Βήμα 1: You start reading this classic true crime book, expecting something ordinary, perhaps a bit boring since the author is a journalist and tries to convey the story with the objectivity and perhaps the colorless language of his profession.

Βήμα 2: You quickly realize the mistake of your assessment. You read about the Clutter family and without even realizing it, you start to hope that the story will change in some magical way. You know you are reading the real chronicle of their murders but you can't accept that this wonderful family was about to die in a horrible way in just a few pages.

Βήμα 3: You read about the murders and you are still in denial. For a moment, you forget that the story you are reading is true and you hope for some resurrection of the dead as if you are watching a superhero movie where almost no one stays dead for long.

Βήμα 4: You accept the reality and you hope desperately that the perpetrators are caught, maybe you even understand why! Why, why, why...

Βήμα 5: You feel nausea every time you catch yourself feeling even a hint of sympathy for the perpetrators - especially for Perry Smith, whom you hope was just a witness to the murders and not the real killer. You don't care much for Dick. The microscopic examples of sympathy for his person are easily wiped away when they come face to face with his arrogant, annoying personality.

Βήμα 6: You feel real vindication when they are caught.

Βήμα 7: You are shocked when the details of that night come to light and you scold yourself even more for still feeling a kind of sympathy or understanding for Smith.

Βήμα 8: You finish the book and you feel an abysmal void. You're not sure what you should feel and if what you feel is right... You take a cold shower and purification ensues.

Βήμα 9: You make the mistake of searching for articles (and thus photographs) of that period and you see the crime again as perhaps you should have seen it all along: horrible, wrong, inhuman, senseless, vulgar...

Βήμα 10: You stay awake for many nights...

The book "In Cold Blood" justifiably constitutes a milestone in the history of American Literature. It handles the story with real literary mastery but also journalistic skill. The story of the Clutter family murder marked him, put him face to face with dilemmas that are extremely complex for all of us. These dilemmas it also poses to the reader, leaving him uncertain and a bit hopeless for answers. The boundaries of right and wrong, of madness and logic, of illness and healthy perception should always be clear, but, as it turns out, this does not always happen to a satisfactory degree. This case gave Capote the opportunity to explore the dual nature of the causes of evil that we can encounter in our lives. Sometimes it is the result of paranoia, psychological problems, a traumatic past and a distorted perception of reality. Other times it is genuine, indisputable, unjustifiable evil. The distinction between the two (and whether this distinction makes sense) are the big questions to which no one has the golden answer...

What can one possibly say about this book that hasn't already been said?

This particular one has been sitting on my to-read list for an eternity.

There's just never seemed to be enough time to read it, so I made the decision to give it a try via audio, which was my very first audio book experience.

And let me tell you, I absolutely loved it.

I spend a significant amount of time in the kitchen, and it was the perfect accompaniment. I breezed through this one in no time.

The narrator was truly awesome. I'm now eagerly looking forward to hearing more of his work.

Now, onto the story itself. Naturally, it is extremely gripping.

Capote does an outstanding job not only of building up the story around the Clutters but also of developing the story and generating empathy for the killers.

I find it rather odd to say how much I enjoyed this story when it is such a gruesome one.

But I had a similar feeling about Helter Skelter.

I've heard that Capote was completely obsessed with this story, and it really shows in the remarkable level of details that he has incorporated into it.

I would highly recommend this book to any book lover out there.

‘’When such apparently senseless murders occur, they are seen to be an end result of a period of increasing tension and disorganization in the murderer starting before contact with the victim who, by fitting into the unconscious conflicts of the murderer, unwittingly serves to set into motion his homicidal potential’’

\\nMurder Without Apparent Motive: A Study in Personality Disorganization
The American Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 117, Issue 1, July 1960, 48-53

On November 16, 1959, Truman Capote chanced upon a small article on page thirty-nine of The New York Times. It was titled ‘’A wealthy wheat farmer, his wife and their two young children were found shot to death today in their home: H. W. Clutter, wife and children are found shot in Kansas home’’. At that time, Capote was working for The New Yorker. He had a desire to pen an article about the profound impact these murders had on the tiny community of Holcomb, Kansas. So, he embarked on a journey there with his childhood friend Harper Lee to amass material for his piece. The result was a series of four instalments (from September 17 - October 8, 1965) for The New Yorker, and of course, ultimately this classic non-fiction novel.

Capote was certain that this book would achieve great success even before its publication. In fact, he did everything in his power to ensure its success. He wrote in a letter to the publisher Bennett Cerf while penning this book from Costa Brava, Spain;

\\n  ‘’I’m all right. Living quietly; see literally no one; and am totally concentrated on IN COLD BLOOD. My enthusiasm is as high as ever. No, higher. It is going to be a masterpiece: I mean that. Because if it isn’t, then it’s nothing, and I shall have wasted two or three years. But - I have great confidence; and that is not always the case.’’ \\n

Small aside, whenever I read any of Capote’s letters, I can’t help but think of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and his captivating performance as Truman Capote in Bennett Miller’s film. The acting techniques Hoffman utilized to capture the voice and idiosyncrasies of Capote with astonishing precision were truly sublime. Hoffman was able to flawlessly encapsulate every emotion that Capote experienced while writing this book.

