Gregg Olsen is the master of true crime. This is my 3rd true crime by him and it does not disappoint! His writing and storytelling sucks me in better than any documentary. The story itself is crazy but so well researched its believable.

Imagine someone who believed that a starvation diet was the cure to anything that ailed you? That was the motto or philosophy of Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard, an osteopath who practiced her form of medicine, in the state of Washington. Attracted by Dr Hazzard's approach, two sisters, Claire and Dora Williamson, decided to follow the good doctor and go for the "cure." The two wealthy sisters were proponents of natural medicine, and Dr Hazzard seem to offer that to them.

The "good" doctor took the sisters into her home,promising that a sanatorium was being built that would house them as the path to a cure would be followed. Dr Hazzard, her husband, Sam Hazzard, (another evil natured man, a swindler, forger, scandalous bigamist, and more death!)
and staff put these women on a diet that would actually cause people to starve to death which is exactly what happened to Claire and other patients of the doctor.

Many prominent people flocked to her, however, between 1907 to 1913, fourteen patients perished. These patients withered away, and perhaps quite interestingly were people who had money and possessions, which supposedly they had turned over to the doctor. Hazzard labeled herself the "Fasting Specialist", but many of these patients died alone under her care.

Suits were brought against Hazzard through Dora Williamson, who herself nearly died until her trusted nurse arrived. However, Hazzard had her followers and it was as if the believers formed a type of cult. Hazzard maintained her innocence with both a sense of entitlement, filled with a sense of inflated self and denial, that was repugnant to many.

She was convicted of the murder of Claire, but only served two years, was released, went to another country where she and her husband amassed money enough to build her dream sanitarium back home. In a twist of righteous fate of greed once again, the place burned down and years later Hazzard died while supposedly practicing her cure. Her husband had already become and alcoholic and a womanizer.

These two despicable people seemed to be able to escape the full hammer of justice they deserved and I found it hard to believe that Hazzard convinced many of the benefit of fasting for forty days and beyond with just a bit a broth and perhaps sips of orange juice, and of course the daily enemas.

This was a well researched story that was fascinating in its detail (although a bit long) It was truly amazing that there were a bevy of people who defended Hazzard's behavior. Greed, avarice, and a god like temperament followed Hazzard all of her days.
The deceased under Hazzard's care
1907 Lenora J. Wilcox
1908 Daisy Maud Haglund (The mother of Ivar’s Restaurants founder, Ivar Haglund. Ivar was taken to Hazzard for treatments, even after Daisy’s death.)
1909 Blanche B. Tindall
1909 Viola Heaton
1909 Eugene Stanley Wakelin (Did not die of starvation, but was found dead of a bullet wound on Hazzard’s property. Linda Hazzard had power of attorney over his estate.)
1910 Lydia Maude Whitney
1910 Earl Edward Erdman
1911 Frank Stuart Southard (Prominent attorney with the firm of Morris, Southard and Shipley. His law partner publically defended Linda Hazzard.)
1911 Edward S. Harrison (Publisher of Alaska-Yukon Magazine and Hazzard’s book, Fasting for the Cure of Disease.)
1911 John Ivan Flux
1911 Lewis Ellsworth Rader (Washington Legislator, 1895. Rader granted Wilderness Heights to Linda Hazzard.)
1911 Claire Williamson
1913 Ida Julia Anderson
1913 Mary T. Bailey
1925 Leonard Ritter

Thanksyou to Gregg Olsen, Thread Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this amazing story.

I had never heard of Dr Hazzard and her fasting cure, so I was intrigued to read this book.
This booked shocked me, made me angry ,broke my heart and made me cry. This was a difficult read at times and at times I had to remind myself that this was not fiction but HISTORICAL FACT!!!!
This is story of two wealthy sisters, Claire and Dora Williamson who fell under the spell of Dr Hazzard and her fasting treatment. We have all tried faddy diets which promise fast results but Dr Hazzard and husband are on another level, and as far as she was concerned the treatment was working and she was doing nothing wrong.
The court case was an eye opener to say the least. A fight over who was going to pay for this mammoth case. Personally I have never read a book like this before and will stay with me long after I have turned the last page. Chilling, abhorrent heart braking and so much more. Read this book I promise you will not believe what you are reading. Highly recommended!!!!!!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I love a good true crime story and this is not disappoint ! Gregg Olsen knocks it out of the park again !

These are the kind of non-fiction books I love reading. The 'strange but true' stories that my dad loved reading and then would terrify me by re-telling on long road trips. Half of me wouldn't/couldn't believe him - and the other half of me couldn't wait to get home to run to the bookmobile to ask my friendly librarian to find a book about the topic for me.

Starvation Heights has everything I want in a book - rich people, fanatics, doctors and crazy cures, money scams, murder, missing bodies, etc etc. It's everything. Gregg Olsen is a master at weaving all of these facts into a readable story, rather than a series of facts.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I struggled with this one. First, this is a story that one, I haven’t heard of before and two, is actually really fascinating! You can tell it was really well researched, but it just didn’t draw me in like these stories usually do.

