Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

149 reviews

nuuamuikkunen's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

2.75

Tykkään siitä miten Gregg Olsen kirjottaa tositapahtumista kuin ne ois fiktiota. Mutta se misogynian ja fat shaming oli ihan överiä tässä kirjassa! Et naiset haluaa vaan olla äitejä ja jos lihot 10 kiloa oot ihan kamalan läski. Yök.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Torture, Slavery, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Murder, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Confinement, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Death, Gore, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Bullying

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Animal cruelty

Minor: Medical content, Terminal illness, and Cancer

bell4trixx's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

3.0

For anyone who is in to true crime. There are parts of this book that is interesting and informative, it does seem like the author did a lot of work researching what happened, but this book could have used a better editor. By the end of it, it really seemed to drag on, I think some of the stories of abuse could have been edited out..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Cursing

Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Excrement, Torture, and Medical content

If you are triggered by abuse not a good read. Good read if you’re in the mood for an in-depth true crime on an abusive family/mother

abbeyreadsthings's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

0.5

Just… no. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Murder, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Torture, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Excrement

kahbarrow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Medical content, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Murder, Homophobia, Blood, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Bullying, Body shaming, Suicide, Fatphobia, Death, and Sexual content

katekreadsalot's review against another edition

5.0

Extremely difficult read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Body shaming, Death, Murder, and Gaslighting

dale1997's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Torture, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Child abuse, Murder, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

oofie's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.25

This book tells the story of the absolute shitbag of a human being that is Shelly Knotek and how she tortured (and, in three cases, murdered) those around her.

Shelly is one of those people who patently proves that not all people are inherently good. She was a terror growing up, and it just got worse when she had children and partners of her own. She is a narcissist and sadist who delights both in wreaking havoc, despair, fear, and pain. 

Shelly mentally, emotionally, and physically abused each of her husbands and three daughters. She gaslit them, made them think that it was their fault, and conscripted them into being co-conspirators. The poor people in her life and circle went through so much literal torture and abuse from living with her. This story is one of the most disturbing I've read due to all the above, and the insane amount of manipulation this woman did to those around her.

This book also hit a little close to home because my own brother is a narcissist. While not being anywhere near Shelly's level (thank god), it was a little shocking reading some of the things she did and realizing that those are things my own brother has and would do to me, my siblings, and my parents. 

Furthermore, I appreciate this book because it goes into victims of abuse. Why didn't those around her just leave? Run away? Why didn't they fight back? When you're a victim of abuse, however, it's never that simple. It is a mindfuck, and no one is immune from it. It is incredible to see the strength Shelly's daughters had, however, in finally escaping from their mother and bringing them to justice. I just wish the courts would have meted out far more justice than they did.

The book is well written, was easy to understand, and fascinating to read. I hope that Shelly's victims can find some measure of peace and be estranged from her even when she's out of prison.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Murder, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

n_binversie99's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Mental illness, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicide, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Vomit

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, and Animal cruelty

nhmardini's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

maddness22's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

0.25

I do not respect this book in the slightest. It's an attempt to capitalize on one family's horrible tragedy during the height of the true crime fascination. This is poorly written without any substance to the cruelty it outlines. There's no additional psychological insight into the mother's sadistic nature, no actual mention of the "bonds of sisterhood" until the final 10% of the book and even then it's a rather weak grab, and the timeline of events is written in the worst and most confusing manner. This was literally just composed for shock value and really only lists the acts of crimes committed by the narcissistic and sadistic mother and her pathetic husband. 

If it was meant as a warning for Shelly's release or even as a toolkit for others to recognize how severe abuse can be so subtle in its nature to integrate so fully in a victim's life, the message could've been conveyed with about 200 less pages and repetitive drawn out torture scenes. However, these lessons are barely conveyed successfully anyways. The writing is vague, confusing, and the author truly uses the word "niggled" un-ironically at one point. Like? Seriously? That's not even a real word and it sounds childish at best. 

Skip this shock value torture nonsense. Just know their mother was vile and we need to believe in victims. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder