If You Tell cover art

If You Tell

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

Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

If You Tell

By: Gregg Olsen
Narrated by: Karen Peakes
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $33.99

Buy Now for $33.99

About this listen

2021 Audie Award Nominee for Best Nonfiction Audiobook

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.
Abductions, Kidnapping & Missing Persons Crime Murder True Crime Exciting Scary Disappearance Serial Killers True Crime Amish Nonfiction

Critic Reviews

"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

All stars
Most relevant
I couldn't stop listening, it was a very well told story and I would recommend

such a sad but gripping story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Perfect narration. Very disturbing, at times hard to listen to.
Couldn't put it down though.

Compelling and heartbreaking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Kept me hooked to know when these nasty people would pay the price. 💕 Shane

Hooked

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I went in just by recommendation and found it to be something I had to listen to over a weekend. Highly recommended,

Amazing and heartbreaking story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A deeply story told by an excellent narrator. I was hooked from start to finish, but I would've liked to know more about what exactly had made Shelly such a monster.

Deeply Disturbing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.