I definitely wanted to like this book more than I did. I think this story is an important one, showing just a piece of the history in which white Americans brutalized and murdered what is suspected to be hundreds of Osage people. The beginning really had me hooked, being from Mollie’s POV. But once the POV shifted away from Mollie I had a harder time focusing. I didn’t think the parts that discussed the history of the FBI were as cohesive as I would have liked, I’m not sure. I did enjoy the last third of the book of the author talking to us directly about his research. My opinion of the narrative style of each section could possibly be swayed by the different audiobook narrators as well; I loved the first narrator but didn’t love the main narrator for part two. Overall I’m still glad I read the book and learned a lot. 

What a tragic story---a real story. I studied and did a project on the Osage nation for school, then saw Scorcese's film Killers of the Flower Moon, which inspired me to read the book. There was so much information; the way Grann was able to stitch everything together into a cohesive story was impressive. Getting to the end and seeing how many people came together to cover up crimes was heartbreaking. 

This review is for the audiobook.

The best non-fiction for me are the ones that teach me something while making it an interesting and engrossing story. David Grann does this very well with Killers of the Flower Moon. I knew nothing about the Osage reign of terror in the 1920s (I know there was a movie made as well but also never watched that). The history of the area and people as well as the chilling murders that permeated the reservation were well relayed and amazing to hear about - not in a good way. The racism, prejudices, and loose law keeping were rampant and the effects of that time are still felt today within that culture.

The story flowed well about 90% of the time. There were a few chapters that, while the information was important, I felt the chapters themselves were situated poorly in the book. For example, the story was moving along and then there was a sharp deviation to the history of the area. Wouldn't have been nice for these chapters to be a little earlier so the main events were not split in such an abrupt way.

I listened to the audiobook, and the three narrators were well picked. The first part of the book concerned the Osage - the narrator was a woman that gave weight to their history and present situation. The second part of the book followed a FBI agent, and the narrator really sounded like a seasoned law officer in between the wild west and the beginning of a more orderly law enforcement. The last part concerned Grann's research, and the narrator had an air of an older reporter about him.

Overall I think this is a very impactful, well told story and would recommend to anyone with a desire to learn more about historical events.

Full transparency, I read this book in the wake of the new movie released this year. That said, I’m so grateful I did! This book is incredibly detailed and the authors attention to every small fact from the original Osage nation’s history, to their forcible relocation twice to Oklahoma, makes it a very informative and interesting read. He also covers the murders, relationships and backgrounds of involved victims, investigators, and criminals. He also explains what happened at trials, and aftermath and lasting legacy very respectfully. 

I truly enjoyed this book. It was a little difficult to get into since it was so fact heavy, but overall he tells such a compelling narrative with thought and care going into the lasting impact on the Osage. I liked that he connected murders that occurred beyond the reservation and also explained the oil industry so it made more sense as to why the greed and murders would even happen in the first place.