So, returning to the review, what makes this book memorable is the way it portrays that grisly crime in a highly expressive southern gothic style. It赋予 those involved in this story multiple dimensions while skillfully navigating through a plethora of gray areas in the backstories of the perpetrators. Another significant subject it covers is the delicate topic of mental health evaluation in the criminal justice system. It also served as a means for Capote to express his stance on capital punishment. In his 1968 appearance on The Firing Line Show with William F. Buckley Jr., he stated;

\\n  ‘’People simply don’t know what capital punishment does as a deterrent in relation to a man’s motivation for a crime…….if the death penalty was imposed in a genuine and authentic way, then I think it would be an effective deterrent against violent crime. But since it is not, and in fact it is a masquerade in which people are cruelly selected very arbitrarily and occasionally executed, then I think it should be abolished’’. \\n

This is a book for which Capote dedicated years of hard work and dedication. His extensive research notes and manuscript drafts held at The New York Public Library bear witness to this. It is now evident that he took a certain degree of creative liberty in piecing together the story. I will not delve into all the accusations of authenticity leveled at Capote and the book. My argument is that, by nature, the non-fiction novel genre suffers from the fact that life is very rarely stranger than fiction. As such, it requires some embellishment here and there. I don't necessarily object to a moderate level of embellishment. Whatever the case may be, it remains one of the greatest achievements of 20th century American literature.

I knew absolutely nothing about the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas. After all, it had occurred just a year after my birth.

Merely from the title of this book, I had initially presumed it would be an extremely gruesome and terrifying story. However, as I delved deeper into it, I discovered that it was actually more about the reaction of the communities involved and provided some historical background on the two men responsible for the heinous act. It also detailed the painstaking investigation, the subsequent trial, and ultimately, the execution.

This was an incredibly detailed book. I truly don't think I would have possessed the patience to complete reading the actual physical copy. Fortunately, the narrator of this audiobook was truly outstanding! Their performance added an extra layer of depth and interest to the story, making it a captivating listen from start to finish.

**“‘This is it, this is it, there’s the school, there’s the garage, now we turn south.’ To Perry [Smith], it seemed as though Dick [Hickock] were mumbling jubilant mumbo-jumbo. They left the highway, sped through a deserted Holcomb, and crossed the Santa Fe tracks. ‘The bank, that must be the bank, now we turn west – see the trees? This is it, this has to be it.’ The headlights disclosed a lane of Chinese elms; bundles of wind-blown thistle scurried across it. Dick doused the headlights, slowed down, and stopped until his eyes were adjusted to the moon-illuminated night. Presently, the car crept forward…”**

-\\tTruman Capote, In Cold Blood



American crime writing has a long and storied history that dates back even before the nation's founding. One can, if they so choose (though it may not be advisable), read Cotton Mather and discover his accounts of the supposed criminal deeds of his neighbors, some of which involved rather unusual behavior with farm animals. Since then, there has been a flood of newspaper articles, magazine stories, and entire books dedicated to satisfying the seemingly insatiable public appetite for understanding the felonious conduct of others. Despite the vast number of entries in the true crime genre, however, any discussion of it would be incomplete without mentioning Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.



Billed by Capote as a new literary form, the "nonfiction novel," this work of the New Journalism was not actually the first of its kind. Nevertheless, its impact and artistry cannot be underestimated. In Cold Blood begins on the windswept plains of Kansas, outside the town of Holcomb, with Capote's vivid description of the landscape: "The land is flat, and the views are extensive; horses, herds of cattle, a white cluster of grain elevators rising as gracefully as Greek temples…" The story then unfolds and concludes in a cemetery under the same big sky: "the graves…lie in a far corner of the cemetery – beyond the trees, out in the sun, almost at the wheat field’s bright edge…" In terms of structure, pacing, dialogue, reveals, and fully-realized scenes, this book reads as well as any work of fiction, and far better than most.



However, this is where the problem lies. A significant portion of In Cold Blood is, in fact, fiction. The story behind the making of the book, which has been the subject of two major motion pictures, at times threatens to overshadow the underlying subject matter, like a snake devouring its own tail. Legend has it that Capote, a renowned author and bon vivant, came across a small article in The New York Times about the murder of Herbert, Bonnie, Kenyon, and Nancy Clutter, members of a relatively prosperous farming family. Sensing a potential bestseller – after all, nothing sells like a murder in the heartland – Capote set off for Kansas with his friend Nell Harper Lee. Once there, this unlikely duo essentially inserted themselves into the community, prying for information until they had exhausted all possible sources. Later, when two suspects, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, were apprehended, Capote managed to insinuate himself into their lives as well.


