Killers of the Flower Moon

The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

By: David Grann

Narrated by: Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee, Danny Campbell

#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

A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century • A Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of the Last 30 Years

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!

Critic reviews

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 Book Review

“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

Not put off by narration

I read the reviews before buying so I guess I was forewarned and ready for the accents of the changing narrators. I didn’t find this distracting. It just seemed like they were trying to use the speaking style of the person and time period that was the focus of their section of the book.

The topic is really affecting. I knew l little about it from a high school history class, but iI found it so incomprehensible back then that I hardly believed it. After reading this, the part I find hard to believe is that those in power didn’t know exactly what they were setting up when they created the guardian system.

AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

Narration so bad I bought the Print Book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story seems interesting but couldn’t get past the narration quality.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She. Talked. Too. Slow. And. Over. Emphasized. Every. Word.

Great topic but narrator format ruins it

The book is well-written and the story itself is timely and necessary. I sincerely commend the author and respect the story of indigenous peoples ever more.

The three person narration format is awful, frankly terrible. I don’t think I’ve ever written such a review but truly, the format and the individual narrators make this a painful audio experience.

A necessary read

Such a honoring account of the heartbreaking & infuriating history of man’s greed, of the long-enduring suffering of a beautiful people, some of far too many injustices brought to light (though often much too late) & the necessary vindication for those who’s ancestors lost more than most of us can fathom. Worth reading & learning from.

Sad story of human cruelty.

This book wanders through a vast morass of murders of Native Americans in an almost incomprehensible litany of characters who are victims or murderers and their accomplices.
If nothing else the book helps document a horrible episode in American history while illuminating the tragic politicization of the FBI which has recently been renewed over the last several years.