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Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

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Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI Paperback – April 3, 2018

by David Grann (Author)

4.4 77,656 ratings

Editors' pick Best History

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Anthony AwardWinner, 2018
Edgar AwardWinner, 2018

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Wager and The Lost City of Z, “one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."—New York Magazine • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NOW A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE

“A shocking whodunit…What more could fans of true-crime thrillers ask?”—USA Today

“A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery.” —The Boston Globe

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.

Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager!

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Vintage
Publication date

April 3, 2018
Dimensions

5.15 x 0.91 x 7.97 inches
ISBN-10

0307742482
ISBN-13

978-0307742483
Lexile measure

1090L
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For years after the American Revolution, the public opposed the creation of police departments, fearing that they would become forces of repression.
Highlighted by 10,646 Kindle readers
Only in the mid-nineteenth century, after the growth of industrial cities and a rash of urban riots—after dread of the so-called dangerous classes surpassed dread of the state—did police departments emerge in the United States.
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This is why the Osage Indians refer to May as the time of the flower-killing moon.
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Over the next two decades, the Osage were forced to cede nearly a hundred million acres of their ancestral land, ultimately finding refuge in a 50-by-125-mile area in southeastern Kansas.
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President Theodore Roosevelt had created the bureau in 1908, hoping to fill the void in federal law enforcement.
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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, GQ, Time, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly, Time Magazine,NPR, Vogue, Smithsonian, Cosmopolitan, Seattle Times, Bloomberg, Lit Hub, and Slate

“Disturbing and riveting. . . . Grann has proved himself a master of spinning delicious, many-layered mysteries that also happen to be true. . . . It will sear your soul.”
—Dave Eggers, New York Times BookReview

“A marvel of detective-like research and narrative verve.”
—Financial Times

“A shocking whodunit. . . . What more could fans of true-crime thrillers ask?”
—USA Today

“A master of the detective form. . . . Killers is something rather deep and not easily forgotten.”
—Wall St. Journal

“The best book of the year so far.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon is unsurprisingly extraordinary."
—Time

“A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery. . . . Contained within Grann's mesmerizing storytelling lies something more than a brisk, satisfying read. Killers of the Flower Moon offers up the Osage killings as emblematic of America's relationship with its indigenous peoples and the 'culture of killing' that has forever marred that tie.”
—The Boston Globe

“[C]lose to impeccable. It's confident, fluid in its dynamics, light on its feet. . . . The crime story it tells is appalling, and stocked with authentic heroes and villains. It will make you cringe at man's inhumanity to man.”
—The New York Times

About the Author

DAVID GRANN is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and THE LOST CITY OF Z. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON was a finalist for The National Book Award and won an Edgar Allan Poe Award. He is also the author of THE WHITE DARKNESS and the collection THE DEVIL AND SHERLOCK HOLMES. Grann’s storytelling has garnered several honors, including a George Polk Award. He lives with his wife and children in New York.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

The Vanishing

In April, millions of tiny flowers spread over the blackjack hills and vast prairies in the Osage territory of Oklahoma. There are Johnny-jump-ups and spring beauties and little bluets. The Osage writer John Joseph Mathews observed that the galaxy of petals makes it look as if the “gods had left confetti.” In May, when coyotes howl beneath an unnervingly large moon, taller plants, such as spiderworts and black-eyed Susans, begin to creep over the tinier blooms, stealing their light and water. The necks of the smaller flowers break and their petals flutter away, and before long they are buried underground. This is why the Osage Indians refer to May as the time of the flower-killing moon.

On May 24, 1921, Mollie Burkhart, a resident of the Osage settlement town of Gray Horse, Oklahoma, began to fear that something had happened to one of her three sisters, Anna Brown. Thirty-four, and less than a year older than Mollie, Anna had disappeared three days earlier. She had often gone on “sprees,” as her family disparagingly called them: dancing and drinking with friends until dawn. But this time one night had passed, and then another, and Anna had not shown up on Mollie’s front stoop as she usually did, with her long black hair slightly frayed and her dark eyes shining like glass. When Anna came inside, she liked to slip off her shoes, and Mollie missed the comforting sound of her moving, unhurried, through the house. Instead, there was a silence as still as the plains.

