It’s hard to believe that this is a story based on true crimes and not a fictional read. Sharon is an interesting and engrossing character. I was invested in her story and the events and the way she was treated that led to her doing the things she did.

Thank you Gregg Olsen for writing compelling nonfiction to help me meet my personal goal of nonfiction books this year. While the ending left a bit to be desired, this book was so well done.

I should have done some more reading up before I requested this copy. I didn't realize it was a story he had already published before adding a few things. Shame on me!

Nonetheless, Olsen always crafts a compelling narrative around the information he's providing to the reader. I didn't necessarily feel like the additions were worth completely republishing the book, but I digress. I think I'm just a pessimist. Solid 3 stars for me.

🕷️Book Review🕷️
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Summary: When the body of 45-year-old Glen Harrelson was found in his Denver home, police tried to contact his wife, but soon they made a startling realization. She had played the part of grieving widow once before: her previous husband also had died a mysterious accidental death...

In a true story as shocking as any fiction, The Confessions of an American Black Widow is the amazing account of Sharon Lynn Nelson, a wild, beautiful preacher's wife who couldn't get enough-enough sex, enough money, or enough of her rugged "Mountain Man" lover, Gary Adams. Nelson was so consumed by greed that she convinced Adams to killed two of her three husbands in order to cash in on their insurance policies.

Here is a compelling portrait of a woman driven by the darkest forces to mate, then kill--an American black widow who ultimately got snared in her own twisted web...
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts: this was such a great true crime read, it gave me Small Sacrifices vibes! Shari was just deliciously evil and awful and I loved every second of this. This one released earlier this month but it is a rerelease of an older book titled The Confessions of an American Black Widow: A True Story of Greed, Lust, and a Murderous Wife. Overall this was so throughly researched and she was fantastically evil! Highly recommend this for my true crime girlies out there!
Also special thank you to @netgalley and @threadbooks for the advanced copy!

3.5/5

This book is so crazy.
It’s so crazy to me how some people were able to see right through her but how others completely missed the signs.

I wish the ending was a little smoother. It felt a little abrupt.

Overall, Gregg Olsen writes another compelling book. He doesn’t disappoint.

Sharon Nelson is a woman with a fascinating story. She married young to a preacher but was never content and was eventually unfaithful.. She then married her lover, a doctor who left everything for her but she was still not happy and hopped between men for a while. When he died in a car accident she spent his life insurance and met a firefighter who she also married but still had a man on the side! Once the firefighter died the can of worms was opened and it was discovered that she was behind her husbands deaths.
This was a fascinating look into a whirlwind story. Sharon was the type of woman who enthralled men but alienated women and that leads to an absorbing story. I had a problem following it at times as it hops between timelines and there are a lot of characters to keep track of. but I still enjoyed it.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for granting me an advance copy.

Sharon Lynn Douglas Fuller Nelson Harrelson was a woman most men found attractive and exciting, while women tended to dislike her, feeling she was looking for a man, any man, preferably one with money. "Sharon wore her hair long, her dresses tight, her blouses unbuttoned one notch lower than a woman in her position likely should. [...] Sharon Fuller sauntered like a woman who held no doubt that all men watched her every move."

Sharon married a preacher, a doctor and a fireman, killing two of them and leaving a wide swath of destruction behind her. She alienated children from their fathers, wrung almost the last dollar from anyone involved with her, convinced a man (twice) to murder for her, and almost got away with it.

Where this book really shines is in all the very salacious details. We get a pretty good breakdown on Sharon's marriages, numerous lovers, a laundry list of various illegal activities, etc. And it's a pretty engrossing tale which definitely holds your interest.

However, we never really get any insight into her psyche - Sharon is the queen of the self-serving statement, and given that she pled guilty to the murders of her second and third husbands, there was no trial, no expert witnesses to analyze her. We are left with Sharon's protestations (paraphrased by Olsen) that "she didn't do anything wrong. Not a damn thing. This was a free country. She was an American, for God's sake. She was misunderstood. She made bad choices, but she wasn't a murderer."

