Most Popular Books by Gregg Olsen

For Detective Kendall Stark of Kitsap County in Port Orchard, Washington, memories of her teenage years are overshadowed by a classmate''s tragic death, which was ruled an accident. All these years Stark has kept her suspicions to herself, until her high school''s upcoming fifteen-year reunion reopens old wounds. Tori and Lainie O''Neal, the twin sisters who somehow survived the fateful crash, will meet again after years of estrangement, now more bitter than ever in the aftermath of a vicious murder. With the help of forensic pathologist Birdy Waterman, Kendall discovers a chilling pattern of unsolved fatalities. Before another victim is claimed, Stark races to unmask one the most relentless killers she''s ever encountered--a killer with the perfect disguise...

A killer’s work is never done . . . Seduction. Mind control. Murder. These are the weapons that have made Brenda Nevins one of the most wanted—and feared—criminals in the world. Now the notorious serial killer has escaped from prison and is plotting her revenge. Using innocent young women as bait, she will lure her unsuspecting victims into her trap. This time, sheriff’s detective Kendall Stark and forensic pathologist Birdy Waterman won’t be able to stop her. The killing will be filmed. The feed will be live. And the blood will be streaming . . .

A killer with an obsession with Ted Bundy, a twisted past, and an even more twisted personal mission of bloodshed. The women he picks are young. Petite. Dark haired. And when he’s done with them, they are barely recognizable. Detective Stacia O’Hare Alexander is determined to find the killer, but she’s haunted by a family tragedy: two years before she was born, her older sister disappeared. Her parents believe it was the work of infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. Decades later, Stacia is trying to solve two murders with a ghost at her back. Jeremy Howell believes he is Ted Bundy’s son, and he’s anxious to continue his father’s legacy. When a third woman goes missing, it’s up to Stacia to stop Jeremy—before his basement walls are splashed again with red.

A relentless killer’s unfinished business . . . Hannah Griffin was a girl when tragedy struck on her family''s farm. She still remembers the flames reflected against the newly fallen snow and the bodies the police dug up—one of them her mother''s. It was the nation''s worst murder scene in decades and the killer was never found. Two decades later, Hannah is a CSI investigating a case of child abuse when the past comes hurtling back. Years of buried questions are brought to life. A killer with unfinished business is on the hunt. And an anonymous message turns Hannah''s blood cold: Your Mom called . . .

The bodies are found in towns and cities around Puget Sound. The young women who are the victims had nothing in common. But a depraved killer has carefully chose them to stalk, capture, and torture. A killer whose cunning is matched only by the depth of his bloodlust.

Former homicide detective Nicole Foster has hit rock bottom. Driven off the force by her treacherous partner and lover, she''s flat broke and struggling with a gambling addiction. All Nicole has left is the dream of a warm bed at a homeless shelter and the haunting memories of three-year-old Kelsey Chase--whose murder case ended her career. As Nicole obsesses over the old facts, she realizes everything about that case felt off: a disinterested mom, a suicidal pedophile, and too many questions left unanswered. When the little girl''s grieving father begs Nicole for help, she''s drawn back into the investigation...and given one shot at redemption. But the deeper Nicole digs, the more evil she uncovers, including betrayals that hit painfully close to home. Will a shocking discovery be the key to finally getting justice for Kelsey and resurrecting her own life?

In If I Can''t Have You, bestselling author Gregg Olsen and co-author Rebecca Morris investigate one of the 21st Century''s most puzzling disappearances and how it resulted in the murder of two children by their father. Every once in a great while a genuine murder mystery unfolds before the eyes of the American public. The tragic story of Susan Powell and her murdered boys, Charlie and Braden, is the only case that rivals the Jon Benet Ramsey saga in the annals of true crime. When the pretty, blonde Utah mother went missing in December of 2009 the media was swept up in the story – with lenses and microphones trained on Susan''s husband, Josh. He said he had no idea what happened to his young wife, and that he and the boys had been camping in the middle of a snowstorm. Over the next three years bombshell by bombshell, the story would reveal more shocking secrets. Josh''s father, Steve, who was sexually obsessed with Susan, would ultimately be convicted of unspeakable perversion. Josh''s brother, Michael, would commit suicide. And in the most stunning event of them all, Josh Powell would murder his two little boys and kill himself with brutality beyond belief.

Native American pathologist Birdy Waterman and sheriff''s detective Kendall Stark go up against a female serial killer whose powers of persuasion seem to have no end, forcing the two to make a fateful decision.

