The Osage Rose

by Tom Holm

Corrupt lawmen, insatiable businessmen, and an oil boom on Indian land. This is the milieu in which Tom Holm sets his gritty and provocative detective novel.Life is looking easy for J. D. Daugherty, a crusty ex-cop who has set up his own PI firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, just after World War I. J. D. expects to make a straightforward living off the intrigues of the city’s wealthy socialites, but then Rose Chichester, a privileged young white woman, runs off with Tommy Ruffle, a young Indian who is heir to Osage oil. Hired by Rose’s father to track down the young pair, J. D. and his associate, a Cherokee named Hoolie Smith, find themselves caught in the cross fire of a deadly scheme. When Tommy turns up murdered and with Rose still missing, J. D. and Hoolie must navigate a twisting maze of deception, race riots, and gun battles in their unrelenting search for the truth—a search that ultimately leads to an intimate secret no one suspected.Tom Holm writes a true private-eye mystery, yet he entwines the story’s layers of conspiracy and deceit with the realities of prejudice and hatred that existed during the early years of Oklahoma statehood. Rooted firmly in its time, Holm’s well-researched novel tells a complex and compelling story of individuals struggling to find justice at any cost in a world still caught between modernity and its Wild West legacy.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2008

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did nothing but read this book for about a day and a half - so on the one hand it was compelling. But, it was also much more violent than I can really deal with. I was fascinated by the way the author dealt with the violence - basically in many cases the violence- killing someone, but also fighting - was seen as appropriate or excused and, although while reading I felt like I agreed, thinking about it afterwards I was shocked at my reaction.

I did like much about the book. It is set in 1921 in Oklahoma and gives a good personal picture of the problems with oil rights that were experienced by the native population. (This issue is addressed more fully in “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI”). I also liked the Osage and Cherokee view of issues and situations – it made me think twice about many parts of the story.

[Tyler Barlass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Holm's historical fiction crime novel was written 9 years before David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon familiarized the nation with the Osage murders and 13 years before the 100 year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre did the same for that tragic event. The Osage Rose uses both of these moments in time to craft a compelling mystery that lets us see these events through the eyes of a local native and a northern transplant. Treating these moments as if they themselves were lost to time, as they were to many in 2008, the build up and realization is both tense and ultimately horrifying. Still, Holm uses the underlying mystery of a missing girl and the rich characterization of the two protagonists to ground the story in a pulpy soup of a novel. Highly recommended, especially for those from the 918.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent noir (prairie noir? western noir?); it checks all the boxes without feeling like it's working hard. The characters are well-developed and interesting. The author does not shy away from an honest portrayal of racism, and it was sad and frightening to see how much hasn't changed in the last 100 years.

[Genevieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I’m not usually into historical mysteries, but this was a good one. Mystery is a good medium through which to shine a light on the history of this period (1921) in Tulsa - both the Tulsa Race Massacre, and also what was happening with Native American lands and oil interests. Makes me a little sad that so few people have read or reviewed it here.

[Michelle Boyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Osage Rose is a shoot-em-up crime/detective novel written by Tom Holm, a Creek/Cherokee author that famously helped create the Peoplehood Matrix while working as a professor at the University of Arizona. The story follows JD and Hoolie, a private eye and his hired hand, that are asked to find a missing girl that may have run off with an Indian boy. The story isn't strictly American Indian themed, but at the same time does have strong connections to Cherokee culture (via Hoolie).

There are a few historical movements that you need to have a general understanding of before reading, including:
--labor unions and strike breakers (JD did this prior to being a private eye)
--the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the fear of communism in the US
--WWI (Hoolie served in the war) and Native Americans signed up in great numbers to defend their country in this war
--Tulsa Race Riot of 1921
--Osage Oil Murders and the involvement of the FBI (one of the first cases they ever took on)
--Women's Suffrage
--18th Amendment (aka Volstead Act; aka Prohibition)

Some of the Cherokee specific information that you might want to note include sweat lodge ceremonies, the white path of peace (p38), Hoolie's ceremony for himself (p39), and guidance through animals (p38-44).

Note also some of the racism and police brutality that is discussed through the small town Sheriff. Sure, his character is a bit melodramatic but at the same time... Holm is flipping some archetypes on their heads. Normally in western style crime/detective stories the Native characters are always the bad guys, plain and simple. Here, Hoolie is the good guy and the Sheriff is actually a big piece of poop.

Typically, I am not drawn towards crime/detective/mystery genre novels but this one was selected for a course I am taking and will appear on my Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam. While I enjoyed the story, there were definitely areas where the plot got a bit predictable (perhaps more so if you have some background with some of the historical movements listed above). At other times, there is a lot of heavy content (mainly history) that is packed into pages and pages--which can lead to some lag in reading. As a whole, I enjoy the characters and the story but the "shoot 'em up" style that is added was a little too melodramatic for me to fully appreciate.

That being said, if you like detective novels, this might be something you'd like to read!

[Harper J · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decently palatable little novel that unfortunately lost quite a bit of momentum half-way through. Holm has a succinct and practical prose style that I enjoyed, but he was a bit heavy-handed on the foreshadowing and character development was sparse. I also found the use of the Tulsa Race Massacre as a plot device tasteless and forced. The “mystery” lost its steam after a while, eventually being straight up explained to the audience and segued out in favor of rote shoot-em-up scenes that contributed little in the way of establishing a tense or suspenseful mood; this was when the book became a bit tedious, and it became evident that no interpersonal dynamics would be explored in depth.

This is probably closer to a 2.5 but I rounded up because the beginning was surprisingly gripping, and Holm’s writing style was simultaneously economical and compelling, a rarity in modern literature.

Edit: Reverting rating back to a 2, this book is a non-entity that I gave a bit too much credit for surpassing my very, very low expectations.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and am not usually a big fan of mystery books. This book combined a fascinating story with historical knowledge, which made the characters and setting come to life. As the story progressed, I found myself unable to put the book down because I was so curious about what was going to happen!

[Andrea]

Got to hear the author talk about this novel, and I can't wait to read it

[Erin]

This guy works at the UofA