Absolutely terrifying and fascinating all at the same time. The true story of a doctor who starves her patients in the early 1900s (many of whom come to her looking for rest and relaxation), this would read just as well as a fiction novel. It travels far beyond the medical facility in which Dr. Linda Hazzard essentially tortures women by withholding food and brutally experimenting on them, also extending into their real lives with theft and bank fraud. Truly wild and jaw dropping, this is a shocking book for anyone who is not too disturbed by true crime.

Gregg Olsen and his non-fiction works never disappoint. He is able to weave the facts and chilling pieces of information together in a way that makes the case come to live and shows the humanity of all involved. Cases where people put their trust in others based on their medical "knowledge" are so hard to read, the level of evil it takes to hurt someone that is coming to you for help is horrendous. This book captures the story perfectly.

It's always so difficult to rate these kind of books. On one hand, it's absolutely disturbing that these realities exist, these circumstances did occur, and are extremely difficult to read and process, so I want to rate it a '0' for the actual atrocities that occurred and that I simply can't wrap my mind around the horror of it all. On the other hand, there is so much research and historical data that has been unearthed and put together in a way that the people come alive off the pages of what you're reading, that takes a certain finesse that few can pull off. And Gregg Olsen has done it again.

What lies in this book is truly a horrific story of a madwoman, who believes that she has been enlightened to a gift of curing all maladies that modern 'regular schools' cannot. While never attending medical school, Linda Hazzard starts off as a nurse, who fights for her rights to obtain a medical degree, and what may have started off as wanting to treat people of their illnesses certainly takes a turn that is incomprehensible to those in their right minds.

Claire and Dona Williamson are faddists looking to cure themselves of minor ailments and find an article promoting the great fasting physician. They reach out and ask if she will treat them, and a back and forth conversation takes place. Ultimately, they end up at Linda's home to be treated, not realizing who they are entrusting their health, and ultimately their lives, to. This story is a long one, full of twists and turns that just seem impossible, and yet it really did happen. And I sincerely hope it never does again.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

I think I requested the wrong thing here or misunderstood what it was. It’s a true story and it was hard for me to concentrate on it. Not that it was a bad book it just probably wasn’t for me. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this copy for review

I had such high hopes for this book! It’s a very interesting story don’t get me wrong, but it was just way too long for me. It took me an absolute age to finish unfortunately.

Starvation Heights is based on a true story of a doctor who starved her patients to death. Which is actually so terrifying when you think about the fact this is based on TRUE events! 😱 The story is about two wealthy girls that approach Dr Linda Hazzard and undergo her fasting “treatment” at her sanitarium in the woods back in 1911.

I did find quite a lot of the book very interesting but it was just way too long. I’ve heard that some people have enjoyed listening to it on audio, so maybe that is a better way to read this one, as it did take a while to get through. I think it could have been about 200 pages shorter than it was. I got a bit lost as the trials were taking place as I just think this section dragged, and I wanted to know if Dr Hazzard was going to be punished for her crimes.

I enjoyed the references to Belle Gunness (a Norwegian-American serial killer) as I learnt a lot about her when reading Triflers Need Not Apply by Camilla Bruce a couple of years back so that was good to actually know who Dr Hazzard was being compared to. But overall, I wasn’t a massive fan of this one!

Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen is the true story of Dr. Linda Hazzard and her bizarre methods of fasting to promote health (and of course murder).

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Thread Books and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

In the early 1900's, Dr. Linda Hazzard founded the Hazzard Institute of Natural Therapeutics, a sanitarium in the forests of Olalla Washington, west of Seattle and cross the Puget Sound.  Locals called it "Starvation Heights".

She professed that all diseases, of both body and mind, could be cured through her revolutionary "fasting treatment".   While "curing" people, Linda Hazzard and her husband Sam, became rich.  Not all of their clients survived, but they often left their money to Linda, and that was okay.  After-all, she can't promise it will work for every one.

When British sisters Claire and Dora Williamson became aware of Dr. Hazzard in 1911, they were intrigued.  They often tried revolutionary treatments.  Claire in particular, was enthralled with the idea of fasting.  They willingly accepted the brutal methods employed by this woman.  Unfortunately, one of them died, and the other barely escaped.  The remaining sister took Dr. Hazzard to court.


My Opinions:
Well, the story was definitely interesting, definitely gruesome, and definitely a little scary.

