American Mother: The true story of a troubled family, motherhood, and the cyanide poisonings that shook the world

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If You Tell comes the absolutely unputdownable and chilling true-crime story of Stella Nickell—a mother and wife who did the unthinkable… and the unforgivable.

At 5.02 pm on June 5, 1986, an emergency call came into the local sheriff’s office in the small town of Auburn, Washington State. A distressed housewife, Stella Nickell, said her husband Bruce was having a seizure. Officers rushed to the Nickell’s mobile home, to find Stella standing frozen at the door… Bruce was on the floor fighting for his life.

As Stella became the beneficiary of over $175,000 in a life insurance pay-out, forensics discovered that Bruce had consumed painkillers laced with cyanide.

A week later, fifteen-year-old Hayley was getting ready for another school day. Her mom, Sue, called out ‘I love you’ before heading into the bathroom and moments later collapsed on the floor. Sue never regained consciousness, and the autopsy revealed she had been poisoned by cyanide-tainted headache pills. Just like Bruce.

While a daughter grieved the sudden and devastating loss of her mother, a young woman, Cindy, was thinking about her own mom Stella. She thought about the years of neglect and abuse, the tangled web of secrets Stella had shared with her, and Cindy contemplated turning her mom into the FBI…

Gripping and heart-breaking, Gregg Olsen uncovers the shocking true story of a troubled family. He delves into a complex mother-daughter relationship rooted in mistrust and deception, and the journey of the sweet curly-haired little girl from Oregon whose fierce ambition to live the American Dream led her to make the ultimate betrayal.

A sensational real-life mystery,the Wall Street Journal bestseller American Mother will hook those fascinated by The Staircase and Making of a Murderer.

This book was originally published as Bitter Almonds.

Read what everyone is saying about American Mother:

“Wow what a book… I could not put it down.” NetGalley reviewer

“Unsettling as it is compelling and immersive.”NetGalley reviewer

“You feel right there with the characters… Never a disappointment when you chose this author!”Goodreads reviewer

“This book didn’t disappoint, it had everything I wanted in a true crime book.”Goodreads reviewer

“Gregg Olsen has done it again – really drawing you into the crime and life of his subjects in each book – American Mother is no different… jolting within the first pages.”Goodreads reviewer

“It was incredibly well researched and well written.”Goodreads reviewer

Read what everyone is saying about Gregg Olsen:

“A riveting, taut, real-life psychological suspense thrill ride… All at once compelling and original, Gregg Olsen’s If You Tell is an instant true-crime classic.” —M. William Phelps, New York Times bestselling author

“Classic true crime in the tradition of In Cold Blood and The Stranger Beside Me.” —James Renner, author of True Crime Addict