If I Can't Have You: Susan Powell, Her Mysterious Disappearance, and the Murder of Her Children

Bestselling authors Gregg Olsen and 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 Cox Powell and her sons, 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 Susan, and that he and the boys had been camping in the middle of a snowstorm.

But where was he really? And, more importantly, where was Susan?

Bombshell by bombshell, the story would reveal more shocking secrets and ultimately complete annihilation of the Powell family. Josh's father, Steve, who was sexually obsessed with Susan, would ultimately be convicted of unspeakable perversion. Josh's brother, Michael, would commit suicide minutes after being questioned by the FBI, and the State of Washington would later be held liable for its role in the most stunning event of them all - the murder of Charlie and Braden.

Author: Gregg Olsen,Rebecca Morris
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: 11/18/2025
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.36w x 0.95d
ISBN13: 9781250393128
ISBN10: 1250393124
BISAC Categories:
- True Crime | Murder | General
- Biography & Autobiography | Criminals & Outlaws

About the Author
GREGG OLSEN is the #1 New York Times bestselling and Edgar award nominated author of more than thirty nonfiction books and novels, including If You Tell, The Amish Wife, Lying Next to Me, and The Last Thing She Ever Did. He has been featured on NPR, Good Morning America, and in USA Today, People, and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in rural Washington state. REBECCA MORRIS is the author of the bestsellers Boy Missing and If I Can't Have You, as well as the New York Times bestsellers Bodies of Evidence and Overkill.