It’s not surprising that I knew nothing about this case before reading this book, as Karen Silkwood died in November 1974, years before I was born. But it was a big story at the time and was even adapted into a movie called Silkwood with Meryl Streep playing her. I came across this book on the Libby app, and thought the story sounded interesting and wanted to know more, so I borrowed it.

Karen Silkwood was a 28 years old lab technician who worked at a nuclear facility owned by Kerr-McGee, who was found dead in her wrecked vehicle near Crescent, Oklahoma on Nov. 13, 1974. That information alone might lead you to believe it was just a sad accident. But multiple people said she had actually been on her way to a meeting with two people, one of whom was a journalist. They said she had confidential documents that were damaging against Kerr-McGee that she was going to share. Authorities said no such documents were found in the vehicle after the accident. Which led some people to wonder if she had been run off the road, and the documents taken.

What followed was an almost 5 years long string of investigations by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the FBI, the courts, and the United States Congress, and a bit of a spoiler here, but it was never officially concluded what truly happened on the night that she died. But this book reveals so much more than just that accident and death. Health and safety issues at the plan, contamination incidents (including Karen), shadowy government organizations (sounds crazy, but there’s official confirmation through the book), and much more.

It was a very fascinating book to read, and mind boggling to think about everything that was going on back in the 70’s. So if you are interested in true crime stories, give this one a look!