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The Less People Know About Us
- A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity
- Narrated by: Laurie Winkel
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
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The Less People Know About Us
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Summary
In this powerful true crime memoir, an award-winning identity theft expert tells the shocking story of the duplicity and betrayal that inspired her career and nearly destroyed her family.
Axton Betz-Hamilton grew up in small-town Indiana in the early '90s. When she was 11 years old, her parents both had their identities stolen. Their credit ratings were ruined, and they were constantly fighting over money. This was before the age of the Internet, when identity theft became more commonplace, so authorities and banks were clueless and reluctant to help Axton's parents.
Axton's family changed all of their personal information and moved to different addresses, but the identity thief followed them wherever they went. Convinced that the thief had to be someone they knew, Axton and her parents completely cut off the outside world, isolating themselves from friends and family. Axton learned not to let anyone into the house without explicit permission, and once went as far as chasing a plumber off their property with a knife.
As a result, Axton spent her formative years crippled by anxiety, quarantined behind the closed curtains in her childhood home. She began starving herself at a young age in an effort to blend in - her appearance could be nothing short of perfect or she would be scolded by her mother, who had become paranoid and consumed by how others perceived the family.
Years later, her parents' marriage still shaken from the theft, Axton discovered that she, too, had fallen prey to the identity thief, but by the time she realized, she was already thousands of dollars in debt and her credit was ruined.
The Less People Know About Us is Axton's attempt to untangle an intricate web of lies, and to understand why and how a loved one could have inflicted such pain. Axton will present a candid, shocking, and redemptive story and reveal her courageous effort to grapple with someone close that broke the unwritten rules of love, protection, and family.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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Critic reviews
"A brave, rueful memoir of fear and heartbreak in rural America. Axton Betz-Hamilton mines the most essential of life's questions: can we ever really know the people we love? The Less People Know About Us is an unflinching portrait of grit and determination in the wake of a fractured childhood and complicated grief." (Carolyn Murnick, author of The Hot One)
"The tension of a thriller...[and] jaw dropping revelations. Astonishing and disturbing, this emotionally resonant book is perfect for true crime fans." (Publishers Weekly starred review)
"This memoir has all the suspense and twists of a thriller; even as readers begin to suspect the truth, it still shocks...highly recommended." (Booklist)
"Axton Betz-Hamilton's story is remarkable. One of the primary challenges for those of us advocating for more rights and resources for identity theft victims is their reluctance to share their experience. Betz-Hamilton writes with candor and grace about both her relationship with her mother/perpetrator, and the long term effect victimization has had on her life." (Eva Casey Velasquez, president/CEO of Identity Theft Resource Center)
"'Identity theft' sounds like something that happens far, far away and only to other people...certainly not within a seemingly picture-perfect family in the rural U.S. In a gut-wrenching portrayal of victimization starting at age 11, Axton Betz-Hamilton shows that's simply not true. The stunning revelations will keep you looking over your shoulder for a long time and even more troubling...at the ones you think you know the best!" (Nancy Grace, legal commentator, broadcast journalist, and New York Times best-selling author of The Eleventh Victim)
What listeners say about The Less People Know About Us
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 17-05-22
Fascinating true story
I really enjoyed Axtons autobiography.
She tells the story of her life as the victim of identity theft which evolves into being so much more.
A brilliant, intelligent woman who dealt with her situation through education and knowledge.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jenna Marie Hodge
- 06-01-21
brilliant, interesting and fascinating
Really enjoyed! Listened to on criminal podcast (episode 51, money tree) first which is the author herself taking about it.
I was fascinated by the story and found myself thinking about it for days.
it took a long time to get into the main part of the story but it's to add context and was interesting.
I would have loved for the book to continue and not end where it did but that's life isn't it. I hope there is an update or second book because there's so many more questions I have.
I would have preferred the author to narrate since she spoke wonderfully on the podcast but I enjoyed the narrator none the less.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mrs k a walton smith
- 17-08-20
you never know
you never know whats going on behind closed doors. a intriguing story of family betrayal
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Lucy
- 26-11-23
Boring and predictable
A bit self indulgent, I knew within the first hour who was going to end up responsible as it’s written in a way that signposts the ending. Ended up listening on 1.3x speed to get to the end of it. Wasn’t much focus on the ‘crimes’ or anything else really. Not sure how or why this book was 7hours long. Is the sort of story that I’ve heard from people I know, secrets and lies coming out after someone dies so there wasn’t anything in this book that made this story particularly interesting (to the listers), especially as I didn’t feel there was a huge amount of detail to sort parts.
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