In the early 1920s, a shocking number of Osage Native Americans were murdered. Most of the deaths were originally attributed to illness, alcohol poisoning or as a result of wanton or irresponsible behavior. The government was not especially concerned with solving these crimes until Hoover, the newly minted head of the FBI, saw an opportunity to prove the worth of his bureau in what would become a high profile case. 
 The Osage had been moved from their land in Kansas to a rocky area in Oklahoma which happened to be sitting on rich oil deposits which made many of the Osage rich. As a result, there were those who plotted to obtain those headrights by any means possible. What is shocking is how many would die before any inroads were made as to who was committing the murders. More shocking was the identity of the mastermind behind these crimes. 
 Grann does an excellent job of weaving the stories of the murders with the rise of the FBI. He focuses primarily on the family of Mollie Burkhart and Tom White, the lead bureau investigator for this case. The final section of the book covers additional unsolved cases that Grann discovered through his research. 
 An excellent read and highly recommended.