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.
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A great book.
Amazingly , this is a true story .
True crime. A snapshot into medical quackery and human gullibility.
What a wonderful read! So many issues that have relevance today. I am left with the sense that while much has changed, much has stayed the same over the last 100 years.
Mr Olsen tells the story of Linda Hazzard who fancied herself a healer though she had no formal training and did not have a degree. She called herself on osteopath and …
Good book.
True story that I had never heard of before so I was intrigued to read this. It was a little long for me and the story line went back and forth between continents with news reports which became a bit confusing.
Not much
Not fond of this book.
This was an interesting story but a REALLY tedious read.
Good book
Good book but I felt it was too long and somewhat repetitive. After all that detail, the ending was very vague.
Very depressing
A story about the Northwest that was chilling.
Well written and strange story about a time when people could just disappear. The way the truth was finally discovered was amazing.
Well documented account of a tragic situation. The author helps one visualize how patients were deceived yet the sociopathic charlatan physician operated for a long time.
Was a story I was not aware of until I read this book. Such a deeply disturbing tale that I would not recommend for the faint of heart. The writing style is very dry but you want to read on.
Got bored and didn’t finish. Very repetitive and the action dies out early on.
The information was very interesting and quite amazing that this really happened. What a warped woman! It gets too long though and I Actually stopped reading it as it is so repetitive and slow about mid book. I ended up wiki it and listened to this story on a podcast instead.
Had this book been had the length, I would have given it 5 stars.
The story behind the book was interesting, but the writing was repetitive and dull. I got bored about 2/3 of the way through, and skimmed to the end. I did learn some interesting facts and history. I recommend it in a limited way.
Hated the way it was written. Couldn’t finish