Ratings100
Average rating4
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Lost City of Z. In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage 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. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
Reviews with the most likes.
Ugh. Shocking and depressing and upon consideration, not that shocking.
Solid 4 stars. The book is split up into three sections of unequal lengths – what happens to the Osage, what happens when the Department of Justice gets involved, and how the journalist pursued additional research and evidence for some of the unsolved matters. I started to lose interest after the second section wrapped up, though this may be due to the change in narrators. (There are three narrators for the audiobook.)
A fascinating glimpse into harrowing crimes and the impact on the Osage long-term. I also think that it looked very closely at the stereotype of “drunk Indians” and turned it on its head.
Utterly fantastic book. The prose grips you right through, but it doesn't cheapen the horror. The scene in the courthouse.... was extraordinarily painful. I cannot even fathom it. A must read book that captures what is only a fraction of the (politically and institutionally supported) cruel treatment of first nations/native americans.