Mollie had already lost her sister Minnie nearly three years earlier. Her death had come with shocking speed, and though doctors had attributed it to a “peculiar wasting illness,” Mollie harbored doubts: Minnie had been only twenty-seven and had always been in perfect health.

Like their parents, Mollie and her sisters had their names inscribed on the Osage Roll, which meant that they were among the registered members of the tribe. It also meant that they possessed a fortune. In the early 1870s, the Osage had been driven from their lands in Kansas onto a rocky, presumably worthless reservation in northeastern Oklahoma, only to discover, decades later, that this land was sitting above some of the largest oil deposits in the United States. To obtain that oil, prospectors had to pay the Osage for leases and royalties. In the early twentieth century, each person on the tribal roll began receiving a quarterly check. The amount was initially for only a few dollars, but over time, as more oil was tapped, the dividends grew into the hundreds, then the thousands. And virtually every year the payments increased, like the prairie creeks that joined to form the wide, muddy Cimarron, until the tribe members had collectively accumulated millions and millions of dollars. (In 1923 alone, the tribe took in more than $30 million, the equivalent today of more than $400 million.) The Osage were considered the wealthiest people per capita in the world. “Lo and behold!” the New York weekly Outlook exclaimed. “The Indian, instead of starving to death . . . enjoys a steady income that turns bankers green with envy.”

The public had become transfixed by the tribe’s prosperity, which belied the images of American Indians that could be traced back to the brutal first contact with whites—the original sin from which the country was born. Reporters tantalized their readers with stories about the “plutocratic Osage” and the “red millionaires,” with their brick-and-terra-cotta mansions and chandeliers, with their diamond rings and fur coats and chauffeured cars. One writer marveled at Osage girls who attended the best boarding schools and wore sumptuous French clothing, as if “une très jolie demoiselle of the Paris boulevards had inadvertently strayed into this little reservation town.”

At the same time, reporters seized upon any signs of the traditional Osage way of life, which seemed to stir in the public’s mind visions of “wild” Indians. One article noted a “circle of expensive automobiles surrounding an open campfire, where the bronzed and brightly blanketed owners are cooking meat in the primitive style.” Another documented a party of Osage arriving at a ceremony for their dances in a private airplane—a scene that “outrivals the ability of the fictionist to portray.” Summing up the public’s attitude toward the Osage, the Washington Star said, “That lament, ‘Lo the poor Indian,’ might appropriately be revised to, ‘Ho, the rich redskin.’ ”

Gray Horse was one of the reservation’s older settlements. These outposts—including Fairfax, a larger, neighboring town of nearly fifteen hundred people, and Pawhuska, the Osage capital, with a population of more than six thousand—seemed like fevered visions. The streets clamored with cowboys, fortune seekers, bootleggers, soothsayers, medicine men, outlaws, U.S. marshals, New York financiers, and oil magnates. Automobiles sped along paved horse trails, the smell of fuel overwhelming the scent of the prairies. Juries of crows peered down from telephone wires. There were restaurants, advertised as cafés, and opera houses and polo grounds.

Although Mollie didn’t spend as lavishly as some of her neighbors did, she had built a beautiful, rambling wooden house in Gray Horse near her family’s old lodge of lashed poles, woven mats, and bark. She owned several cars and had a staff of servants—the Indians’ pot-lickers, as many settlers derided these migrant workers. The servants were often black or Mexican, and in the early 1920s a visitor to the reservation expressed contempt at the sight of “even whites” performing “all the menial tasks about the house to which no Osage will stoop.”

Mollie was one of the last people to see Anna before she vanished. That day, May 21, Mollie had risen close to dawn, a habit ingrained from when her father used to pray every morning to the sun. She was accustomed to the chorus of meadowlarks and sandpipers and prairie chickens, now overlaid with the pock-pocking of drills pounding the earth. Unlike many of her friends, who shunned Osage clothing, Mollie wrapped an Indian blanket around her shoulders. She also didn’t style her hair in a flapper bob, and instead let her long, black hair flow over her back, revealing her striking face, with its high cheekbones and big brown eyes.

