Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Killers of the Flower Moon

by David Grann

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST 

"Disturbing and riveting...It will sear your soul." Dave Eggers, New York Times Book Review

SHELF AWARENESS'S BEST BOOK OF 2017

Named a best book of the year by Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, GQ, Time, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly, Time Magazine, NPR's Maureen CorriganNPR's "On Point," Vogue, Smithsonian, Cosmopolitan, Seattle Times, Bloomberg, Lit Hub's "Ultimate Best Books," Library Journal, Paste, Kirkus, Slate.com and
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From New Yorker staff writer David Grann, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Lost City of Z, a twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery...
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Reviewed by Beth C. on

5 of 5 stars

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Reign of Terror. That's what the Osage call it. When their people were being systematically used, abused, and murdered for the oil money they owned. A conspiracy that encompassed most of the town in one form or another, and one that still resonates with the descendants of those involved.

Every so often, I really enjoy a good nonfiction book. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to find that they are really a struggle to read - dry, and (I hate to say it) even boring. However, that was definitely not the case here. I read the book almost in one sitting, and was alternately horrified by the cruelty done to the Osage, and engrossed by the efforts to find out who did it and to bring them to justice. Grann has a knack of bringing the past to life here, and I believe he has done justice to the events of so long ago.

I often hesitate to read those books that are "must-reads" because I tend to find that I'm not as engrossed in them as promised. Thankfully, that was not the case here, and it truly is a must-read. Eye-opening, fascinating, and a testament to those men who helped to bring justice to the Osage. It is also a book that honors those killed during The Reign of Terror, letting their forgotten story be one that lives on beyond those memories of their people.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 18 May, 2017: Finished reading
  • 18 May, 2017: Reviewed