Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest

Gregg Olsen

May 2005 · Sold by Crown

About this ebook

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.

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.

Claire and Dora were not the first victims of Linda Hazzard, a quack doctor 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.

Ratings and reviews

I read this book over 10 years ago and every time Olalla WA. comes up I think of that horrible woman as I was born and still live in Seattle. I just met a sweet woman from Olalla and she said the bldg. is gone now. Of all places why Olalla to start up her business again? A very disturbing story that was true.

This story will leave you wondering how something this horrible could happen. An unforgettable story

Amazing book and wonderfully written, now on to other works of his .

About the author

Gregg Olsen is the author of several works of nonfiction and fiction, including the New York Times bestseller Abandoned Prayers. A journalist and investigative author for more than two decades, Olsen has received numerous awards and much critical acclaim for his writing. The Seattle native now lives in rural Washington state with his wife, twin daughters, cat, and six chickens.