Her husband, Ernest Burkhart, rose with her. A twenty-eight-year-old white man, he had the stock handsomeness of an extra in a Western picture show: short brown hair, slate-blue eyes, square chin. Only his nose disturbed the portrait; it looked as if it had taken a barroom punch or two. Growing up in Texas, the son of a poor cotton farmer, he’d been enchanted by tales of the Osage Hills—that vestige of the American frontier where cowboys and Indians were said to still roam. In 1912, at nineteen, he’d packed a bag, like Huck Finn lighting out for the Territory, and gone to live with his uncle, a domineering cattleman named William K. Hale, in Fairfax. “He was not the kind of a man to ask you to do something—he told you,” Ernest once said of Hale, who became his surrogate father. Though Ernest mostly ran errands for Hale, he sometimes worked as a livery driver, which is how he met Mollie, chauffeuring her around town.

Ernest had a tendency to drink moonshine and play Indian stud poker with men of ill repute, but beneath his roughness there seemed to be a tenderness and a trace of insecurity, and Mollie fell in love with him. Born a speaker of Osage, Mollie had learned some English in school; nevertheless, Ernest studied her native language until he could talk with her in it. She suffered from diabetes, and he cared for her when her joints ached and her stomach burned with hunger. After he heard that another man had affections for her, he muttered that he couldn’t live without her.

It wasn’t easy for them to marry. Ernest’s roughneck friends ridiculed him for being a “squaw man.” And though Mollie’s three sisters had wed white men, she felt a responsibility to have an arranged Osage marriage, the way her parents had. Still, Mollie, whose family practiced a mixture of Osage and Catholic beliefs, couldn’t understand why God would let her find love, only to then take it away from her. So, in 1917, she and Ernest exchanged rings, vowing to love each other till eternity.

By 1921, they had a daughter, Elizabeth, who was two years old, and a son, James, who was eight months old and nicknamed Cowboy. Mollie also tended to her aging mother, Lizzie, who had moved in to the house after Mollie’s father passed away. Because of Mollie’s diabetes, Lizzie once feared that she would die young, and beseeched her other children to take care of her. In truth, Mollie was the one who looked after all of them.

May 21 was supposed to be a delightful day for Mollie. She liked to entertain guests and was hosting a small luncheon. After getting dressed, she fed the children. Cowboy often had terrible earaches, and she’d blow in his ears until he stopped crying. Mollie kept her home in meticulous order, and she issued instructions to her servants as the house stirred, everyone bustling about—except Lizzie, who’d fallen ill and stayed in bed. Mollie asked Ernest to ring Anna and see if, for a change, she’d come over to help tend to Lizzie. Anna, as the oldest child in the family, held a special status in their mother’s eyes, and even though Mollie took care of Lizzie, Anna, in spite of her tempestuousness, was the one her mother spoiled.

When Ernest told Anna that her mama needed her, she promised to take a taxi straight there, and she arrived shortly afterward, dressed in bright red shoes, a skirt, and a matching Indian blanket; in her hand was an alligator purse. Before entering, she’d hastily combed her windblown hair and powdered her face. Mollie noticed, however, that her gait was unsteady, her words slurred. Anna was drunk.

Mollie couldn’t hide her displeasure. Some of the guests had already arrived. Among them were two of Ernest’s brothers, Bryan and Horace Burkhart, who, lured by black gold, had moved to Osage County, often assisting Hale on his ranch. One of Ernest’s aunts, who spewed racist notions about Indians, was also visiting, and the last thing Mollie needed was for Anna to stir up the old goat.

Anna slipped off her shoes and began to make a scene. She took a flask from her bag and opened it, releasing the pungent smell of bootleg whiskey. Insisting that she needed to drain the flask before the authorities caught her—it was a year into nationwide Prohibition—she offered the guests a swig of what she called the best white mule.

Mollie knew that Anna had been very troubled of late. She’d recently divorced her husband, a settler named Oda Brown, who owned a livery business. Since then, she’d spent more and more time in the reservation’s tumultuous boomtowns, which had sprung up to house and entertain oil workers—towns like Whizbang, where, it was said, people whizzed all day and banged all night. “All the forces of dissipation and evil are here found,” a U.S. government official reported. “Gambling, drinking, adultery, lying, thieving, murdering.” Anna had become entranced by the places at the dark ends of the streets: the establishments that seemed proper on the exterior but contained hidden rooms filled with glittering bottles of moonshine. One of Anna’s servants later told the authorities that Anna was someone who drank a lot of whiskey and had “very loose morals with white men.”

