If You Tell

A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood

By: Gregg Olsen

Narrated by: Karen Peakes

A #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon Charts, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s shocking and empowering true-crime story of three sisters determined to survive their mother’s house of horrors.

After more than a decade, when sisters Nikki, Sami, and Tori Knotek hear the word mom, it claws like an eagle’s talons, triggering memories that have been their secret since childhood. Until now.

For years, behind the closed doors of their farmhouse in Raymond, Washington, their sadistic mother, Shelly, subjected her girls to unimaginable abuse, degradation, torture, and psychic terrors. Through it all, Nikki, Sami, and Tori developed a defiant bond that made them far less vulnerable than Shelly imagined. Even as others were drawn into their mother’s dark and perverse web, the sisters found the strength and courage to escape an escalating nightmare that culminated in multiple murders.

Harrowing and heartrending, If You Tell is a survivor’s story of absolute evil—and the freedom and justice that Nikki, Sami, and Tori risked their lives to fight for. Sisters forever, victims no more, they found a light in the darkness that made them the resilient women they are today—loving, loved, and moving on.

©2019 Gregg Olsen. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

2021 Audie Award Nominee for Best Nonfiction Audiobook

“Peakes's performance sucks the listener into the scenes of abuse, torture, sadism, and, eventually, murder committed by Shelly.… Peakes's narration is compelling.”—AudioFile Magazine

“This riveting account will leave readers questioning every odd relative they’ve known.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Olsen presents the story chronologically and in a simple, straightforward style, which works well: it is chilling enough as is.”—Booklist

An absolutely chilling true story

Gregg Olsen and Karen Peaks did an amazing job giving the sisters a voice. I cried a lot listening to this, and I am not a crier. I couldn't put this book down.

Shelly and Dave should have gotten life with no chance of parole.

A Book About The Worst Woman On Earth

Shocking and captivating read. Excellent pick for true crime lovers and murderinos. I found the story to be too sympathetic especially toward the father. The author went too far on their behalf (for my taste) making them seem like less of monsters. These people were cowards and enablers of a psychopath. No one spoke up until it was much too late. Everyone in this book is guilty of things and has blood on their hands but some far more than others.

Not my favorite narrator, I think I’ve had her before and enjoyed her less this time.

I’ve never thought a book too tough

This book is tough. I’m not sure what it is about this one, but it got me. The abuse is unimaginable. You will get angry, and to know that this is a true story and there are even documentaries and tv show episodes on this story. Listen/read if you dare. But from someone’s who’s never found a book to be too much, I had to put this one down halfway through.

Chilling, scary, unbelievable, excellent

I found it very upsetting, and actually unbelievable. I cannot get my head around people being so manipulative and the family being so stupid and gullible to do things like that and never going to the authorities! This world is a sick place!
If you like true crime, don't miss this, very well written, but I won't be sleeping well tonight. I will also be looking at strange families a lot different and I will be poking my nose in more often
Excellently written as a narrative, best true crime I have ever read.

Repetitive but intriguing

Most of the book repeats the same narrative over and over. I continued listening waiting for character or plot development. It is an interesting story but I wanted it to move on. Near the end it gets interesting again, but it is a long wait.