Title: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (Audiobook)
Author: David Grann
Genre: History; True Crime
Killers of the Flower Moon is a horrifying and heartbreaking true story of racism, conspiracy, and murder. In the early 1900s, oil was discovered on the Osage reservation in Oklahoma, and the two thousand tribal members quickly became the wealthiest people per capita in the world. Shortly after, however, they became some of the most murdered people in the world. Some were shot, others were poisoned, and one family died in a bombing. The period from 1921 to 1926 became known as the "Osage Reign of Terror."
After the tribe pressured the federal government for assistance, the new director of the Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, sent a former Texas Ranger named Tom White and a team of undercover agents to investigate. A powerful local cattle rancher, his nephew, and a henchman were tried and convicted for two of the murders, but theirs were the only convictions. Several years ago, journalist David Grann began investigating the murders and uncovered a terrifying conspiracy that went far deeper than the Bureau of Investigation ever discovered.
The audiobook is read by three narrators: Ann Marie Lee tells the story of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman whose three sisters and mother were murdered. Then, Will Patton brings Tom White and the bureau's investigation to life, and finally, Danny Campbell recounts Grann's modern investigation. Whereas Lee and Campbell's narration is acceptable, Patton's is truly exceptional. He sounds just like a cowboy from a bygone era and does a fabulous job of recreating the voices of the dozens of chracters involved in the original investigation.
The nine hours of this audiobook flew by! It's a must-listen to or must-read for anyone interested in American history and true crime. I think we owe it to the victims to keep their story alive. As one Osage tribal member remarked to Grann, "Their blood cries out from the ground."
After the tribe pressured the federal government for assistance, the new director of the Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, sent a former Texas Ranger named Tom White and a team of undercover agents to investigate. A powerful local cattle rancher, his nephew, and a henchman were tried and convicted for two of the murders, but theirs were the only convictions. Several years ago, journalist David Grann began investigating the murders and uncovered a terrifying conspiracy that went far deeper than the Bureau of Investigation ever discovered.
The audiobook is read by three narrators: Ann Marie Lee tells the story of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman whose three sisters and mother were murdered. Then, Will Patton brings Tom White and the bureau's investigation to life, and finally, Danny Campbell recounts Grann's modern investigation. Whereas Lee and Campbell's narration is acceptable, Patton's is truly exceptional. He sounds just like a cowboy from a bygone era and does a fabulous job of recreating the voices of the dozens of chracters involved in the original investigation.
The nine hours of this audiobook flew by! It's a must-listen to or must-read for anyone interested in American history and true crime. I think we owe it to the victims to keep their story alive. As one Osage tribal member remarked to Grann, "Their blood cries out from the ground."
- Rachel K.
