An Indian Affairs agent said, "The question will suggest itself, which of these people are the savages?"

With clear, considering language David Grann gives a bloody history of the 1920s Reign of Terror on the Osage Tribe of Osage County, Oklahoma. Grann is careful to point out the inherently racist ideologies behind this haunting conspiracy while remaining respectful of Osage people, culture, and traditions. This is a dark, dark book but immensely interesting for its look into a period of time and a series of murders that have been buried in history.

I struggled to get into this at first — that might be because I kept on picking it up at the end of long days and I was tired and couldn't read for long before falling asleep —  but at some point I became hooked, and that kept up until parts of the third section. 

This is a real sad tale and I learnt a lot about a part of history I knew nothing about, which provided both an overview of the history of the Osage Indian community and how the FBI we know of today got its start.  I also really appreciated the pictures weaved in throughout the book as opposed to at the end or bunched together in the middle.

Only read this  book if you're ready to confront some of the darkest facets of human nature.