Book Review — DEEP IN THE WOODS: The 1935 Kidnapping of Nine-Year-Old George Weyerhaeuser, Heir to America’s Mightiest Timber Dynasty by Bryan Johnson
In 1935, nine-year-old George Weyerhaeuser, heir to one of the wealthiest families in America, is snatched off the streets two blocks from his home. The boy is kept manacled in a pit, chained to a tree, and locked in a closet. The perps—a career bank robber, a petty thief, and his nineteen-year-old never-been-in-trouble Mormon wife—quickly become the targets of the biggest manhunt in Northwest history. The caper plays out like a Hollywood thriller with countless twists and improbable developments. Perhaps the most astonishing thing of all, though, is how it all ends.
Publish Date: September 2021
My ThoughtsCrime was a lot easier to get away with in 1935, but even then it wasn’t wise to kidnap a wealthy family’s child. And these kidnappers were far from the wisest criminals of their time.
I’d call this book creative nonfiction. The facts are well researched and represented, but the author takes a lot of liberties with dialogue, moods, and thoughts, so the story reads like a crime novel.
I love historic true crime that fully immerses me in the era, and Bryan Johnson does that exceptionally well. I could envision all of the events as they played out.
My only issue is that I felt the author presumed too much regarding the kidnappers’ roles in events, which wasn’t backed up by evidence. This is particularly true of Margaret, the wife of one of the kidnappers. Johnson portrays her from start to finish as the obedient, somewhat dense and oblivious, mormon wife who never questions male authority. This might be true, but there are alternatives. She could have remained silent out of fear or she could’ve been complicit out of desire for the money she so eagerly spent. I just didn’t see any facts backing up the blind obedience theory.
Overall, though, I found this to be a well written, fascinating story.
*I received a review copy from Post Hill Press.*
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