We checked in with Linda and Chris Valentine, members of The Sunday Evening Book Club, to get their thoughts on this true crime mystery.
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Beginnings of the FBI by David Gran
What have you learned from Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Beginnings of the FBI?
Journalist David Grann has written a disturbing, informative account of the Osage Indians. In the 1920s, they were the richest per capita people in the world due to the oil reserves under the seemingly barren Oklahoma reservation to which they had been relegated. The oil turned out to be a curse. One by one many were killed. Their wealth was fraudulently taken. Public officials, doctors, trustees, and even one white husband were the culprits in what Grann has called a culture of killing. J. Edgar Hoover saw the opportunity to gain national attention for his new FBI, as agents uncovered a number of the perpetrators.
If you could hang out with a character, who would it be and why?
Tom White, Texas Ranger, was the hero. He led a complex effort with undercover agents using new methods of investigation. They successfully solved a number of crimes.
Why did you choose this book?
This book has been highly praised by many reviewers and critics and is a National Book Award finalist. The book reads like fiction, with themes of good and evil, trust and betrayal, innocence and exploitation, unsolved murders and mysteries solved. Tragically, it is not fiction but a true, important story.
By Patti Hartog
P.S. Want to learn something new? We have some tips to start writing a book.
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