This is the first Olsen book i have read and i'm on the hunt for others!

I like the writing style and the subject was fascinating. I love learning about true crime and the study into the victims and the Dr herself was well researched. I'm always wondering why someone who choose todo the things they do, and their logic as to why is so understandable yet irrational but thought out....

Like others i did feel this book was longer than it needed to be but i did enjoy it. I'm also not sure able the made up conversations. I understand what the author was trying to achieve by them but it doesn't sit quite right for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The premise sold me, and after reading other amazing works by this author, I was excited (and thankful!) for this ARC. However, I think this story could have been told much shorter and more concisely. I felt my mind wandering with the lengthy text...

Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen Narrated by Stacey Glemboski was another brilliant audiobook. This one is a Historical true-crime which happened in 1911 and is about two wealthy British heiresses Claire and Dorothea Williamson who were "health faddist" sisters and a sinister "doctor" Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard who was Not a doctor at all. She had her extreme fasting techniques and she always claimed that could heal anything that came your way with your health.

Total Madness but people believed it and still do in this day and age.

This audiobook was a hit with me and I loved it. Then again I love books like this and the author Gregg Olsen writes brilliant Historical True-crime books.

I highly recommend these books. Brilliant read.

I've said it before and it still stands - I'll read anything Gregg Olson writes! He is an absolute master of True Crime. This is a re-release of the book, which was originally published in 1997. I'm so glad I stumbled across it. I alternated between the physical copy and the audiobook and like all of his books, this was a seamless transition thanks to a beautifully written narrative of actual events and a perfect narrator. Olsen's true crime reads like detailed fiction. Obviously extremely well researched, this story was often hard to believe and even more difficult to swallow (see what I did there?). Highly recommend for fans of True Crime, Gregg Olsen, and his most recent book, American Mother (if you haven't read that yet, be sure to check it out, too!).

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. Gregg Olsen's If You Tell is one of my all time favorite nonfiction books but his newest works have been misses for me. Thank you net galley for the early copy for review.

DNF at 10% ~

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel, in the return of an honest review.

When requesting this book last year along side another of Olsen’s novel, I had only read ‘If you Tell’ in which I mostly enjoyed but felt it was quite long winded.

I have since read another by him which I thoroughly disliked due to the same reason, long-winded and unnecessarily long. I have now DNF’d this due to the same reason, and will not be picking up anymore book by Olsen, I think they are just not for me.

Within the 10% I have read, nothing has happened besides the sister’s meeting Dr Hazzard. It seems like Olsen has also just made up intersections and conversations and used it as filler.

I prefer my true crime biographies to be of fact and straight to the point. Therefore this just isn’t something I can continue to read or enjoy.

I also noticed, this is again another re-release. Not sure why.

I'm DNF'ing this book at 35%. I love true crime but I'm finding the subject matter (a trusted doctor intentionally starving her patients) too disturbing to continue. Gregg Olsen is a great writer so I will read other books by him in the future.

I'm not sure I've ever read a book so in need of a good edit before!
Not only is it far too long but the words used are very strange. This is meant to be a non-fiction book but reads like a pulpy breathless novel, with the author making far too many assumptions about things he couldn't possibly know about - eg weather, facial expressions, vocal tone, clothing colour, internal emotions, smells etc.
The author may well be a frustrated novelist and should probably have attempted this rather than this really overblown sprawling non-fiction epic. It also jumps around a lot with so much odd detail that the really key details are a little lost in the mess.

Having said that the subject matter is fantastic, a really interesting and shocking true story and the author has obviously done his research - there is just a bit too much of it and the bizarre word use, repetition and fictionalised nature of the book put me off a little.

Starvation Heights is a true story but it drags out way too long. In 1911 two wealthy British heiresses, Claire and Dora Williamson, arrived at 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 underwent brutal treatments and were emaciated shadows of their former selves. They were put on ridiculously strenuous fasting diet that will likely kill them. These sisters were not the first victims of Linda Hazzard, a woman of extraordinary evil and greed. But as their jewelry disappeared and forged bank drafts began transferring their wealth to Hazzard’s accounts, the sisters came to learn that Hazzard would stop at nothing short of murder to achieve her ambitions. I feel that this story could have been told in half the pages.

What I liked about this book: it is important this story is read, because the deeds of Linda Burfield were so horrible, people have to be warned that there are more like her. Linda called herself a ‘doctor’ but she wasn’t. She starved people to death. Unfortunately, nowadays young people starve themselves to death because they want to be ‘happy and beautiful’, just as Dora and Claire wanted. It’s a sickness but it can’t be cured by helping them to starve themselves. They need a lot of real attentive medical care, in more ways than one.
What I not liked about the book: the ongoing repetition. Linda Burfield Hazzard (Burfield is not even her own name, she still uses the name of her ex-husband) figures on almost every page of the book. I’ve read a lot of true crime and the books I like best give a solid background to each of the characters – not necessarily in one chapter but in between the story as it unfolds, so to give the reader a better understanding. The way Olsen describes the poor victims in this book didn’t let me feel sorry for them. All I thought was: well, you stupid girls. Too rich, too spoiled, nothing better to do, no wonder you fall for such nonsense. That’s not good! Dora and Claire were nice enough girls and its horrible what was being done with them. Only I just couldn’t feel it.
I’ve read one other book by Olsen, American Mother, and although I didn’t like the subject of a horrible dysfunctional family, I liked the writing style. In Starvation Heights, the writing style prevented me from keeping interest in the story. I finished the book, but only barely.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thread Books for this review copy.