I will say some parts were drier than others. I really did find myself intrigued by this case but overall, this wasn’t a book that I loved.

If you enjoy true crime stories, especially those with historical intrigue, then I would recommend picking this one up but warning, it can be a dense read at times.

Thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher for letting me give this one a try. I will definitely be on the lookout for more about this creepy story in the future.

DNF at 52%. At this point, I know everything I needed to know about this case, and it wasn't interesting enough to keep going and rehash it all through the court cases. This is my third read by Olsen, and while he picks interesting subject matter, his downfall is that he doesn't know how to cut it off and where to leave it. All of them have been over-told by at least 100 pages. Stick to what's relevant, stop repeating facts, and the reads would be so much better.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and I have chosen to post a review.

I had gotten the overall picture of what had happened by watching videos. No short video could do the topic justice as this book has. It draws you in, leading you along, with unexpected turns to look at past events, before taking back off towards the conclusion. I like that there are short, but direct quotes which help remind us of the reality of events, and the participation of individuals. America was very different back then, yet I fear this sort of thing might still happen even in the age of social media and cell phones.

Starvation Heights is dark, disturbing and compelling but what makes it especially disconcerting is that real people were involved. The sanitarium in Olalla, Washington which housed patients of Dr. Linda Hazzard and her husband over a hundred years ago burned to the ground several years ago, taking with it evidence and memories. Everyone involved then is dead. Now it is the stuff of legends and mystery. Drawing from copious research including photos, author Gregg Olson brings this heinous story to life, one which I did not know existed. I thank him for that.

British heiress sisters Claire and Dora Williamson were so close that they decided not to marry as they did not wish anything to become a thorn in their relationship. They were open to improving their health and could not resist the thought of "fasting for the cure of disease" to rid their minds and bodies completely of anything detrimental. After journeying to America they were fed lie after lie and manipulated like crazy. But the sisters were so keen to begin treatment they overlooked what should have been red flags. Their trust in Dr. Hazzard did not waver and only grew. She was kind (!), motherly and perceived as trustworthy but her husband was not. The sisters began treatment immediately and it became apparent the cure was not helping but worsening. Still, they stuck to the daily internal baths, pummelling and tomato broth as they were hopeful for their futures. Interestingly, Dr. Hazzard's patients were all wealthy. Wonder why?

Patients began dying and signed their financial lives away to the Hazzards. Some realized the trouble they were in, others were resigned. But all suffered slowly at the hands of this detestable couple who serial killed patients under their care, mentally and physically, under terrible pretenses and brainwashing. I like that the author includes what happened to the patients, especially the sisters, and the Hazzards in the criminal investigation and deaths.

If True Crime intrigues you, do not miss this book. Details can be difficult to read...this is a true story...but it is an important one. The more I learn about such stories the more I wish to learn.

My sincere thank you to Thread Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this stellar book.

Overall it's an interesting yet creepy true story about Dr. Linda B. Hazzard, a fasting specialist, and Dora and Claire Williamson, her patients. The book is broken down into 3 parts. The sisters getting to the doctor and recirving the treatment, Claire's death and the making of a trial, and finally the trial itself.
Sprinkled in are a ton of detailed sub stories of other characters in relation to either the Dr. or the Williamson sisters. In fact, there is an abundance of extra characters with a lot of noise. It took me a while to get through.
Having read this author's fiction piece before, I'm left with the same feeling of confusion reading this one. It just feels like too much is packed into one book. Although this is a true story, the amount of detail described in most of the scenes is unlikely. I have gone on a search of a documentary about Starvation Heights, have not found one yet.
Thank you Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC.

Starvation Heights is the true story of Linda Hazzard and her outrageous methods of "treating" patients in 1911. How was she able to persuade so many people to her methods in search for a cure?
Linda Hazzard believed that fasting and enemas could rid the body of disease but when patients pass away from her treatments-is it considered murder?
Linda always seemed to have an answer for everyone-whether friend or foe. She was not able to take accountability for her actions or express empathy- neither of which would be expected in a doctor.

While all genres of writing are important- I had to keep telling myself this was true crime (not suspense/thriller, etc). While Gregg Olsen is know for research, details and commitment to true crime- Starvation Heights moved too slow for my liking. I felt that the story was very drawn out and lost my engagement.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Thread Books and the author for an eARC of Starvation Heights in exchange for my honest review.

Starvation Heights, is the story of Linda Hazzard; a self-proclaimed healer who used starvation techniques to heal her patients, Exhaustively researched, the unbelievable story of Hazzard, her family, and her victims is ghastly and shocking. Starvation Heights is also about a much younger America, struggling in its early stages of a system of justice, gender equality, and regulated health care. Just 100 years ago, victims of crimes could be required to pay for their legal trials. Although Gregg Olsen includes background and other information. I found it interesting and helpful to understand the culture of the early 1900's. Hazzard's murder trial reads like fiction. Easy 4 stars and recommendations to lovers of true crime reads. This is a good one. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Starvation Heights.