New York Times bestselling authors Gregg Olsen and Rebecca Morris investigate the 2009 death of an Amish wife and mother found murdered in her own bed. At just 30 years old, with dark-blonde hair and freckles, Barbara Weaver was as pretty as the women depicted on the covers of her favorite "bonnet" stories - romance novels set in Amish America. Barbara had everything she''d ever wanted: five beautiful children, a home, her faith, and a husband named Eli. But while Barbara was happy to live as the Amish have for centuries - without modern conveniences, Eli was tempted by technology: cell phones, the Internet, and sexting. Online he called himself "Amish Stud" and found no shortage of "English" women looking for love and sex. Twice he left Barbara and their children, was shunned, begged for forgiveness, and had been welcomed back to the church. Barb Raber was raised Amish, but is now a Conservative Mennonite. She drove Eli to appointments in her car, and she gave him what he wanted when he wanted: a cell phone, a laptop, rides to his favorite fishing and hunting places, and, most importantly, sex. When Eli starts asking people to kill his wife for him, Barb offers to help. One night, just after Eli had hitched a ride with a group of men to go fishing in the hours before dawn, Barb Raber entered the Weaver house and shot Barbara Weaver in the chest at close range. It was only the third murder in hundreds of years of Amish life in America, and it fell to Edna Boyle, a young assistant prosecutor to seek justice for Barbara Weaver.

New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen investigates the sensational story of a minister who seduced four of his female congregants, and hatched a cold-blooded plot to murder his wife. On December 26, 1997, near the affluent community of Bainbridge Island off the coast of Seattle, a house went up in flames. In it was the shy, beloved minister''s wife Dawn Hacheney. When the fire was extinguished, investigators found only her charred remains. Her husband Nick was visibly devastated by the loss. What investigators failed to note, however, was that Dawn''s lungs didn''t contain smoke. Was she dead before the fire began? So begins this true crime story that''s unlike any other. It investigates Nick Hacheney, a philandering minister who had been carrying on with several women in the months before and just after his wife''s death. He would be convicted for the murder five years to the day after the crime. From one of the foremost names in true crime, Twisted Faith is a gripping and truly unforgettable story of a man whose charisma and desire rocked an entire community.

No. 1 New York Times-bestselling author Olsen''s shocking and empowering true-crime story of three sisters determined to survive their mother''s house of horrors. Harrowing and heartrending, If You Tell is a survivor''s story of absolute evil--and the freedom and justice these three sisters risked their lives to fight for. for.

In this true story—a haunting saga of medical murder set in an era of steamships and gaslights—Gregg Olsen reveals one of the most unusual and disturbing criminal cases in American history. In 1911 two wealthy British heiresses, Claire and Dora Williamson, arrived at a sanitorium in the forests of the Pacific Northwest to undergo the revolutionary “fasting treatment” of Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard. It was supposed to be a holiday for the two sisters, but within a month of arriving at what the locals called Starvation Heights, the women underwent brutal treatments and were emaciated shadows of their former selves. Claire and Dora were not the first victims of Linda Hazzard, a quack doctor of extraordinary evil and greed. But as their jewelry disappeared and forged bank drafts began transferring their wealth to Hazzard’s accounts, the sisters came to learn that Hazzard would stop at nothing short of murder to achieve her ambitions.

Stella Nickell''s small-time world was one of big-time dreams. In 1986, her biggest one came true when her husband died during a seizure, making her the beneficiary of a $175,000-plus insurance payoff—until authorities discovered Bruce Nickell''s headache capsules had been laced with cyanide. In an attempt to cover her tracks, Stella did the unconscionable. She saw to it that a stranger would also become a "random casualty" of cyanide-tainted painkillers. But Stella''s cunning plan came undone when her daughter Cynthia notified federal agents. And troubling questions lingered like the secret of bitter almonds... What would turn a gregarious barfly like Stella into a cold-hearted killer overnight? Why would Cynthia, a mirror image of her mother, turn on her own flesh and blood? Did Cynthia reveal everything she knew about the crimes? The stunning answers would unfold in a case that sparked a national uproar, dug deep into a troubled family history, and exposed an American mother for the pretty poison she was. Gregg Olsen''s Bitter Almonds is true crime writing at its best.