At Mollie’s house, Anna began to flirt with Ernest’s younger brother, Bryan, whom she’d sometimes dated. He was more brooding than Ernest and had inscrutable yellow-flecked eyes and thinning hair that he wore slicked back. A lawman who knew him described him as a little roustabout. When Bryan asked one of the servants at the luncheon if she’d go to a dance with him that night, Anna said that if he fooled around with another woman, she’d kill him.

Meanwhile, Ernest’s aunt was muttering, loud enough for all to hear, about how mortified she was that her nephew had married a redskin. It was easy for Mollie to subtly strike back because as one of the servants attending to the aunt was white—a blunt reminder of the town’s social order.

Anna continued raising Cain. She fought with the guests, fought with her mother, fought with Mollie. “She was drinking and quarreling,” a servant later told authorities. “I couldn’t understand her language, but they were quarreling.” The servant added, “They had an awful time with Anna, and I was afraid.”

That evening, Mollie planned to look after her mother, while Ernest took the guests into Fairfax, five miles to the northwest, to meet Hale and see Bringing Up Father, a touring musical about a poor Irish immigrant who wins a million-dollar sweepstakes and struggles to assimilate into high society. Bryan, who’d put on a cowboy hat, his catlike eyes peering out from under the brim, offered to drop Anna off at her house.

Before they left, Mollie washed Anna’s clothes, gave her some food to eat, and made sure that she’d sobered up enough that Mollie could glimpse her sister as her usual self, bright and charming. They lingered together, sharing a moment of calm and reconciliation. Then Anna said good-bye, a gold filling flashing through her smile.

With each passing night, Mollie grew more anxious. Bryan insisted that he’d taken Anna straight home and dropped her off before heading to the show. After the third night, Mollie, in her quiet but forceful way, pressed everyone into action. She dispatched Ernest to check on Anna’s house. Ernest jiggled the knob to her front door—it was locked. From the window, the rooms inside appeared dark and deserted.

Ernest stood there alone in the heat. A few days earlier, a cool rain shower had dusted the earth, but afterward the sun’s rays beat down mercilessly through the blackjack trees. This time of year, heat blurred the prairies and made the tall grass creak underfoot. In the distance, through the shimmering light, one could see the skeletal frames of derricks.

Anna’s head servant, who lived next door, came out, and Ernest asked her, “Do you know where Anna is?”

Before the shower, the servant said, she’d stopped by Anna’s house to close any open windows. “I thought the rain would blow in,” she explained. But the door was locked, and there was no sign of Anna. She was gone.

News of her absence coursed through the boomtowns, traveling from porch to porch, from store to store. Fueling the unease were reports that another Osage, Charles Whitehorn, had vanished a week before Anna had. Genial and witty, the thirty-year-old Whitehorn was married to a woman who was part white, part Cheyenne. A local newspaper noted that he was “popular among both the whites and the members of his own tribe.” On May 14, he’d left his home, in the southwestern part of the reservation, for Pawhuska. He never returned.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (April 3, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307742482
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307742483
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1090L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.15 x 0.91 x 7.97 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2 in Native American History (Books)
- #6 in Sociology Reference
- #9 in Murder & Mayhem True Accounts

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4.4 77,656 ratings

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David Grann

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DAVID GRANN is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books "The Wager," "The Lost City of Z," and "Killers of the Flower Moon," which was a finalist for the National Book Award. He is also the author of "The White Darkness" and the collection "The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession." His book "Killers of the Flower Moon" was recently adapted into a film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert De Niro. Several of his other stories, including "The Lost City of Z" and "Old Man and the Gun," have also been adapted into major motion pictures. His investigative reporting and storytelling have garnered several honors, including a George Polk Award and an Edgar Allan Poe Award.

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Customers say

Customers find the book interesting, compelling, and fantastic. They describe the research as meticulous and remarkable. Readers describe the narrative as suspenseful, gripping, and heartbreaking. However, some find the history shameful and embarrassing. Opinions are mixed on the pacing, with some finding it fast and others saying it starts off slow.

