other other books I've read, it's a true crime murder book. I'm not sure it's my style of book, I think I prefer fiction, but it's well written of you like that.

Another excellent true crime story by Author Gregg Olsen that kept me on the edge of my seat. I am so glad he started the book off with a list of who's who in this very complex story. Sharon Lynn Douglas grew up in a very strict Seventh Day Adventist home in North Carolina and married a minister of the same faith, Mike Fuller, to excape her family. She was cheating on her husband with members of the congregation so her husband was transferred to a church in Colorado. It wasn't long before she began cheating on her husband again and she set her sights on a wealthy married optomitrist, Perry Nelson. After divorcing her husband for Perry and marrying him, the cheating started again. You had better hang onto your hat for this read as it gets really complicated and you are going to be constantly shaking your head over the events that occur.

Thank you NetGalley and Thread Books for the ARC of this fascinating read! It is another hit out of the ballpark for Author Olsen.

Another excellent true crime story by Gregg Olsen.
Sharon Lynn Nelson was a callous cold-hearted woman, only interested in money.
It is hard to believe that people like this exist, but they sadly do.
Lots of research and well written. Read the whole book over the course of a weekend.
Highly recommended.

I love a good true crime story! I enjoyed If You Tell by this author, as much as anyone can enjoy the horrors that occurred to those poor girls, but this one I didn't love. The writing followed the storyline chronologically most of the time. There were chapters of the final murder and investigation mixed throughout, ending with the confession and incarceration of Sharon and her former beau. At times, I wasn't sure what period the author was referencing, so it confused me a little. The story was extremely slow. I would have preferred the main focus to be on the murders, but the book just spotlighted Sharon and her obscene behavior. I would have also liked to hear more from Mike Fuller, her first husband, at the end of the novel after Sharon confessed. I'm guessing that he refused to talk with anyone regarding his former wife. It was interesting and disturbing to learn about what Sharon Fuller Nelson Harrelson did and how she lived her life. I had never heard of this story before so I jumped on the chance to read it. To all the true crime fans, I would recommend this to you!

A new true crime story about Sharon Fuller Nelson Harrelson, a woman who mysteriously ended up with two dead husbands. It takes the reader through her various marriages and affairs, and her plots to have two of her three husbands killed.

Story: this was a really interesting story! I listen to a lot of true crime but had never heard of this one before. I was really curious to see how Sharon's life played out, especially once she got to her second husband (her first victim). However, I feel like after her third husband's murder, the book just finished. There was not really much investigation covered. The epilogue just says they confessed. I was really wanting to see what lead up to that, since Sharon had denied so much before that. I think it could've covered that more in depth, but maybe the source material for that was just missing?

Writing: I had some problems with some of the actual writing. There were some descriptions of women that I felt were unnecessary in the way they were written. This was also the case in some other areas too - sometimes the writing just made me cringe a little in terms of describing women or repeating certain phrases that really didn't need to be repeated.

Overall though, an interesting true crime story of what I think is a lesser known case (at least on the east coast, maybe it's more well known in Colorado!).

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If it's by Gregg Olsen you can expect it to be good and this book doesn't disappoint. It's a blow by blow account of a murderous sexy female that many men could not turn away from. Amazing that creatures such as this exist. But it's all here, brought to us by one of our excellent American writers.
I won't ruin anything for you by getting specific but basically she is a con artist on an emotional level, looking to benefit in any way with no brakes. Murder not a problem.
Like I said, amazing that people like this exist but what's doubly weird is that people fall for these characters.
Excellent writing.