From
the back cover
“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, they rode in
chauffeured cars and lived in mansions.
“Then,
one by one, the Osage began to be killed. Mollie Burkhart watched as her family
became a prime target. Her relatives were shot and poisoned. Other Osage were
also dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who investigated
the crimes were themselves murdered.
“As
the death toll rose, the case was taken up by the newly formed FBI and its
young, secretive director, J. Edgar Hoover. Struggling to crack the mystery,
Hoover turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White, who put together an
undercover team, including 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.”
Review
Killers is an
excellent nonfiction book that masterfully mixes reportage of an egregious, real-life
criminal conspiracy with the cinematic-vivid draw of a mystery and thriller. It
is a sad, horrifying and oh-so-American read but its horrors are balanced by
Grann’s superb writing and
characterizations. This is one of my all-time favorite nonfiction reads, one
that I intend to keep on my bookshelf (I rarely keep books due to lack of space).
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