Killers of the Flower Moon

by David Grann

Killers of the Flower Moon: Style 1 key example

Chapter 1: The Vanishing
Explanation and Analysis:

Grann's style is factual but descriptive. One good example occurs in Chapter 1, when Charles Whitehorn's body is discovered:

It was hot and wet and loud on the hillside. Drills shook the earth as they bore through the limestone sediment; derricks swung their large clawing arms back and forth. Other people gathered around the body, which was so badly decomposed that it was impossible to identify. One of the pockets held a letter. Someone pulled it out, straightening the paper, and read it. The letter was addressed to Charles Whitehorn, and that’s how they first knew it was him.