Gregg Olsen

Recounts the true story of Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard, a female con artist who ran a health spa in Ollala, Washington, in the early 1900s, and the two wealthy sisters whom she tortured, starved, and robbed of their inheritance. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

Starvation Heights

In 1911 two wealthy British heiresses, Claire and Dora Williamson, came to a sanitorium in the forests of the Pacific Northwest to undergo the revolutionary "fasting treatment" of Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard. It was supposed to be a holiday for the two sisters. But within a month of arriving at what the locals called Starvation Heights, the women were emaciated shadows of their former selves, waiting for death. They were not the first victims of Linda Hazzard, a quack doctor of extraordinary evil and greed who would stop at nothing short of murder to achieve her ambitions. As their jewelry disappeared and forged bank drafts began transferring their wealth to Hazzard's accounts, Dora Williamson sent a last desperate plea to a friend in Australia, begging her to save them from the brutal treatments and lonely isolation of Starvation Heights. In this true story-a haunting saga of medical murder set in an era of steamships and gaslights-Gregg Olsen reveals one of the most unusual and disturbing criminal cases in American history.

A True Story of Murder and Malice

Cheri Fuller

My stomach is still in knots after finishing this incredibly detailed true crime audiobook. That must say something about the quality of the research and writing - as well as the narration. 

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen has been on my TBR for a long time but this is my first read of his work. It was also my first exposure to this case, which is truly horrific. 

Starvation Heights spends most of its focus on the Williamson sisters but we get a huge amount of background information on pretty much everyone who was involved in the case. I'm not going to lie, there were a few times when I thought the book was too long - it's about a 15 hour listen - but most of the time, I was glad for the deep dive. Mostly I was enraged and disgusted that Hazzard got away with murder repeatedly. Even if she spent time in prison, it wasn't enough. She, and her staunchest followers, should have been put away forever. 

Fans of true crime will very likely enjoy Starvation Heights. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the audio ARC.

Starvation Heights

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