Book Review: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann

The first David Grann book I read was The Lost City of Z a few years ago for a book club. The story, focusing on the disappearance of explorer Percy Fawcett in the Amazon in 1925, was pretty great, and really got me interested in both what drives people to explore and to see the costs that come with it.

Last year I found a copy of his 2014 book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI at a used book store and added it to my "to be read" pile.

The book begins with a single murder in Oklahoma in the 1920s, and then begins to spin a story including incredible wealth, Texas Rangers, the FBI, Oil Tycoons, and the systemic failure of a country to protect people it has declared its responsibility. The book was fascinating, eye-opening, and I could not put it down.

In the end I found this book incredibly compelling, what started out as an apparent random killing spreads out over time as part of something so horrific I could not believe this was the first time I had ever heard this story. Definitely recommended.