Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

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

127 reviews

crybabybea's review against another edition

Not for me. I think this was way too overwrought with useless facts and information that weren’t relevant to the story. I found the midsection about the creation of the FBI super boring and it felt like the author couldn’t decide what he actually wanted to write about. It’s written like a murder mystery but it’s clear who the culprit is and the motive behind the murders; maybe that’s the point but it made the whole setup of the book feel weird and unnecessary tonally.

I don’t know maybe I’m being a bit too crazy but I just didn’t like the way the story stopped focusing on the Osage and instead focused on the creation of the FBI and the white agents who were involved with the case, especially since the Osage people were such an important part of the case being solved, and especially especially knowing how the police/FBI have completely failed the indigenous communities and MMIW.

I’m also not a true crime fan in general and don’t really care to hear interviews of suspects and details about crime scenes or whodunnit stories, so I just didn’t like this.

The information about the Osage community, their wealth, and the way systemic racism affected them was properly enraging but I just don’t know if this author was the right person to tell that story.

The audiobook narrator talks like Zapp Brannigan which irritated me lol

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hannahbee_97's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.25

The narration on this was well done. I didn’t know anything about the Osage murders before reading this, it left me absolutely horrified and irate. It’s so important to remember the disgusting history of oppression that the US is built on and to take action against the ways that oppression continues to exist. The last third of the book hit me hardest.

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doreneemi's review against another edition

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dark informative sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

4.0

While I am a movie person and obviously watched the Oscars this year where its movie adaptation was frequently nominated, I had managed to avoid knowing much about the Osage murders before reading this book.

David Grann’s writing is fantastic. He manages to keep his language accessible and fluid while also not deviating too far from the facts of the case. This book is part thriller, part nonfiction, and while it is easy to cross that line into sensationalism, I believe Grann worked incredibly hard to make sure the families of the victims were heard and not drowned out by the “true crime” aspects of the case.

The last chapter, “A Case Unsolved”, devastated me. Just when you think there has been justice for these people ignored by the U.S. government, you see how far the conspiracy goes. It was heartbreaking and real, which I appreciated considering how easy it is today to write a true crime story in the form of a ghost story. This book served as a brutal reminder of the treatment Indigenous Americans have endured- and still endure- at the hands of the government.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in U.S. history, especially that of the Wild West. While it may be after the period we consider “Western”, it holds the same ideology even as the country moves into a different era.

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hi_itsnatty's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

A fantastic story that is one of many on Turtle Island that needs to be consistently investigated all over. Overall, a good book to reflect and think about the stories still needing to be revisited and solved for families affected by MMIW cold cases.

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