Kevin Ryan is a writer in the much-maligned genre of true crime who desperately needs a devious, over-the-top story for the subject of his next book. How else can he keep his wife Valerie''s roots dyed and keep himself from handing out taco samples at the local supermarket? When Kevin isn''t Googling himself or spot checking his books'' stock at stores around the country or online, he''s bringing the hazards (i.e., criminals and other crazies) of his job home to wife Val and twin daughters Taylor and Hayley. Kevin is on the hunt for the big one, the story that could break him out of the mid-list and onto the bestseller lists. And then there''s a knock at the door--a story finds him...A distraught 20-year old Jett Carter shows up at the Ryan house because her mother and sister are imprisoned-perhaps if Kevin writes their story and reveals the truth, he might help exonerate them. The Carters'' tale is the perfect white-trash-attempted-murder-love-triangle that Kevin''s editor will love and his fans will devour. He begins to write "Love You to Death." Then on a beautiful summer day, the wheels of homicide are set in motion and Kevin''s own story begins to eclipse the crime he is chronicling. When his #1 fan is murdered and another body turns up, the Ryans'' life in Port Gamble and all that Kevin holds dear is in jeopardy. Somewhere in "Love You to Death" and within the "bunch of low rent losers" he''s interviewing is the killer.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If You Tell comes the chilling, unputdownable story of Sharon Nelson, the minister''''s wife whose two husbands mysteriously ended up dead. 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. This book was originally published as Confessions of an American Black Widow and Bitch on Wheels. Read what everyone is saying about Confessions of an American Black Widow: "Another winner from Gregg Olsen!!! If you really love a great, nail-biting true crime novel, THIS is it!! Once you start, it''''s darned hard to put down. Seriously. Mr Olsen again takes you on a twisty, narrow road... you just cannot put this book down." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "You pick up this book and start to read. Suddenly you realize you cannot stop reading, you need to know what happened next... a page turner... this book deeply affected me and I eat true crime books for breakfast... amazing... one of Gregg Olsen''''s finest." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "I read this book in one sitting. I couldn''''t put it down." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "I couldn''''t put it down. Brilliantly written. I just found my favorite author." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Olsen is an incredible author. I couldn''''t put it down. Excellent read!... Bravo!!" Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Amazing... WOW! Another winner for Gregg Olsen!" Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Amazing... I literally could not put the book down." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Kept me riveted from the very beginning to the very last page! I strongly recommend this book for any true crime fan." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "I couldn''''t put the book down. The author made all the characters come alive." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Amazing... a must read." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Loved the book!... I could not ask for a better read!" Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Incredible." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Amazing... A great page turner." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "A true story that you just can''''t put down!" Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Gregg Olsen always writes in a style that makes you want to read all night... keeps your attention until the end." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ "Outstanding true-crime." Amazon reviewer, ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The second novel in Gregg Olsen''s riveting and edgy Young Adult Vengeance series brings back Rylee Cassidey and thrusts her into a search that could change her life . . . or end it. Rylee tracks a serial killer in Portland, Oregon doing what she does best — lying, reinventing, and plotting vengeance for the victims of the brutal killer that has college students at Portland State University terrified. At the same time, she grapples with a betrayal so shocking that it sends her reeling, testing her as she’s never been tested before. Is there anyone she can trust?

Behind the headlines of a sensational 1921 trial, the devastating truth about a wife who killed--a haunting true-crime story by Gregg Olsen, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If You Tell, written with his daughter Morgan Olsen. On August 3, 1932, a train pulled out of Denver carrying the most talked-about woman in America. In a private car, under armed guard, sat a small, composed figure. Lyda Trueblood was going home to prison. A decade earlier, in frontier Idaho, Lyda had been everything a wife should be: beautiful, charming, an excellent cook. Men fell for her easily. They also died easily--poisoned by arsenic she extracted from ordinary flypaper and stirred into their meals. Her brother-in-law. Her husband. Her baby daughter. Then another husband. And another. Six victims in five years. The 1921 trial made her a sensation-- "Lady Bluebeard," the papers called her. But who was the woman behind the headlines? What turned a Missouri farmer''s daughter into a methodical killer? Now, on this train carrying her back after a daring prison escape, Lyda finally agreed to talk. What she revealed--and what she didn''t--would haunt those who heard it. Drawing on court transcripts, prison records, and Lyda''s own chilling statements, for the first time, Gregg and Morgan Olsen go beyond the lurid mythology to explore how an ordinary wife became an extraordinary killer.

In a secluded farm house in the Pacific Northwest, a family has been slaughtered—and a teenage son has disappeared. Single mother and cop Emily Kenyon spearheads a dark hunt for a killer. But Emily’s teenage daughter Jenna is one step ahead of her. Then another family is butchered, and another. As Emily fits the puzzle pieces together, she makes a chilling discovery: The killer is coming after her and her daughter . . .

On Christmas Eve in 1985, a hunter found a young boy''s body along an icy corn field in Nebraska. The residents of Chester, Nebraska buried him as "Little Boy Blue," unclaimed and unidentified-- until a phone call from Ohio two years later led authorities to Eli Stutzman, the boy''s father. Eli Stutzman, the son of an Amish bishop, was by all appearances a dedicated farmer and family man in the country''s strictest religious sect. But behind his quiet façade was a man involved with pornography, sadomasochism, and drugs. After the suspicious death of his pregnant wife, Stutzman took his preschool-age son, Danny, and hit the road on a sexual odyssey ending with his conviction for murder. But the mystery of Eli Stutzman and the fate of his son didn''t end on the barren Nebraska plains. It was just beginning. . . Gregg Olsen''s Abandoned Prayers is an incredible true story of murder and Amish secrets.

Notorious serial killer Brenda Nevins has cajoled, seduced, blackmailed, and left a trail of bodies all across Washington State. Now, after a daring prison escape, she is free to carry out her ultimate act of revenge. The targets: forensic pathologist Birdy Waterman and sheriff''s detective Kendall Stark. The pawn: a television psychic hungry for fame, ratings, and blood. There''s only way to stop a killer as brutal, brilliant, and twisted as this: "beat her at her own game..."