A review by mkinne
Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest by Gregg Olsen

3.0

A riveting, well-written story based on actual events. But I mistrust how much of this is true and how much is embellished. Conversations between Dora & Claire? Descriptions of how either of them were feeling? Probably embellishments, although Claire kept a diary that is discussed, although not excerpted. Dora’s possible infatuation with Agassiz seems wholly made up and really bothers me, for some reason. The Author’s Notes and Acknowledgements describes some of Olsen’s sources, but not in any organized or academic way, so in the end, it’s really hard to tell how much of the book is true beyond the bare bones facts, which is a shame for such a fascinating subject. Maybe I have a problem with True Crime as a genre, or maybe this is a particularly fictionalized or sensationalized (though well written & compelling) example.