As a Gregg Olsen fan and a history lover, this book felt very promising to me. Unfortunately I found the chapters to drag on and the narrative to be dull. I struggled to stay invested in the story. Olsen chose a unique story that needed to be told. Sadly this book was not for me. I’ll continue to seek out Olsen’s future work in hopes of redemption of this book.

Who was Linda Burfield Hazzard? Was she a quack or a legitimate doctor? Was her method of treatment maligned because she was a woman or because it was dangerous? Was she a martyr for her cause or was she an opportunist? In the book Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest, Gregg Olsen delves into the complex character of Mrs. Hubbard. Eventually, her treatment of her patients and her devious pilfering of their possessions will come under scrutiny after years of being ignored.

Mrs. Hazzard believed that all diseases of the mind and body could be remedied by cleansing the digestive system through fasting and enemas. She was considered by her followers to be a fasting specialist, a savior. Her patients subsided on spoonsful of vegetable broth, and daily enemas that often lasted for hours. Supposedly, some were cured by this process which often lasted for weeks. However, for British sisters Dorothea and Claire Williamson, it proved to be deadly for one, and life-altering for the other. Eventually, many other victims—both dead and alive—would be found.

Mrs./Dr. (she wasn’t a licensed physician) Hazzard is a fascinating woman. She saw herself as being superior to others, a leader of a movement; anyone who questioned her was jealous, ill-informed, or out to get her. She could never admit to being wrong, or that her behaviors impacted others negatively. She had a total lack of empathy: if a patient wasn’t improving, it was the patient’s fault. If one were to give her a psychological evaluation, she could be seen as having an antisocial personality disorder, as well as narcissistic personality disorder.

I thoroughly enjoyed the sections that concerned Mrs. Hazzard: her upbringing, marriages, wherewithal, spirit, vision, evilness, delusions, and psychoses. I would gladly read a book that centered on her. Although the building of a case to bring her to justice was interesting and satisfying, I wanted more of her.

I would like to that NetGalley and Crown Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Yet another true crime, serial killer book that I loved! Gregg Olsen did a superb job again just like with American Mother. The research is spot on and extensive and I'm not sure anything could have been done better!

3.5 rounded up
After reading Gregg Olsen's best-seller, If You Tell, I eagerly dove into this book. The subject matter is horrifying and the way that Olsen tells the story would delight and intrigue readers who love dramatic historical fiction. Overall, I found the book to be really slow read. Normally I am an extremely fast reader but I found I struggled with this one. The pace felt slow and I found myself wanting to skip ahead to get through sections. I found myself Googling the events alongside reading and was fascinated by the trust these people put in such an extreme treatment. I ended up not finishing the book. While I'd say this book wasn't for me, I can see why others who enjoy this style of book would really like it. Gregg Olsen is a great story teller and I will absolutely read other books by him. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for a copy of this book.

Starvation Heights is a story about a woman who has a “clinic” where she practices the act of starvation in order to help cure her patients of illnesses. I found this story to be very interesting, and I couldn’t put it down.

This book was a difficult read, not because of the dialect or writing style, but because of the contents that it contained. 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.

Thank you so much for an opportunity to read an ARC of this book! I was absolutely fascinated by the topic, but I have to be honest, I feel like this book could have been half as long and still gotten the point across. I found myself skipping chapters in order to slog through some of the information, primarily when it got to the court case. Sadly, the important bits kind of get overshadowed by the minutiae that is discussed.

The beginning portion of the book that talks about Clair and Dora and how they came to know about Linda Hazzard's methods, how they made the decision to participate in this fasting cure, etc. is thoroughly interesting. The methods that Dr. Hazzard uses are bizarre and anyone on the outside would clearly be concerned about what was occurring, but the fact that they were all-in for this was mind blowing. The outcome of their decisions is tragic, and learning how much they were deceived by Linda and Sam is disgusting. The fact that she continued to practice without a license, continually getting arrested with a minor slap on the wrist, after killing and stealing from her patients is awful.

Overall, the book's premise is truly an interesting one, and I do give Olsen credit for his research. No stone was left unturned in discovering every detail about Starvation Heights and the tragedies that occurred there, but some editing down to the most important details would have been beneficial.

This book is a fact-packed true crime story about a ‘doctor’ who took advantage of her patients and ultimately starved them to death. Linda Hazzard takes British citizens Claire and Dora into her care with a plan to isolate them and take them for all they are worth. This book takes us back to the early 1900’s to see how the world became acquainted with the horrors that happened at the place known as ‘Starvation Heights’.

I enjoyed this book to a certain extent; the story was really interesting and the writing was actually very smooth for a historical nonfiction. There was, however, a lot to read. The story is told over the span of a couple of years but it feels as if it's a 10 year recounting. There were quite a few parts where I felt it just wasn’t adding anything to the telling of the story and just felt like filler. The author did a good job of finding a ton of information surrounding the story but it wasn’t all necessary to tell the story.

I do enjoy the author’s writing style for true crime because it doesn’t feel like a fact sheet for you to follow. They tell the story and present us with the ‘behind the scenes’ of a crime.