I'm a big Gregg Olsen fan, but Starvation Heights is one I have not found time to read, so thank you NetGalley for giving me the push I needed by offering me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I had heard of Linda Hazzard and "Starvation Heights" before but this book gave a more in depth view. I can't imagine what "Dr. Hazzard's" patients endured. The book was interesting and I encourage anyone with an interest in True Crime to read this.

I enjoyed this book. I like Gregg Olsen books in general. This was a little different as it is a historical nonfiction thriller. I had never heard of Linda Hazzard or Wilderness Heights. I would recommend it to future readers.

Thank you NetGalley and Thread Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Eating without Hunger, or pandering to Appetite at the expense of Digestion makes Disease inevitable.” ~ Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard “Starvation Doctor”

This book was bizarre and so incredibly interesting. Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard is a “fasting specialist” aka fraud without a proper medical degree. She wrote and published her own book in 1908 titled, “Fasting for the Cure of Disease.” Her book boasted how she could cure basically any disease (including cancer and paralysis) for those who followed her strict fasting protocol for 40-50 days, which included daily hours long enemas, osteopathic massage, and a diet of small amounts of tomato soup and orange juice. More than 15 people died while under her care. She’s considered to be Washington’s first female serial killer.
Dr. Hazzard was a master manipulator and fraud, not a doctor. She only wanted wealthy patients in hopes of gaining their fortunes to open a grand sanitarium in Olalla, WA.
This book was sad and mind-blowing that this was even taking place in the 1900s, and that this woman could treat patients without a proper medical license.

Highly recommend! Gregg Olsen did an amazing job writing this book! Loved all the research!

Thank you NetGalley and Thread Books!

Dr. Hazzard's lack of remorse or even acknowledgement of her wrong doings is truly mind blowing. I really enjoyed that Starvation Heights really got into the criminal proceedings and really focused in on the court sessions with high detail it really brought this story together.

This however is just a book that that makes you ask, why? Why do people do the things they do? Why do people get away as long as they do? Why do people just sit back and watch horrendous acts take place? Why do we live in world where this type of crime takes place? Why do people think it is ok to take advantage of the sick and vulnerable?

Why? Why? Why?

Overall, a very fascinating and intriguing story.

Oh the obsession with health and the obsession with looks. Hundreds die every year because of this obsessions we have been told are normal. This book is just a reminder on this. How many have used the obsession of people about health and looks to take money and don't care about health or looks at all? How many have offered amazing diets or "new ideas" so people who are obsessed and in need of all that just fall for it and end up sick or simply die? This is unbelievable.

I have read some reviews of people saying how strange it was that "educated" rich people fell for these things. But, in all honesty, here I don't think it is just a money thing. This obsessions are for everyone. And narcissists adore people they can take something from. What better that rich people with a weakness?

This book also talks about law and justice. It also talks about what a risk it is to just "follow the new trends" as we are basically unprotected against those people creating them. It also talks about how hard it is to make someone responsible for murder, how short sentences are in some cases and how we need to really be careful.

This is a really good and amazingly well researched story that will teach us a lot. I had to read it slowly as ita a heavy read but it was simply a great part of history ghat has-been repeated too often. As I have always said... WE SHOULD READ MORE OF HISTORY, NOT TO REPEAT IT.

This books was published on 19th January 2023 ⭐️ and you can find it on Kindle Unlimited!!!!!

Thank you Thread books, Gregg Olsen and netgalley for the arc of the book!!!

Starvation Heights was the nickname the locals gave to the "spa" in the hills above their town. The "spa" where all the rich people lost their money and some their lives.
Gregg Olsen tells a story in his books. Whether fiction or non-fiction, the stories are fascinating. I have read many of his books and the non-fiction all set the tone with the question......how could this have happened? In small town America, where everyone knows their neighbors and their neighbor's business, how did one woman manage to damage so many lives for so long? Mr Olsen follows two sisters who check into this facility and how one sister managed to escape her death and bring down the doctor's secrets. The aftermath is just as fascinating, watching as the doctor justifies her treatments to a jury until the walls start to crack and leak their secrets. As long as Gregg Olsen keeps writing, I'll keep reading his books. I've not found a bad one yet.

Horrifying and depraved. Gregg Olsen has a way of writing that brings you to the darkest depths of humanity while still making the story fast paced and unputdownable (that's a word right?) There is always light sprinkled through the book that gives you a bit of hope. This book was really well done!

A disturbing true crime cracker.. Two sisters travel to starvation heights to ungo a fasting treatment. Starvation heights is more than it appears. Murder remains hidden and then a fight for justice.

A true story that shows how far the world has come. Excellent character development woven into a good descriptive backdrop helps you relive the horror throught the eyes of all the characters throughout the years.

The book shines with excellent research. I felt like I was there reliving the story. Determined to see it through to the end.
It is always a pleasure to read a true crime which is well written beautifully executed. I look forward to your next one

I love true crime and to go with that I really enjoyed Starvation Heights. The story of Dr. Hazzard and her “cure” for illness through fasting (although she was no actual doctor) was new to me and I’d never heard of it before. So this story was a fresh perspective for me. It is set in the early 1900s. I am a proponent of fasting but what this “doctor’s” patients endured was so much more horrific than what we call fasting today. The harrowing true stories or her patients as accounted by Olsen had me reeling. Feeling both anger and sadness. If you like true crime this is a must read.

I always love a True Crime book! When I'm looking for a true crime book I always go to Gregg Olsen! So when I had the opportunity to read this ARC I was so happy. This book was really interesting since this was set back in 1911. It's always crazy to think crime was around back in the so called simpler times. But this was another well done story and I was also able to listen to the Audiobook. I would recommend this to a true crime fan.

Thanks NetGalley and Thread Books for allowing me to read this ARC,