After 370 pages of endless details and second-hand observations, without a thorough analysis, the story reads like a regurgitation of facts with little insight. IMHO. 3 stars.

*Many thanks to Gregg Olsen, Thread Books, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
A true crime book covering unbelievable story of a woman whose manipulative skills and greed lead to murders. The Author skillfully presents the story which sounds incredulous and distances himself from it, leaving us with the facts and our judegement.

Thank you for this copy of American black widow! I couldn’t put it down - it was an absolute page turner. I would recommend this to anyone who asked!

Another favorite true crime author is Gregg Olsen and I was beyond excited to see his new book, American Black Widow. This is actually a reprint of a book he previously wrote Confessions of an American Black Widow and also published as Bitch on Wheels. No matter what the title or what year it came out, its a solid true crime book and worth your time to read.

Colorado, 1976. When Reverend Mike Fuller and his beautiful wife Sharon arrive in the sleepy town of Rocky Ford, local residents think something’s off about the new couple. The God-fearing minister is gruff and cold, while charismatic Sharon has her husband wrapped around her finger.

It isn’t long before Sharon is charming her husband’s congregation, and finds herself in a tryst with local, married optometrist Perry Nelson. After the affair ends both their marriages, Sharon and Perry tie the knot. But shortly afterwards, Perry disappears. When his body is shockingly discovered the bottom of a canyon, his death is ruled an accident, allowing grieving widow Sharon to claim his substantial life insurance.

Trying to move on from the tragedy, Sharon soon remarries fireman Glenn Harrelson. But when the charred remains of Glenn’s body are discovered with two bullet holes in his skull, the police can’t help but question if both men dying in such mysterious circumstances is one coincidence too many…

Shocking, sensational and gripping, this is the true story of the black widow Sharon Nelson, a must-read tale of greed, sex and murder in a sleepy Colorado town that will have true crime fans of The Staircase, American Mother and Making a Murderer hooked from start to finish.

You can read this story now.

I picked this book for the front cover and that it said that it was a shocking story but it was actually underwhelming. I found it long winded and the writing style was just not for me. The story was quite interesting to see how hated Sharon was by everyone other than the men in her life at the time. However not enough to make me rate it higher.

Gregg Olsen is one of the Kings of true crime, and this book is no different. The amount of time, effort, and research he puts into each of his books is astounding and impressive. American Black Widow is full of direct quotes, extensive background, and a whole lot of context. My one complaint is that there were maybe a bit too much of those things, as the narrative dragged.

Anyone who has lived with a narcissist will be able to relate to the true-crime thriller, American Black Widow: The shocking true story of a preacher's wife turned killer. Sharon was brought up in a very staunch Seventh Day Adventist home with a mother who expected and demanded perfection. Although she didn’t want to marry Mike Fuller, she did anyway; he was difficult and cold and was sent to several different congregations taking Sharon with him. In 1976, they were sent to Colorado and that’s when the troubles started. Sharon, who was sociable and outgoing (unlike her husband) was one of those women who got what she wanted no matter what the cost, and when she met optometrist Perry Nelson, dragged him into an affair that broke up two families and ended up in his death. Narcissists are manipulative and able to influence those around them, and that’s just what Sharon did, causing Nelson to be seemingly under a spell where he couldn’t get enough of her. To make matters worse, she was absolutely beautiful and able to manipulate other men whom she wanted.

Olsen has done a good job of developing the characters and showing their true selves. The story goes back and forth from 1976 to later times, and is a bit confusing. However, the story is fascinating, and most readers will be surprised that someone like Sharon could literally get away with murder and use people without caring.

All told, readers who like true crime thrillers will like this novel. It could be called “portrait of a narcissist” because Sharon is definitely one and most of the time comes out ahead. Olsen does use profanity when characterizing Sharon, so if that is offensive, skip it.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

American Black Widow by Gregg Olsen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sharon Nelson, the black widow, is a murderer driven by sex and greed. American Black Widow follows Sharon and her marriage to three men and how two of them end up dead.