Basically it was about a medical mal-practice suit.  "Dr." Hazzard fed only broth to her patients, brutally smacked their bodies, and gave them really long enemas.  Yet she felt she was doing no harm.  If her patient died, well, she took their money and moved on.

This book looked at two rather naive sisters who fall under the spell of a very greedy woman. But what was truly scary was the support this woman had, from a wide range of individuals.  She won over many people.  Without a doubt, Hazzard's internal strength and psychological methods made her a force to be reckoned with.  The prospect of being found guilty of killing someone surprised her.

The story was interesting, and although often repetitive, I had no real complaints with the writing.  However, my problem with the book was it's length.  It was much too long, and often dragged.  I ended up skimming, and couldn't wait to be done.

Bottom line, it was an interesting topic, which could have been written in a much more condensed manner.  I really enjoy Olsen's work, so I was a little disappointed in this one, but it certainly won't stop me from reading more by this talented author.

I found this one dragged in the middle; I really struggled to fight through and finish it, and not because of the difficult content. I've read other Gregg Olsen books, such as If You Tell, and that one was also tough for me. I find the language and writing to be really choppy, disjointed, and not really dignified or eloquent, which is strange because he's exceptionally popular as an author. Something about his writing really just doesn't sit well with me I suppose.

I found this book to be repetitive, and it could have been much shorter - it's like Greg Olsen just wanted to make sure it wasn't too short, so he just restated the theories and belief systems over and over without any real need to. The primary source materials were indeed fascinating, as the story at the core is really incredible, but as a whole I found the exposition of this tale to be somewhat lacking.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own.

If you've ever read anything by Gregg Olsen, you know he is nothing if not thorough. I knew a bit about the case of Linda Hazzard, but this book gave me the befores and afters that I wasn't aware of prior to reading. This is a slow read, mostly because of the sheer volume of information (I felt the same way about If You Tell) and the brutal nature of Hazzard's actions. I did stop and start, reading different things in between but I always came back to Starvation Heights and I'm glad I did.

Thank you to Gregg Olson and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC! This is my 2nd true crime book by Gregg Olson and as always, did not disappoint. Although I went into it thinking it was more of a thriller, it actually reads more like a documentary, so if that is not your thing you will probably not find this as enjoyable. After reading the people and material involved in putting this book together by Mr.Olson, I was blown away at just how well it was laid out into this story. It was touching to learn of the Williamson sisters and just how much this so-called "Doctor Hazzard" got away with. A perfect example of medical gaslighting which is very common today, luckily not to the extreme of Dr. Linda Hazzard. The book is jam packed with information on the doctor herself, relationships with the Williamson sisters, other patients of Dr. Hazzard, their fate and the trial and outcome of the case. I have already read several books by Mr. Olson and have enjoyed every one of them, fiction and non. He is one of ky very most recommended authors!! I cant wait to read his 3rd true crime one!

I knew a bit about this before reading the book. I appreciated how in depth it was in dealing with both the before and after of Linda Hazzard as well as the information of how she was brought to some semblance of justice. The treatment of Dora following her rescue and reluctance of the authorities to prosecute was appalling. It was a very interesting and informative book.

Starvation Heights written by Gregg Olsen was a great slow read for me. Although I kept putting this book down to read something different I kept going back to it and I'm glad that I did. You can tell the amount of research that went into this book to tell the story of Clare and Dora and their search for a medical cure. Dr. Linda Hazzard manipulated people and convinced people to ultimately starve themselves. The journey was an amazing one to read.
There are great details throughout the whole book. Gregg Olsen doesn’t disappoint when he writes. I give this book 3.5 stars.

I find that despite the monsters we all can come up with, some of the scariest monsters are the human ones.

Doctors take an oath to do no harm. Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard also took this oath however her ambitions overrode the oath she took and swore to uphold. This true story takes place in 1911 in the forest of the Pacific Northwest. The locals called this place Starvation Heights. People travelled from all over the world to undergo the revolutionary "fasting treatment". That is what Claire and Dora Williamson from Great Britain intended to partake in when they arrive in 1911. However, after a month, both were former shells of their past selves. When their jewelry and money started disappearing, Dora Williamson knew they needed help to escape this hell.

