Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

127 reviews

sophia_smith82's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

oceanwriter's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Living on oil-rich land, the Osage Indians had a fortune. Unfortunately, this fortune was largely monitored and limited by the government. When members of the tribe begin dying under mysterious circumstances, it calls for investigation. 
 
I found the book to be informative and I was particularly invested in the first part of the book. Once it switched to part two, I struggled to get used to the new perspective and narration which was particularly distracting while listening to the audiobook and the narrators changed. Still, I learned a lot and my heart breaks for the Osage people, not only for their losses but also for the mistreatment and conservatorship they were subjected to. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

katie0528's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

This book retells the largely forgotten murders of several Osage people in the 1920s and how the case and its fame solidified the J. Edgar Hoover's control over the FBI and allowed him to shape it into the institution it is today. This book is DARK. It is broken into three parts, each with its own narrator. The first follows an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, as her family members begin dying around her. The second follows the lead FBI investigator, Tom White, as he and his team try and crack the case. The third follows the author as he researches the book, and learns that so many more Osage died than what the FBI ever investigated, and that the rot of the case goes so much deeper and the Osage community lives with the deep scars to this day, even as the rest of the world has moved on and forgotten. It's a tragic book, but very well written, and I liked the three narrator approach to the audiobook.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

matcha_cat's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nattiemoff's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative sad

4.0

I’ve always said religion is the root of all problems. After this book, I’m going to amend that to religion, capitalism, and men are the root of all problems. 

Side note: lots of players, therefore can be hard to follow.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mishasmum's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

Very easy read for a fiction. Shines light on an underreported tragedy while keeping suspense and mystery.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

peterplaysguitar's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.75

Killers of the Flower Moon is a true crime story that almost feels like an old Hammett novel—not for the prose, but the drama of the content. There were many times while reading that my mouth fell open in quiet shock over what I was reading, and I'm still struggling to comprehend the brazen evil required of the perpetrators of the crimes. The story is told in three distinct parts (
a detective mystery, a courtroom drama, and a present-day investigation
) and each unravels more tangled knots of the Reign of Terror.

There are aspects of the story that I question the veracity of, namely the polished heroism of lead detective Tom White, whose only flaws it seems was that he was too moral and stoic. While reading, I did have a feeling that Grann might have taken some creative liberties with the minutiae of the events and actions of the people involved. But until I am able to read more about the Reign of Terror, I'll take Grann with a grain of salt and trust that he did his best to temper any dramatization with evidence and research.

Killers of the Flower Moon is thrilling and tragic, infuriating and engrossing. Highly recommended for anyone who wants (or needs) to face the sordid reality of the American spirit.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

issyd23's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

“‘the devil was standing right there.’…the missing panel: showed William K Hale, staring coldly at the camera. The Osage had removed his image, not to forget the murders, as most Americans had, but because they cannot forget.” 4🥀
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

moomookachoo's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

emmaemooney's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings