Product Reviews > Education > Biography & History Books > 

David Grann Killers of the Flower Moon

Last updated: January 8, 2024


Excellent research and unparalleled descriptions of a truly mysterious crime story leaves readers racing through the "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann. Elaborate details will keep you gripped on this chronicling of the historical murders. Some have said they found it hard to keep track of the many characters.. But overall, the book makes for an incredible read, especially for those who love true crime.

David Grann Killers of the Flower Moon
Buy Now

We looked at the top Biography & History Books and dug through the reviews from some of the most popular review sites. Through this analysis, we've determined the best Biography & History Book you should buy.

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

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
BUY ON AMAZON

Product Details

In our analysis of 42 expert reviews, the David Grann Killers of the Flower Moon placed 2nd when we looked at the top 10 products in the category. For the full ranking, see below.

From The Manufacturer

David Grann is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the best-selling author of The Lost City of Z, which was chosen as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications and has been translated into more than twenty-five languages. He is also the author of The Devil and Sherlock Holmes. His work has garnered several honors for outstanding journalism, including a George Polk Award.

Buy Now

Expert Reviews


What reviewers liked

Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
- Kirkus Reviews
He centres the story on an Osage family that died, in ones and twos, of causes ranging from the odd and ambiguous to the obviously violent.
- The Guardian
The depth of reporting and characters in Killers of the Flower Moon is impressive, and its technical brilliance is astounding. It truly is one of the best books of its kind, and I am happy to read more of David Grann if it reaches the heights of this narrative.
- Medium
Grann is nothing if not an exhaustive researcher, and he introduces a huge cast of characters I had no chance of keeping straight. He also indulges tangents on various ancillary subjects: for instance, the history of private eyes, the boarding school educations of young Native Americans, and the state of forensic pathology in the early 20th century. At times this explication slows down the otherwise brisk narrative, but I came to appreciate the context.
- The Berkshire Edge
Killers of the Flower Moon” has cleaner lines, and it didn’t set its hooks in me in the same way. But 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
But Grann’s book quickly grows darker, and then darker still. It is superbly done — meticulously researched, well-written — but it is hard to be entertained by a story of such unmitigated evil.
- Star Tribune
Killers of the Flower Moon is a gripping tale, masterfully told. When murderers escape justice, Grann notes, "history can often provide at least some final accounting." While it's too late to identify, let alone punish, all those who preyed on the Osage, this book ensures these brutal crimes will never again be forgotten.
- The Globe and Mail
Grann expertly tells the tale in “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.” It’s a stunning story in many ways.
- The Denver Post
Based on years of research and startling new evidence, the book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward American Indians that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly compelling, but also emotionally devastating.
- Book Browse

What reviewers didn't like

Plot-wise, about a third of the way through the story, the mastermind of the murders is revealed without fanfare, in the middle of a paragraph. This made me wish that Grann would have signaled to us, with chapter separations, or a more explicit use of suspense, when to expect that big news. All the most significant revelations flow along just the same as the less significant details.
- The Berkshire Edge
What it lacks is the soulful, trippy, questing and offhandedly cerebral quality of his last and best-known book, “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon” (2009).
- The New York Times

Biography & History Book Rankings

Tara Westover Educated: A Memoir

1. Tara Westover Educated: A Memoir
David Grann Killers of the Flower Moon

2. David Grann Killers of the Flower Moon
Kendi & Blain Four Hundred Souls: A Community History Of African America

3. Kendi & Blain Four Hundred Souls: A Community History Of African America
Regina Calcaterra Etched in Sand

4. Regina Calcaterra Etched in Sand
Jimmy Wayne / Ken Abraham: Walk to Beautiful

5. Jimmy Wayne / Ken Abraham: Walk to Beautiful
Arlisha Norwood Black Heroes

6. Arlisha Norwood Black Heroes
Chester Nez & Judith Avila Code Talker

7. Chester Nez & Judith Avila Code Talker
Simon Montefiore Jerusalem: The Biography

8. Simon Montefiore Jerusalem: The Biography
Herman Lehmann Nine Years Among The Indians, 1870-1879

9. Herman Lehmann Nine Years Among The Indians, 1870-1879
A. J. Baime The Accidental President

10. A. J. Baime The Accidental President
View our Biography & History Book buying guide for in-depth advice and recommendations.

From our partners