Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann is a
non-fiction work of literary journalism that reads like a mystery. It
concerns the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI.
Cover blurb – In the 1920s, the richest people per capita
in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. Oil was discovered
beneath their land and the money poured out of the earth into a life of
mansions and cars.
Then the murders began. We see the story from the viewpoint
of Mollie Burkhart as her sisters became prime targets and relatives were shot
and poisoned. Others in the Osage nation died under mysterious circumstances,
and even those doing investigations ended up dead. The death toll rose and the
overall case was taken up by the new FBI and young director, J. Edgar Hoover.
Hoover turned to Tom White, a former Texas Ranger. He in turn used an
undercover team that included a Native American agent. They infiltrated this
last remnant of the Wild West, and together with the Osage began to expose one
of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
Gann’s research is thorough and his writing is clean. You
meet the characters, learn the backgrounds, and are invested in the Osage and
their families. Not everyone is clean and pure, but the cold hearted deaths are
inexcusable. This book shoots straight in its presentation, and the words will
pierce your heart. Killers of the Flower Moon is an
enlightening read.