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Readability Research quality Heartbreaking story Suspenseful Pacing Humanity History Character development

3,169 customers mention "Readability"3,075 positive94 negative

Customers find the book interesting, compelling, and entertaining. They say it's a good read related to real history. Readers also mention the author does a truly masterful job of relaying the story.

"...of historic events attending “The Osage Murders” contains the atmospheric suspense and tension that is normally associated with a classic murder..." Read more

"...I saw a podcast with this author — story is shocking. He’s a good story teller. I want to finish the book before I see the movie." Read more

"...Killers of the Flower Moon"** is a meticulously researched and compelling narrative that illuminates the intersections of wealth, race, and the..." Read more

"...the Flower Moon" is an enthralling masterpiece that masterfully combines true crime and history to uncover a chilling and deeply disturbing chapter..." Read more

1,184 customers mention "Research quality"1,148 positive36 negative

Customers find the book meticulously researched and compelling. They say it's a remarkable piece of investigative journalism that sheds light on a dark period. Readers also mention the book does an adequate job of describing the inception and early years of the FBI. They appreciate the impressive index of footnotes.

"...of the Flower Moon is the fact that despite the author’s painstaking research, and his marvelous use of period photographs and documents, this..." Read more

"I haven’t finished reading, but the book seems well researched. I saw a podcast with this author — story is shocking...." Read more

"...Killers of the Flower Moon"** is a meticulously researched and compelling narrative that illuminates the intersections of wealth, race, and the..." Read more

"...David Grann's vivid storytelling and impeccable research make this book an absolute must-read for fans of true crime, history enthusiasts, and..." Read more

535 customers mention "Heartbreaking story"410 positive125 negative

Customers find the story heartbreaking, disturbing, sad, and compelling. They say it's informative and emotivating. Readers also mention the intergenerational trauma is horrible to witness.

"...The author skillfully captures the fear and paranoia that consumed the Osage community as they grappled with an unknown enemy within their..." Read more

"...fiction or mystery novel, as Grann writes with sincere emotion, both haunting and heartbreaking, creating a complete page-turner...." Read more

"This book was wonderful, interesting, sad, heartbreaking and maddening...." Read more

"...I was outraged by the prejudice, heartsick by the killing, and that is what I hope to feel and more when reading a book about a historical atrocity...." Read more

532 customers mention "Suspenseful"453 positive79 negative

Customers find the book compelling, gripping, and heart-wrenching. They say it reads like a mystery thriller and keeps them in suspense no matter what.

"...The corruption is so pervasive, the few moral and courageous individuals seem helplessly outnumbered...." Read more

"...The narrative unfolds like a meticulously constructed puzzle, with each revelation more shocking than the last...." Read more

"Hats off to David Grann for all his research. Powerful true story of greed and murder...." Read more

"...This book reads like a mystery thriller, however it isn’t a page- turner, like some mystery genre books...." Read more

194 customers mention "Pacing"102 positive92 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some mention it's fast and delivered quickly, while others say the final few sections are much slower in comparison to the rest.

"I love that the book is brand new and was shipped fast and received fast!" Read more

"...My only complaint would be that the final few sections of the book are much slower in comparison to the rest of the book, which starts off at a..." Read more

"...The writing style is well chosen and well developed. The pacing was surprisingly fast...." Read more

"...The pace is a bit slow at first, but when the gruesome murders accumulate (and suspicious cover-ups from local officials begin), it grips the reader..." Read more

75 customers mention "Humanity"43 positive32 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the humanity of the book. Some mention it's well-documented, evoking powerful feelings of compassion for the victims and resentment towards the perpetrators. Others say they are ashamed of the history, heartsick of the cruelty perpetrated, and feel the lack of justice is palpable. They also mention the abuses include larceny and murder.

"...Moreover, "Killers of the Flower Moon" serves as a poignant commentary on the systemic racism and prejudice that plagued America during this time...." Read more

"...Their sense of unease and lack of justice is palpable. The oil has dried up and the tribal population has diminished...." Read more

"...smooth and unobtrusive, describing the past in a matter-of-fact, approachable way...." Read more

"...I wish this book was fiction, but unfortunately it is so very true. I encourage you to read it. And think about it...." Read more

94 customers mention "History"10 positive84 negative

Customers find the history in the book shameful, horrible, and embarrassing. They say it covers some ugly truths and is too drawn-out. Readers also mention the book is shockingly revealing of human depravity.

