What I’m Reading: Killers of the Flower Moon and a Flashback Review of Lost City of Z

Today, I had lunch with a friend and member of my old book club. She mentioned they read and discussed The Lost City of Z last month. It was a great discussion and many of the attendees had recently read Grann’s more recent book Killers of the Flower Moon and loved comparing the two.

This got me thinking. I realized that I have a review of Killers of the Flower Moon, here on Goodreads that I was waiting to make it part of a larger post here on the blog with a bunch of reviews, but talking about both titles at lunch today got me thinking, I should just post it here today.

But first, I also want to make a plea for you to also try The Lost City of Z. You can click here to read my review of that title from back in 2010 when I first read it. My still vivid memory of it AND the fact that a group I know just had a great discussion of it makes it a great backlist suggestion option not only for people who liked Grann’s new, critically acclaimed, and much talked about book, but also for anyone looking for a good read that will probably be on the shelf.

Side note: I listened to both books, so the reviews have info about the narration.

So click here for my Lost City of Z review and here or see below for my Killers of the Flower Moon review on Goodreads. Please note, my Goodreads reviews are a little more casual than blog specific reviews.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI 
by David Grann, Ann Marie Lee (Narrator) Will Patton (Narrator) Danny Campbell (Narrator)

I listened to this book and I really enjoyed that experience. It was in 3 sections: Osage perspective of murders, FBI perspective, And then what Grann pieced together to more fully solve the full mystery today. And each section used a different narrator. It helped to underscore how the sections were different but the entire work still felt cohesive.

This is a compelling- engrossing- historical true crime. It is disturbing both in some of the graphic violence but also in that what happened to the Osage was awful on so many levels. Not only is this a history that has been lost, Grann’s exhaustive and 360 degree research makes you rethink things you thought you knew too.

The storytelling style is one Grann has perfected. I read and reviewed The Lost City of Z in 2010: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2010/04...

This is similar. You get the exhaustive research relayed through the “characters” but then a final section with Gran typing it all up and taking the “long-view.” This gives both author and readers a chance to see the story with thoughtful perspective.

But the focus is on the actors in this drama and how they interact with each other. The level of character development is amazing. Yes I know they are real people, but Grann painstakingly builds them into living, breathing people, instead of dead figures from history.

In terms of notes on the audio go here to see specific narrator reviews on audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/History/Ki...

I liked how there was a different person for each distinct section. They are different, with a different focus and POV and the change in narrators helped to underscore that.

Three Words That Describe This Book: engrossing, true crime, character centered

Readalikes: Any true crime podcasts. Any historical true crime. Louise Erdrich [more about here on my blog here: https://raforall.blogspot.com/search?...], The Sisters Brothers: https://raforall.blogspot.com/search?...]

Also here is my post on how the Western is thriving because it is changing for the better and it includes more good readalike titles: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2017/07...