Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

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

11 reviews

frenchpants's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Stalking

vixenreader's review

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

A non-fiction book that moves with the urgency of a murder-mystery, this account of a forgotten injustice will boil your blood, especially since the crimes were saturated with racism against the Osage First Nations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Infidelity, Medical content, Stalking, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

Be warned that there is a graphic bombing episode, medical content involving diabetes, covering up crime scenes, frequent poisoning, financial abuse, policies preventing First Nations from accessing their accounts, court scenes, and mention of “burning human flesh” from an electric chair.

phob's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Probably the best book I’ve ever read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

rochelleisreading's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mblanke's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Stalking, and Alcohol

billyjepma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious slow-paced

5.0

A taut, dramatic, and excruciating dive into the countless horrible acts of violence inflicted by white Americans on the Osage Indian Nation. Grann's research is comprehensive, and his writing here is as sharp as anything I've encountered in my (admittedly meager) dips into non-fiction. His book occupies a fascinating place between hard-hitting investigative journalism—which is thrilling, by the way—and moving, often nauseating retellings of a history I barely knew a thing about. I love how grand the scale of the book is and how it centers the stories of so many people and gives them the respect, grace, and closure history denied them. The final section of the book messes with the propulsive pacing of the first two as they settle into the more traditional structure of a whodunnit, but it's in that section where the most meaningful bits of commentary are found. The FBI might claim to have ended the "Years of Terror," but the truth is far bloodier than that, and the closure the American government provided was a half-measure that dismissed countless unsolved murders into the dark annals of history.

Part of me wanted Grann to lean further into his political leanings, specifically regarding the FBI, as my outrage at the truths the book illuminates made me eager for some scathing rebuttal or judgment. But I'm glad Grann has more restraint than me, as his approach is far more effective and searing than any commentary could be, especially considering how damning the hard facts of the story are. And to his credit, the historical details and quotes he uses in the section documenting the FBI's development speak volumes to his opinion of the thing. Even Tom White, the "hero" of the FBI investigation that resulted in meaningful arrests, is a flawed person who, as Grann smartly and briefly acknowledges at one point, eventually settles into the same lifestyle as the people he's often quoted as detecting. 

I'm incredibly glad I read this (or, rather, listened to the excellent audiobook), and in an ideal world, I would love to assume that it becomes mandatory reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

Y'all WHAT. How did I never hear about this??? (Which is rhetorical because obviously the essentially genocide of the Osage would of course not be covered in my white history classes.) I'll definitely be revisiting this book because a lot of the sentiment toward Native people still exist today and we need to be much more aware of the total destruction that racism can cause. God. If this was a novel, I would have a hard time believing it. It's that intricate and horrific. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

emoryscott's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Incredible, heart-breaking story of the greedy murders of the Osage people perpetrated by white settlers. I couldn’t put this book down. I’m sad, angry, and frustrated at the horrors that this country continues to cover up. Every American should read this and reckon with the trauma we inflicted on so many. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

cait's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

samchase112's review

dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.5

An Indian Affairs agent said, "The question will suggest itself, which of these people are the savages?"

With clear, considering language David Grann gives a bloody history of the 1920s Reign of Terror on the Osage Tribe of Osage County, Oklahoma. Grann is careful to point out the inherently racist ideologies behind this haunting conspiracy while remaining respectful of Osage people, culture, and traditions. This is a dark, dark book but immensely interesting for its look into a period of time and a series of murders that have been buried in history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Alcoholism and Stalking