This is a true crime, nonfiction story. This means that if you do not know the subject matter, it may be difficult to read this story. Gregg Olsen doesn't pull punches as he sheds light on this terrible crime from American History and that is something that i enjoy about his writing. As with his other works, Olsen doesn't spend a lot of time on the criminal here, Dr. Linda Hazzard. His books are about the victims not the killers. While he does an excellent job of focusing on the victims in this story, I felt that he could have done more with Hazzard and her history. Is there an event in her past that may have led to the events that transpired? I felt disconnected at times throughout the story with approach that Olsen chose to take. After reading this novel, it still surprises me the lengths that a person will go to to achieve, what they deem to be, beauty.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

An excellent book that really delved deep into the heart of one of the most tragic events where one human being took advantage of others. I had only heard about this story in passing before and it always interested me ... The true horrors, however, evaded me until I picked up this book. All in all, I loved this book!

Starvation Heights tells the story of Linda Hazzard, a quack doctor who operated a fasting sanitarium in the early 20th century in the state of Washington. Hazzard claimed that fasting could cure all manner of ailments, and convinced many wealthy patients to undergo extreme fasting regimes under her supervision. However, many of her patients suffered greatly, and some even died under her care.

The book delves into the disturbing and often gruesome details of Hazzard's practices, and explores the psychology behind her obsession with starvation and control. It also examines the social and cultural context of the time, and how the prevailing attitudes towards medicine and health allowed Hazzard to operate her dangerous and fraudulent business for years.

The harrowing account of Hazzard's patients' starvation had a profound impact on me. The book focuses on the "treatment" of Claire and Dora, two heiresses from England who voluntarily submit themselves to Hazzard's dangerous regimen. They are forced to survive on meager amounts of vegetable broth for over 40 days and endure brutal enemas and physical abuse. Claire eventually succumbed to the "treatment" and died.

It is shocking to learn that despite numerous witnesses, no one intervened to stop the cruelty. Adding to the horror, the State refused to prosecute Hazzard for Claire's death by starvation because it was deemed too costly. Instead, they sought to have Claire's estate pay the expenses. Can you imagine!?!?

All of this death and cruelty was motivated by greed.

Hazzard not only robbed her patients of their money and possessions but also manipulated them into believing that the starvation was actually working. Despite weighing no more than a young child, Hazzard's patients were convinced that they were getting better.

The book was undoubtedly meticulously researched, and despite being a work of non-fiction, the storytelling was exceptional. Even the trial segment of the book was engaging, as Hazzard's behavior in the courtroom was truly unbelievable. Through the trial, readers were able to delve into the details of the case and learn more about Hazzard's other victims, who unfortunately numbered quite a few.

I highly recommend this book to people who are interested in true crime and medical history. It may also appeal to those interested in the darker side of human nature and the psychology of manipulation. However, due to the disturbing content and descriptions of abuse, it may not be suitable for all readers who could be triggered by such topics.

Thankyou to Netgalley, the pulisher and Gregg Olsen for allowing me to read this ARC.
Honestly i am not sure where to start, this subject matter made me feel physically sick.
I cannot believe that this is a true story!
I am always a sucker for true crime.
This story happened so long ago but still makes me feel physically sick from what the patients went through.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat and i sat there in disbelief.
Gregg Olsen smashes another book, he never writes a bad one!
Thankyou so much for allowing me to read this!
5/5 stars.

A fascinating tale of historic medical malpractice, murder, and malice. Gregg Olson detailed the horrific lack of oversight in the medical community in the early 1900s through telling the story of the "starvation diet" developed by Dr. Linda Burfield. Unfortunately two British heiresses fell victim to Dr. Burfield's practices and suffered as a result.

Although this was a true story, it read way easier than I expected it too in the aspect of keeping me engaged and entertained from page one. It definitely was eye opening to read something based on the horrors that this women caused, but I do recommend this book to anyone who is interested in true crime and the like.

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

I couldn’t finish this one. I found it quite boring. I wouldn’t recommend this one because I was unable to finish it

The story of Linda Burfield Hazzard and her fasting therapy to heal bodies, which happens to include multiple deaths and bigamy.

I loved this true crime story, it was fascinating and so informative about how things worked back in the early 1900’s and how Linda managed to get away with what she was doing for so long. Unfortunately, this book was a drag, there was so much information, small details included that ultimately didn’t add anything to tell of the story.

If you want to know absolutely everything about the story and the background of the people involved then this is true crime book for you, I personally felt it could have been 100 pages shorter.