"...Despicable behavior. I am so glad Grann brought it to light in an excellent book and that it was brought to the big screen." Read more

"...They are abhorrent beyond words. They will also be a source of fascination...." Read more

"...It's a shameful history that should not be covered up." Read more

"...My biggest problem with the book is the way it is not written in chronological order...." Read more

74 customers mention "Character development"9 positive65 negative

Customers find the book has too many characters to keep track of and too much trivia about minor characters. They say the book lacks character development, especially with its main characters. Readers also mention the names are unpronounceable and difficult to follow.

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Gary Carden

What is most disquieting about the crimes in Killers of the Flower Moon is the awesome extent of corruption that is revealed in

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2017

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Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
New York: Doubleday
$28.95 - 339 pages

“The whites have bunched us up down here in the backwoods,
the roughest part of the United States, thinking ‘we will drive these
Indians down to where there is a big pile of rock and put them there
in that corner.’” Now that pile of rock has turned out to be worth millions
of dollars; now everybody wants to get in here and get some of the money.”
--Osage Chief Bacon Rind.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon is the fact that despite the author’s painstaking research, and his marvelous use of period photographs and documents, this factual account of historic events attending “The Osage Murders” contains the atmospheric suspense and tension that is normally associated with a classic murder mystery. In fact, Grann has written a murder mystery - One that asks who methodically killed hundreds of Osage Indians during a four-year reign of terror (1920-24). Osage history reveals the tragic details of how and why.

Forced to move from Kansas to Oklahoma, the Osage tribe seemed to be destined to lives of abject poverty when they suddenly found itself catapulted into a world of excessive wealth. Oil is discovered on tribal land. Suddenly, every member of the tribe is potentially wealthy. In an attempt to control the chaos that ensued, the federal government created a document called a “headright” which gave each Osage household legal rights to the oil on their land. After a period of uncontrolled spending in which members of the Osage tribe acquired mansions and fleets of automobiles, the government attempted to control the excessive spending by establishing a “guardian system” which assigned a “legal guardian” to each Osage family.

This “guardian” (usually a white banker, businessmen or “civic-minded citizen” was given the power to approve or deny all expenditures for the Osage tribal member (who had been judged to be “incompetent”) by the government. The system was badly flawed, and many of the guardians used their position to embezzle huge sums of money. In time, the guardian documents became bargaining chips in investing in business ventures. Hundreds of guardians used their position as a means of acting as a “middle-man” who would purchase items on behalf of Osage tribal members. The guardian would then sell the item to the Osage for an inflated price. For example, guardians could purchase automobiles on behalf of the Osage tribal member for $250 and then sell them to the Osage member that they represented for $2,500.

As the wealth of the Osage grew, so did the schemes for exploiting the tribe. Hundreds of criminals were drawn to the region with schemes designed to acquire a portion of Osage wealth. Many of these new arrivals openly stated that they had come to Oklahoma “to marry an Osage squaw.”
It was a method that frequently succeeded.

However, some of these opportunists sought a more direct method: murder. Author Grann’s research discovers one individual, William Hale who had arranged for the murder of 24 members of the Osage tribe. By soliciting the help of associates, Hale became one of the wealthiest men in Oklahoma. The astonishing catalogue of slaughter is carried out by men willing to resort to any means to accomplish Hale’s goal. Dozens of victims were poisoned with tainted moonshine and corrupt medical personnel performed autopsies that listed “acute alcoholism” as the cause of death. Others were dispatched with a bullet to the back of the head or between the eyes and the victim’s body was found in his new car on a remote road. One family was killed by a dynamite blast that demolished their home. Often, Hale simply paid an assassin to kill a designated victim. Then, Hale would frequently hire a second assassin to kill the first. In those instances in which murderers were apprehended, Hale bribed juries and law officials and if all else failed, he simply paid another killer.

