Second, what there is to write about isn't written about terribly well or objectively. Josh Powell is not a sympathetic figure in this story -- none of the Powells are -- and his actions clearly stand as awful on their own. Repeated remarks about how "evil" Josh or his father are feel like overkill. Similarly, I didn't need to be convinced that Susan *didn't* deserve to be murdered; I was already on the her side, and after a certain point, talking about how wonderful Susan was became boring. Thank you to Pigeonhole, Charlotte Levin and Pan McMillan for this free digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion! At 6:40 P.M. Josh finally pulled his minivan into the driveway. The police kept father and sons in the vehicle while they questioned him. Josh said he and Charlie and Braden had left just after midnight to go camping and Susan was in bed. He had no idea where she might be now. He repeated that he had been confused and thought it was Sunday. Once he realized it was Monday, he hadn't called his employer because he was afraid he would lose his job if he admitted he had mixed up the days. However Samuel's sense of entitlement, self-importance and arrogance as well as his inability to see the depth of his treatment of not only Constance, but women in general, speaks volumes as to the type of man he is. Why is it that these are the men who attract the most vulnerable kind of woman? They fall for his charm, his smile, the way he makes them laugh all without seeing that he is really laughing at them not with them. He comes from a world of entitlement and privilege and is used to getting what he wants and then justifying his disgraceful actions by accusing women of being sulky and clingy who dare to mistake sexual intimacy as a relationship when all he is really after is a good time. EM: Okay, so help me try to figure out. I don't live with you. I don't live with her, okay. You guys have been together for what, seven years?

When asked why he hadn't answered his cell phone during the day, Josh said he had kept it off to preserve the battery. He said he didn't have a cell charger. Plus they were out in the desert where there was no service. Detective Maxwell, a solidly built man with a dark crew cut, mustache, and ruddy complexion, had fifteen years on the force but this would be the most complicated and trying case of his career. Maxwell leaned through the window of the minivan and saw one phone on the center consul plugged into a charger. He also noted a second cell phone—later determined to be Susan's—in the van. Josh didn't have an answer as to why his wife's phone was in the car. If I Can’t Have You is an exceptional debut novel and Charlotte Levin really brings Constance Little to life, warts and all. She’s created a character that the reader feels all the emotions for. Whilst we can’t quite agree with some of her actions, we understand why she does the things she does. She has bottled up her deep feelings about her parents and never faced up to the loss and grief properly which has caused her to behave in the way she does. So this is a story about obsession, grief and cruel manipulation. Constance has recently lost her mum to the big C (cancer, not covid) it wasn't pretty, and her young mind has been ruined by it. Why have I bothered this time ? Because the verdicts not just given out of sequence, it’s put into the ‘about this book’ blurb ! So I now know what happened before I even read the first sentence ! I mean c’mon ! Maxwell asks Josh more pointedly if he is worried about Susan. For years to come, the West Valley City police would say that Josh never acted concerned about Susan, didn't ask about the investigation into her disappearance, and never helped look for her.Having been through a recent trauma, Constance is a broken thing. So when Samuel is nice to her, she is drawn right in. Her initial attraction to him then tips into obsession and the tension mounts as her behaviour becomes more and more outlandish. Living in a dank bedsit, her only friend appears to be Dale, but the question is does he have some ulterior motive for looking after Constance so diligently? This isn't about this book per se but I wanted to include a little note mostly for friends who may read this but also for anyone else who cares. Lasseter outlined the Adriana Vasco case from the book Deadly Mistress by Michael Fleeman (very good book by the way.) This was talked about as an example of Conway's skills as a prosecutor. A 28 year old receptionist in a private doctor’s surgery in Kensington. A chain-smoking, emotionally stunted woman who is running away from her past having recently experienced a traumatic loss. Living in a crappy bedsit, drinking too much and avoiding her own feelings so when the handsome and charming Dr Samuel Stevens starts working at the surgery she can’t help falling for him. This psychological thriller is written as a fascinating and detailed letter, from Constance to Samuel, and SO hard to put down. The story is a mixture of “Fatal Attraction” and “Gone Girl” and works perfectly. I couldn’t help but root for “Team Constance”, even if she was a bit psycho. The more I read about her, the more I sympathized with her and tried to understand her actions.

They all stared" it held my attention as we travelled a journey with main character Constance who writes a letter to Samuel explaining her thoughts and actions. She works as a receptionist at a doctors' surgery and falls head over heels with the new recruit. He(Samuel) bubbles along through life merrily using and abusing women for sex and dropping them as and when he chooses. She does not see his treatment of her as horrific and instead chooses to see him as the object of her love and devotion and refuses to walk away from him, as so many people have done in her life, who supposedly loved her. I implore you to read (or listen to) it. It's so many things - dark, sweet, odd, moving, credible, tender, beautifully written & at times funny' - Marian Keyes, author of Again, RachelEvery 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.

This book scared me, but not for the reasons one might think. Susan Powell went missing. She left behind two young sons and her husband, who as this book carefully lays out is most likely responsible for her murder. Two years later, a still free but under investigation Josh, murders his sons then kills himself. As horrific as all this is - and it is gut wrenchingly horrific - a man killing his family and himself is common enough that it isn't in your face scary. What is scary is how much evidence the police had that Josh and possibly some of his relatives (father, brother, sister?) were responsible for Susan's disappearance/murder yet didn't arrest him. Lots of evidence. Yes, most was circumstantial as her body has never been found, but so much that it just doesn't make sense why he was never charged leaving him free to kill his children. Scary rage in 3...2...1... And ya know, not a spoiler since it's a matter of public record but he's now done his time and is out of prison. Oh snap - parole - so we're all safe aren't we? A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Olsen has written ten nonfiction books, ten novels, and contributed a short story to a collection edited by Lee Child.quote "It's funny, grief, isn't it? How you die with them. Whoever you were before has gone +... "unquote) The award-winning author has been a guest on dozens of national and local television shows, including educational programs for the History Channel, Learning Channel, and Discovery Channel. He has also appeared on Good Morning America, The Early Show, The Today Show, FOX News; CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, MSNBC, Entertainment Tonight, CBS 48 Hours, Oxygen’s Snapped, Court TV’s Crier Live, Inside Edition, Extra, Access Hollywood, and A&E’s Biography.

I take major issue with Johns not wording her thoughts better. According to her, all women fantasize about being raped at the least, at the most we want to be raped. Constance is a receptionist in a doctors surgery in London who falls in love with Samuel , the new doctor. He seems to feel the same way, but he uses her for his own purposes and then dumps her. What happens next is this story. She is a vulnerable woman and his betrayal hurts her, but she does not give up easily. In some ways IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU was too literary for me as I prefer my thrillers to be rollercoaster rides of explosive twists and excitement. I guess a lot of this book missed the mark with me as I felt it was meant to be more of an exploration of sorts...into what, I'm not sure. But I can still appreciate part of the idea if not the entire concept.Susan, Josh and the boys are missing. We don't know where they are. They haven't been seen since church. This book is an account of Susan Powell's troubled marriage and her suspicious disappearance, but it is also an account of the two years of investigation that followed. Given what the reader learns of Josh's pattern of controlling behavior, his scarcely credible alibi, his suspicious actions following his wife's disappearance, and the many pieces of supportive evidence accumulated by law enforcement, it is almost impossible not to ask: shouldn't he have been charged with murder and taken into custody? True, Susan's body was never found, and prosecuting a murder without a body is a difficult undertaking. On the other hand, if he had been charged and incarcerated, his two sons might be alive today.