Book Review: Killers of the Flower Moon

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON | David Grann
04.18.2017 | Vintage
Rating: 4/5 stars

The Osage Nation in Oklahoma struck it rich in the 1920s when oil was discovered beneath their land. The people of this nation were each given a portion of the wealth and soon the land was filled with chauffeured automobiles, mansions, and children being sent to study in Europe. With every sudden surge of wealth comes some consequences. This time those consequences were death.

One by one, the Osage began to be killed off. A prime target of these murders was the family of Mollie Burkhart. One relative was shot. Another was poisoned. This was just the start, as more strange deaths and events started happening all around her. Finally the death toll reached a point where it was impossible not to take notice. The newly created FBI took on the case with newly appointed director, J. Edgar Hoover and Texas Ranger, Tom White at the helm of the investigation. Who was behind these murders?

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON is one of those books that I’ve seen all over, but didn’t know too much about. Ultimately, this is the story of a tragic time in history, which helped to solidify the importance of the US government agency known as the FBI. The subject matter within these pages is a heavy and very important topic in American history that I think should be on everyone’s radar.

David Grann has done a phenomenal job of gathering extensive data not only about the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, but also the FBI and the time period. Instantly I felt transported back in time to the events within these pages. Despite being such an in-depth exploration, I felt that Grann did a nice job of keeping the wording brief and spared the reader from any unnecessary fluff.

I find myself consuming nonfiction books much more efficiently through the use of audiobooks, as I can truly immerse myself into the story without being easily distracted from such detailed material. This audiobook was performed by three narrators, each assigned to their own section of the story. With three different narrators taking on separate sections of this book I found myself captivated by the material and truly enjoyed my reading experience.  I think that without listening to this book I would have been more likely to miss important tidbits along the way.

It’s hard to critique nonfiction books the way that we do when reviewing a work of fiction, as these are true stories and the writer cannot be judged based off of plot. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON is a truly important work of true crime that belongs on TBRs of those interested in that genre, as well as anyone interested in historical events from the United States.

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.