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Secrets in the Cellar

The True Story of the Austrian Incest Case That Shocked the World

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Secrets in the Cellar

Written by: John Glatt
Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
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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 27 years, Josef had imprisoned and molested Elisabeth in his man-made basement dungeon, complete with soundproof 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 19-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.

©2009 John Glatt (P)2013 Tantor Sexual Crimes & Assault True Crime Disappearance
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The horrors this woman endured at the hands of her own father are truly heartbreaking. The strength and courage Elisabeth possessed to keep moving forward is unbelievable. Her love for her family and her pursuit of justice are truly admirable. I hope her family can move forward and enjoy life as much as possible. I know there is so much healing that is needed after such trauma.
There are no excuses for her father. He is an extremely selfish, narcissistic piece of filth who does not deserve to walk this earth. Justice is bittersweet.

Devil on the doorstep!

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"So.. let me get this straight. A woman is kept captive in a basement dungeon for 24 years, gives birth to seven children for her rapist father, and is never detected by her family living directly upstairs. I got that right?"
A Hollywood producer would reject this tale immediately for being too ludicrous to be accepted. John Glatt does a great job laying out how Josef Fritzl was able to pull it off: meticulously designing and building his soundproof concrete prison over six years, dictating ostensibly plausible explanatory letters for his victim to write, and taking full advantage of an outrageously submissive wife & gullible city/social work officials. This "truth-is-stranger-than-fiction" narrative is genuinely jawdropping.

Unfortunately, reader Gildart Jackson lets the book down by attempting German/Austrian accents. While I appreciate the effort, he would have been better off simply sticking to the text. To be certain, Jackson's diction, timbre, cadence, and tone are creditable.. but the subpar voice-acting torpedoes the listening quality.

'Secrets In The Cellar' is imperfectly written and poorly-performed.. but still rates 7 stars out of 10. As a 'Plus' selection, it was a captivating listen (and a satisfying distraction for a couple of frozen afternoons) - but spend your Credit elsewhere should they ask for one.

Incredible Story

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This story is so hard to imagine of all the terrible things the father did to his daughter and her resilience and survival !!!

Horrifying story and a monster of a father!!!!

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wow how can someone be so cruel and uncaring. How that young lady never gave up is beyond me. Prayers for her and her children. Hope they can find some peace and happiness now.

strength and determination

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The story itself is crazy obviously, but you hear about in detail the same thing over and over again, just telling it from a slightly different angle ....
this is what was said to the dr.... this is what she said to the police officer, this is what she said to.... you get the point... she recounts her story several times .... and it’s repeated in the book in the same detail each time .....
if you are going to go ahead and read the book, just skip to the last two hours and you’ll get the same information, or read the first two, you just pick any two hours anywhere in the book and you’ll be fine.

Very repetitive

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