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Josef Fritzl was a 73-year-old retired engineer in Austria. He seemed to be living a normal life with his wife, Rosemarie, and their family—though one daughter, Elisabeth, had decades earlier been “lost” to a religious cult. Throughout the years, three of Elisabeth’s children mysteriously appeared on the Fritzls’ doorstep; Josef and Rosemarie raised them as their own. But only Josef knew the truth about Elisabeth’s disappearance…
For twenty-seven years, Josef had imprisoned and molested Elisabeth in his man-made basement dungeon, complete with sound-proof paneling and code-protected electric locks. There, she would eventually give birth to a total of seven of Josef’s children. One died in infancy—and the other three were raised alongside Elisabeth, never to see the light of day.
Then, in 2008, one of Elisabeth’s children became seriously ill, and was taken to the hospital. It was the first time the nineteen-year-old girl had ever gone outside—and soon, the truth about her background, her family’s captivity, and Josef’s unspeakable crimes would come to light.
John Glatt's Secrets in the Cellar is the true story of a crime that shocked the world.
This story is truely disturbing and highly upsetting. To think that a father can brutally rape, abuse, and keep his daughter in a celler for 24 years will impregnating her with 7 children makes me cringe. The autor put the information in the book well- but I had some trouble getting through it.. A truely sick and sadly true story. It makes you look at people in a different way.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 5, 2012
this book was an account of the true story of the Fritzel family and the horror the father put the family through. It was a good book, a fascinating read, as disturbing as the story is. I enjoyed the book. I think the author did a great job of putting the story together although he does get a bit repetitive at times.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book tells it like it is. Every disturbing detail. It is very informative and descriptive, and very well written. I would highly recommend.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 14, 2011
There werent 8 pages of photos.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.SMH66
Posted September 7, 2011
I never wrote a book review before so bare with me.reading the book I tried putting myself in the place of the family in the cellar to try to get the full feel of the book but later I found that I couldn't do that because what this man did to his own blood was horrible and I cant imagine living a life like they did. The book told enough so that you could understand just what they might have been through. But, I can tell lot's was left out.I think if your looking for a real page turner then this is the book I read it in two days all on my nook.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 20, 2009
This was a horrific, but interesting, read. I read it in just a few days. The tale of this man's cruel deed was so crazy to read about. It was a good book, but a bit repetitive at times. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading true crime.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 11, 2012
This book had the potential to be interesting but a lot of time was spent repeating details over again. It doesnt appear well organized and the ending is abrut and lacks proper closure
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 31, 2012
An unbeleivable true story . I could not put this book down or will you be able to
Highly Recommended 5 stars
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 20, 2012
What pictures??
2 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 21, 2011
All the information seems to be from newspaper articles and is repeated thru out the book.
2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 26, 2011
Enjoyed the book but it said it came with photos and I never seen any!
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 22, 2011
Can not even begin to imagine how this monster could do something so horrific to his own child. Its a great book gives lots of detail and the story is simply chilling definitely a page turner...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 25, 2011
This novel was very well written in a true crime sense. There was enough detail to keep you completely interested without lingering on a particular time to too long. This novel gives you a complete perspective of the crime without loosing sense of the audience.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 16, 2011
This was a good read. It was detailed and very informative. A bit disturbing that this really took place. But definitely recommended!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 13, 2011
I breifly heard about this story on a tv show and wanted to know more about it. This book did this just. It told about the story started for the man and family. I hope next goes more into the psych side and after lives of all involved.
1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 21, 2011
I was very disappointed in this book. It feels like he pulled all of his information from newspapers. He gives the same information over and over again in an effort to fill pages. It appears he did not speak to anyone involved in this horrific tale but created a book out of their comments...very disappointing.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book scared me half to death! Just to think that a father can keep his daughter in a cellar, rape, abuse and have 7 children with her is so perverted. This story is extremely sad and I enjoyed the authors writing style.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 27, 2010
It's still crazy to think that there are people like this in the world. These dates are not very long ago. It's a can't put it down read.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I would read other things from this author.
The book was well written.
The story is about as sick as sick can be.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Inconcievable that this could be happening this day in age. I am inspired by the strength and will to survive by the "Cellar Family". Easy reading, if not a bit disturbing.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
Josef Fritzl was a 73-year-old retired engineer in Austria. He seemed to be living a normal life with his wife, Rosemarie, and their family—though one daughter, Elisabeth, had decades earlier been “lost” to a religious cult. Throughout the years, three of Elisabeth’s children mysteriously appeared on the Fritzls’ doorstep; Josef and Rosemarie raised them as their own. But only Josef knew the truth about Elisabeth’s disappearance…
For twenty-seven years, Josef had imprisoned and ...