Title: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Author: David Grann
Published: April 18th 2017
Pages: 338
Genre: History, True Crime, Non-fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Doubleday
Listened to on Audible
Goodreads Description:
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances.
In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes such as Al Spencer, “the Phantom Terror,” roamed – virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations. But the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Eventually the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau. They infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history.
A true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history.
Things I enjoyed about this book:
I have a sick and probably unnatural need for crime in my life. I was excited to learn more about the beginning of the FBI and how shady it used to be. While reading Killers of the Flower Moon, I felt like I was finally being shown the behind the scenes of the famous crime fighters of today, the FBI. The Osage Murders were captivating, and the book kept me wanting to know more.
The Things I Didn’t Enjoy:
Since I listened to this, I did not love the narrators of the story. It is split into 3 sections with 3 different readers. The last two were actually hard to understand at. Since history is not usually my strong point, at times it was hard for me to follow along and also keep up with all of the characters.
MRS BIRDS WORDS REVIEW
David Grann deserves 5 out 5 bird feathers. It’s not my typical genre, I think David deserves the feathers for how much research he put into this and how well written it was. There was a point in the book where it was pointed out that the Osage Murder’s were never taught in public school. Looking back, I don’t remember learning a lot about Native American history, which I think is important part of our country. I was very intrigued by how one person could be getting away with so many murders. It made me grateful for a more advanced FBI! This was an eyeopening book, I’d recommend even if it’s not your go-to genre. P.S I won’t tell you his name, but take a look at this guy, he was the murderer!
Parent’s Guide:
There’s a lot of murder………..
(C)LVB2018
Mrs Birds Words 
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