Time and time again, government agents are assigned to investigate and in some instances, just as they uncover significant evidence, they are murdered and the evidence destroyed. One dedicated investigator called the FBI headquarters to report that he was on his way back with conclusive evidence against Hale. The next day his mutilated body is found near a railroad track. He had been murdered and thrown from the train. Another investigator’s body was found in another state, hundreds of miles away. What is most disquieting about the crimes in Killers of the Flower Moon is the awesome extent of corruption that is revealed in the book. State and government officials, medical personnel and lawyers - all are contaminated with the vice of greed. The corruption is so pervasive, the few moral and courageous individuals seem helplessly outnumbered.

However, there are two remarkable people in this gruesome tale. One is Molly Burkhart, and Osage who survived the systematic murder of her family...murders in which her husband was implicated. Molly was diagnosed as a diabetic by two doctors who poisoned her insulin injections, in an attempt to slowly kill her. Molly survived and divorced her husband. The second remarkable character is Tom White, the FBI agent that pursued Hale until he brought him to justice. Much of the credit of for this amazing piece of investigative work went to the Director of the newly-created FBI agency, Hubert Hoover who turned out to be a man dedicated to his own self-interest. Through much of the investigation conducted by Tom White, Hoover managed to take credit for White’s courageous work. Jealous of any publicity directed toward agents other than himself, Hoover invariably succeeded in manipulating the factual data to his advantage.

This is a remarkable work. Most noteworthy is Grann’s comprehensive account of the primitive nature of investigations in a time before forensics emerged. As a consequence, much of Tom White’s heroic pursuit of a villain who seemed to have the protection of most of Oklahoma’s judges, lawyers and public officials. However, Grann’s greatest achievement is the fact that he uncovers evidence that the total number of victims in the Osage murders exceeded the original 24 and possibly exceeded over 200.

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BAM

True story.

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2024

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I haven’t finished reading, but the book seems well researched. I saw a podcast with this author — story is shocking. He’s a good story teller.
I want to finish the book before I see the movie.

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MommaLayne

A Chilling Account of Greed, Murder, and Injustice

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2024

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**ers of the Flower Moon": A Chilling Account of Greed, Murder, and Injustice in Early America.**

**"Killers of the Flower Moon"** by David Grann is a haunting exploration of one of the darkest chapters in American history involving the Osage Nation in the 1920s. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage people became extraordinarily wealthy, enjoying a lifestyle of luxury that included chauffeured cars and grand mansions. However, this newfound wealth quickly turned into a nightmare as members of the Osage began to be systematically murdered under suspicious circumstances.

At the heart of this tragedy is the story of Mollie Burkhart and her family, who become prime targets amid a horrific wave of violence. As more Osage people are killed, including those who dared to investigate the crimes, the situation draws the attention of the newly established FBI. Under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, former Texas Ranger Tom White spearheads an undercover operation, enlisting the help of a Native American agent to infiltrate the region. Grann meticulously uncovers the chilling details of this profound conspiracy driven by greed and prejudice, shedding light on a legacy of injustice faced by the Osage Nation. **"Killers of the Flower Moon"** is a meticulously researched and compelling narrative that illuminates the intersections of wealth, race, and the struggle for justice, leaving readers with a poignant reflection on America’s past and present.

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Killers of the Flower Moon: A Gripping Tale of Injustice and Betrayal

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2023

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David Grann's "Killers of the Flower Moon" is an enthralling masterpiece that masterfully combines true crime and history to uncover a chilling and deeply disturbing chapter of American history. This impeccably researched and gripping narrative shines a light on a forgotten era and exposes a shocking conspiracy that will leave readers spellbound.

Set in the early 20th century, the book revolves around the Osage Indian Nation, a prosperous tribe whose lands were discovered to be rich in oil. This sudden wealth attracted greed and ultimately led to a series of brutal murders targeting the Osage people. As the body count rises, the fledgling FBI, under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, is called in to investigate the mysterious and heinous crimes.

Grann's meticulous attention to detail is evident throughout the book. He weaves together a tapestry of historical records, personal testimonies, and investigative journalism, seamlessly merging past and present to reconstruct the events of that dark period. His prose is both eloquent and accessible, making even the most complex aspects of the story easily digestible.

One of the book's greatest strengths lies in its exploration of the characters involved. Grann presents a cast of individuals whose lives are intricately connected, showcasing the stark contrast between the oppressed Osage and the ruthless killers driven by greed and power. The author skillfully captures the fear and paranoia that consumed the Osage community as they grappled with an unknown enemy within their midst.

