Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
$7.99
Killers of the Flower Moon
- The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee, Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs
Publisher's Summary
From New Yorker staff writer David Grann, New York Times best-selling author of The Lost City of Z, a twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history.
In the 1920s the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. Her relatives were shot and poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more members of the tribe began to die under mysterious circumstances.
In this last remnant of the Wild West - where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes like Al Spencer, the "Phantom Terror", roamed - many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll climbed to more than 24, the FBI took up the case. It was one of the organization's first major homicide investigations, and the bureau badly bungled the case. In desperation the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only American Indian agents in the bureau. The agents infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. Based on years of research and startling new evidence, the book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward American Indians that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly compelling but also emotionally devastating.
©2017 David Grann (P)2017 Random House Audio
S. Blakely
An outstanding story, highly recommended
Yes, the series of narrators is confusing. More on that later. The important thing is that this is a great story, an important story, an amazing story that has been hidden from you. Everyone should read or listen to it. This is a true American crime story, a story full of villains and honest to god heroes. If you loved Boys in the Boat or Unbroken, don’t miss this one. It’s top notch research and story telling. I couldn’t put it down.
Now, about the narration. First, you have Ann Marie Lee reading it. Her enunciation is perfect, but she hasn’t got a dramatic bone in her body. I’m sorry Ann Marie. It’s like listening to a kindergarten teacher reading Dick and Jane. No character. No drama. What the heck? Next Will Patton comes along.He has read a number of Stephen King books and is a marvelous dramatic reader. He can do the voice of evil really well. The transition is all the more jolting for the listener. From Romper Room to Stephen King. Suddenly you’re listening to a totally different book. But you’ll want to continue on because the story is that good. At the end there’s Danny Campbell — another fine reader, and another adjustment for the listener. It’s a double shame that this story of a conspiracy to murder the Osage tribe and cover up the crime is bungled by Random House Audio. Are they part of the conspiracy too???
I highly recommend this book in spite of Random House’s unfortunate production.
260 people found this helpful
Margaret
1 author, 3 narrators, 3 books
This book is read by three different narrators. In this case, the narrators make or break the story. The first narrator walks us through the mysterious murders that keep happening to the Osage tribal members – but she combines singsong and monotone with a dash of schoolmarm in a way that it was all I could do to hang on for Will Patton’s section.
Will Patton comes riding in on his dark horse, just the way he does in every James Lee Burke masterpiece, to bring the narrative to life with his whispering snarl and resonant emphases. Suddenly you’re the lawman in the 10 gallon hat shaking up J. Edgar Hoover’s bureau out where the law gets slippery, and the narrative picks up and takes off.
The third narrator is an elderly fellow who reads the first-person segment about how so many more Osage were killed than were previously thought. He’s fine.
Overall, the story is a compelling tale about the lengths to which greed and institutionalized racism will go to nearly eradicate a people, and how whether energy is clean or dirty, it exploits the land and the people on it.
148 people found this helpful