I watch True Crime almost on a daily basis, and I can’t believe this was my first True Crime book! After reading this one, I know I’ll be reading many more. The type of person that Sharon is really made this difficult to read at times. The reason being is Sharon is just full cringe with her personality and how she feels so entitled. On top of being a murderer, she really did her husbands and their family’s dirty while/after they were alive. I was shocked at how many people had suspicions about Sharon after she murdered her first husband, but they decided to look the other way and gossiped instead. What an interesting journey this book was. While these family’s will never have these men back in their lives, it’s somewhat of a relief that justice was served.

If you’re a True Crime fan like me, you should check this one out. I’m looking forward to watching any shows they have about the black widow now. This book released on July 13, 2023, so go ahead and check it out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thread Books for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to receive this ARC because I’ve read other books by Gregg Olsen that really pulled me in. Unfortunately, with this one, I felt like I was never really hooked in that way.

Olsen is definitely a talented writer, and I have no doubt that he included all the most interesting, important aspects of this story, but it just fell a bit flat. The timeline jumped around a lot, and I found myself having to stop multiple times to consider what year chapters were taking place. It would’ve been a lot less confusing if the years had been included in the chapter titles. Something else that pulled me out of the story - though absolutely no fault of the author - was that multiple people involved had first names that rhymed. There was Sherry, Gary, Perry, Harry, Terry, and Kerry. I think it wouldn’t have been as distracting if some of those people had been referred to by their last names instead.

Because of the jumping around in the timeline, there were a few details that were repeated a couple of times. This made it feel like there were a lot of holes in the timeline, and it seemed like there was still a substantial amount of unknown information.

That being said, I do think that Olsen did a great job of linking the known information together and delivering it. I knew next to nothing about the events in this book when I started it, but by the end, I definitely had a better understanding and outline of it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Thread Books, for providing me with the ARC!

I’m always fascinated by true crime cases and especially love reading books about them!

I’ve read a few of Gregg Olsen’s books now and while the story itself was intruiging, the flow didn’t seem quite right.

It was well worth the read as it’s such a crazy story and much rarer to read true crime retellings about female killers. It just fell a little bit short with the writing style as it was sometimes a bit hard to keep track of what was happening when.

Sharon is married to a Seventh Day Adventist pastor. But that does not stop her from flaunting her goods. She struts around town in short-shorts and flirts with every man she sees. Before long, her husband has lost his job and they have to move to Colorado. This is where their marriage falls completely apart. Sharon has set her eyes on an optometrist and she is not to be stopped.

There is a lot that occurs in this lady’s life and IF she doesn’t like it, she gets rid of it and moves on to the next. It just amazes me the hold on the men this woman had. She was a master manipulator. And since she got away with it once, keep trying! She definitely lived in the moment. She did not expect any consequences to her actions. It was all about her and her WANTS! (Not needs…WANTS!)

The narrator, Karen Peakes, is excellent. She is very matter of fact. Which to me, is the best way to be reading a true crime.

Need a a good true crime thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

If Gregg Olsen write it then I will be reading it!!! The narrator brought this story to life with her compelling performance. Absolutely recommend this book to readers interested in this genre. 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. Highly Recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Thread for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

A great story but I felt like I was on a snakes and ladders board of chronology.

The story moves backwards and forwards through different times with ease, but at times without a logical explanation.

The story starts with the death of an off duty firefighter in a house fire.

Then moves back to the 1970s and continues to move backwards and forwards

The wife of a preacher Sharon Nelson is never satisfied with what she has.

She’s the typical “the grass is greener” type. But sometimes the only way out of a relationship, or the only way she thinks she can make a clean break is for the husband, or boyfriend, to meet an unfortunate end.

Spread over decades, and different jurisdictions, this makes her crimes almost impossible to link.

But eventually she will slip up.

I am a huge Greg Olsen fan but I’m to sure about this book.

It was one of those stories where I finished it but in instalments. I left it and read other books, then went back to it.

For me that’s really unusual. I wouldn’t usually go back, but this story had enough for me to want to finish it, but didn’t have enough to keep me exclusively hooked.

You don't necessarily get to read a lot of true crime where a woman is the criminal, so this was an interesting book for me.