The narrative unfolds like a meticulously constructed puzzle, with each revelation more shocking than the last. Grann's ability to maintain a sense of suspense and tension throughout the book is truly commendable. From the chilling accounts of the crimes to the intricate web of corruption and cover-ups, every page brims with intrigue and a sense of urgency.

Moreover, "Killers of the Flower Moon" serves as a poignant commentary on the systemic racism and prejudice that plagued America during this time. The author deftly exposes the deep-rooted injustices and the devaluation of Native American lives that allowed the perpetrators to act with impunity. It serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggles faced by marginalized communities and the importance of seeking justice, no matter how long ago the crimes were committed.

In conclusion, "Killers of the Flower Moon" is a tour de force that seamlessly combines true crime, historical investigation, and social commentary. David Grann's vivid storytelling and impeccable research make this book an absolute must-read for fans of true crime, history enthusiasts, and anyone interested in exploring the darker corners of America's past. Prepare to be captivated, outraged, and ultimately enlightened by this chilling and poignant tale of injustice and betrayal.

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Bob

Fascinating, Disturbing, A Must Read . . . .

Reviewed in Canada on September 28, 2024

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This is a fascinating yet deeply disturbing multi-layered account of how greed drove men to murder and of how a combination of uncaring and sloppy police work allowed them to almost escape justice. Truth be told, it was the dogged efforts of one man, Tom White, a former Texas Ranger recruited into the fledgling FBI (before it was even so-named) that must receive the lion’s share of credit for solving these crimes.
The Osage Indian Nation would prove to be a wealthy one; at one time considered to be among the richest in the world. After years of struggles and hardship - mostly imposed on them and every other Native American tribe by a federal government which considered them to be “non-humans” (a belief widely held among the White population as well), the Osage finally got what they’d long sought, a permanent home. They purchased a non-descript piece of land in Oklahoma; rocky, barren and not much good for farming, but they were satisfied as were, it seems, the Federal Government and the Whites. But the satisfaction of the latter two would soon sour when it was discovered that “worthless” land sat atop one of the (at that time) largest known oil reserves in the world. The sour note was struck by the fact the lawyer the Osage hired to negotiate the land purchase got mineral rights (the rights to underground resources whatever they might be i.e., oil, coal, gold, uranium, etc.), included in the deal so that when oil was discovered on their land, every Osage tribal member became entitled to a percentage of any revenue that would flow from oil production. And some unscrupulous men wanted to not just share in that wealth, but to take control of it entirely.
That is what forms the basis of David Grann’s factual accounting of all the evil these men enacted and the long hard battle to finally find justice for, and return a sense of peace to, the Osage people.
Grann has written a well-laid out, researched, and what proved to me to be, a truly horrific story. I believe this to be a book of historical significance that which, upon reading, caused me to reflect on many similarities existing in the way our First Nations people (in Canada) were used and abused by governments, religious orders, and the broader “white” population. And while on the surface it would seem efforts are being made to examine past events; to expose the truth and to seek reconciliation for the many wrongs imposed or inflicted, there remains a long road ahead. We must all work hard to complete that journey.

Mr Squiffs

Fantastic read

Reviewed in Germany on October 27, 2024

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This is one of the best written, true sad stories about a tribe of red Indians torn apart by the greed of the white man settlers wanting the wealth of oil and killing many of a tribe to get it.

jam

Brilliant

Reviewed in Belgium on August 3, 2024

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A non fiction - must reading

aMazel

Aminzing story

Reviewed in France on May 6, 2024

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I was not aware of this machination... terrible....

eztigrrrr

Truth is stranger than fiction

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2024

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What an incredible yet tragic account of the suffering of an entire people at the hands of murderous and unscrupulous "friends". It is such an important read in the context of American history, and the treatment of its Native American people.
I had read David Grann's book "The Wager" which was equally appalling and harrowing (but also excellent in its research and storytelling) and decided to read Killer of the Flower Moon as I'd seen adverts for the new film. I'm so glad I read this first and will now be interested to see how the story has been handled on screen.
I look forward to reading David Grann's next book, he really does have an incredible ability to bring history to life!

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