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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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.75


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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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prettiestwhistles's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.75


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mabechel's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

3.25

It's an important part of history that I enjoyed learning. I mostly docked stars because the pacing was unnecessarily nonlinear in some parts, which made it more difficult to follow. 

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river23's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

3.0


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psellars11's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

5.0

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.

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cyberhavok's review against another edition

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dark informative sad medium-paced

4.25


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marcuslongoni's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0


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mmjohnso15's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

Pace-wise, I feel like the first section was harder to follow as I got acclimated to the writing style and many names. The second and third parts went faster and was written like a murder mystery. Content-wise, this book was incredibly heartbreaking and painful to read. The betrayals throughout made for a very scary read, especially being a true story. 

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