Killers of the Summer Moon

Killers of the Summer Moon by David Grann is a suspenseful, absorbing true story of the Osage killings of the 1920's. Until Grann wrote this book, this event was mostly forgotten to history. It tells  of how the Osage Tribe in Oklahoma secured mineral rights to their own land just before an oil boom, subsequently becoming some of the richest people in the world. Within a few years of the boom, many of the tribe began to be killed. The book charts the quest for justice, and seems to reach its conclusion two-thirds of the way through, but the last third is the best, and saddest, and most compelling read. 

A combination of racism, lax state law, and an almost nonexistent federal government allowed the violent plunder to last as long as it did. Grann credits the FBI with mostly stopping the killings (though he's quick to applaud specific agents, not the director, J. Edgar Hoover), along with the desperate actions of the Osage. As the book drew to a close, my overwhelming feeling was of sadness. Killers of the Summer Moon is an exciting detective story, and then subtly, and rightly, transitions into a longer meditation on the injustices of this piece of American history. It's sobering. While the book does its best, and is fantastically researched, in all likelihood, some questions will never be answered about the Osage killings.