by David Grann

A Nonfiction, 2018 by Vintage, 416 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

Although I’m a true crime and nonfiction fan, this one had a very dry start. The first chronicle especially reads like a textbook loaded with names and facts. It’s cold and distant.
The job of a good true crime is to sort through the research and present it in a comprehensive way. This almost overloads that research to confuse. It’s a lot of facts, dates, names, and people. It comes at you fast and without the benefit of a filter. Sometimes you’re taken on a tangent to discuss something completely different. It makes it hard to follow the flow of information.
There’s no real connection with any one character here. No one emerges as a main character. Possibly because it contains so many characters, there’s none to specifically latch onto.

The research is obviously well done and detailed. There’s no doubt the author knows what has happened here and is reporting what he has learned accurately.
The embedded lessons of greed and corruption are important. Additionally, an attempt has been made to give a voice to those involved. It’s an important topic.

Fans of historical novels that focus on facts, not people. If you want comprehensive research on the topic, this is your book.
I will note that the movie likely focuses more heavily on the people involved and the second chronicle specifically, which means they’ll have different vibes. I could be wrong, of course.