By the time everything was said and done, it became difficult to determine whether Capote was simply a passive observer and fact finder, or an active participant whose unseen hand had actually influenced the outcome of the case. Despite all of this, it is still astonishing to see the amount of talent on display in In Cold Blood. The book has a powerful grip on the reader, compelling them to keep turning the pages. The prose is beautiful and luminous, the characterizations are sharp and acute, and the setting is brought to life in a truly remarkable way. Capote crafts a narrative arc and builds the story around it with great care, modulating the tension until the big payoff and then settling on an ending that is as graceful as one could imagine. There are moments of quiet horror, such as Perry Smith's confession, which is both chilling and poignant. There are also moments when Capote describes a place, such as a cheap hotel room in Mexico or the gallows in Kansas, with such vivid detail that the reader can almost reach out and touch it. In Cold Blood remains so firmly in the memory because it implants these images into the reader's mind with such force, much like a great movie.


At the heart of the book is Capote's masterful portrayal of Perry Smith. In Cold Blood is not a traditional whodunit; rather, it is, in large part, a character study of a killer. Smith, a cripple suffering from chronic pain in both legs as a result of a motorcycle accident, had a difficult childhood. His alcoholic mother died when he was very young, and he spent time in several orphanages where he claimed to have been abused. In Capote's hands, this victim-turned-victimizer becomes a tragic and tortured figure, his ultimately homicidal acts almost inevitable. However, this very aspect of the book is also one of its problems. By focusing so intently on Perry Smith, Capote casts a shadow over everyone else involved: his partner in crime, Hickock; the law enforcement agents who apprehended him; and, most importantly, the victims themselves.


Still, if overemphasizing the killer were the only issue with In Cold Blood, it could perhaps be dismissed as a common flaw in the true crime genre. After all, many (if not most) of these types of stories tend to focus more on the criminal than the victim. This is, unfortunately, a dramatic necessity, as the criminal is the one who takes action, while the victim is the passive recipient. However, as noted earlier, this is not the only problem with In Cold Blood.


From the moment of its publication, In Cold Blood has been dogged by accusations. Some have claimed that Capote fabricated dialogue, invented events, and misinterpreted the facts. While some of these criticisms may be unfounded, others are quite valid. The creation of entire scenes out of thin air, for example, is particularly troubling. The book's ending, which provides a beautiful counterpoint to the opening, is so perfect that it seems almost too good to be true. According to one of the people involved, it was, in fact, too perfect, as it never actually happened.


Perhaps even more disturbing is Capote's absence from the story. Told objectively in the third person, with long sections of purportedly verbatim recollections from various participants, Capote does not insert himself into the narrative. On the one hand, this is a refreshing change from the modern trend in true crime writing, where authors often feel the need to make their personal story as important as the one they are telling. This can work, as it does in Michelle McNamara's I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, but it is difficult to do well. In many cases, the author's intrusion can be annoying and distracting, or used as a way to pad out a story with otherwise meager facts. In Cold Blood, thankfully, is free from such self-conscious handwringing about the ethics of crime writing. There are no digressions into areas that the reader could care less about. For all of Capote's well-known ego, there is no self-indulgent navel-gazing. Instead, there is the thrilling sense of watching events unfold as a witness.


On the other hand, Capote's absence can also be seen as a form of deception. According to some sources, he was pulling the strings behind the scenes, manipulating events and people in order to shape the outcome of the story. The extent of this manipulation can be debated, but it is fair to say that In Cold Blood, without Capote as a character, cannot be considered the complete and unadulterated truth. In the end, despite all of the controversy and criticism, In Cold Blood remains a classic of the true crime genre. While it may not be a flawless work of investigative journalism, it is undoubtedly a powerful and influential piece of literature. It has had a profound impact on the way we think about crime, criminals, and the victims of crime, and it will continue to be studied and debated for years to come.

I originally thought this book would be a real page turner when it came to the topic of hypothermia. After all, thermoregulation in the human body keeps our blood at approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit. And once hypothermia sets in, it usually does so in the high 90's. So, I naively assumed that "cold" blood, in the context of severe hypothermia, would be around 60 degrees. I even thought that at such a low temperature, it would mean instant death.

However, as I delved deeper into the book, I realized that I had completely misjudged both the book and its subject matter. Truman Capote, the author, had truly crafted a masterpiece that went far beyond my initial expectations. He presented the topic of hypothermia in a way that was both engaging and informative, challenging my preconceived notions at every turn. Well played, Mr. Capote... well played indeed.

The First "Novelized" True Crime Non-Fiction!

Dateline 1959, Holcomb, Kansas. Herb Clutter, a prosperous, highly regarded, and God-fearing Methodist farmer, along with his wife and two children, was brutally slain in what modern police would describe as a home invasion. The Clutters, killed without any obvious motive, were especially poignant victims. Mr. Clutter, a diligent and successful farmer, prohibited drinking on his farm. He was overly generous yet extremely prudent with his money, always paying by cheque. His charming daughter, Nancy, a well-behaved young woman to an extent that would astonish the modern teenage generation, loved baking and regularly attended 4-H meetings. The son, Kenyon, also a good-natured homebody who respected his father's word as law, enjoyed puttering around in their home workshop. The only shadow over their family was Mrs. Bonnie Clutter, who was prone to severely debilitating bouts of anxiety and depression.

IN COLD BLOOD, arguably the ground-breaking first book in the true crime genre that could be termed "novelized" non-fiction, narrates the story of the family, their murder, the murderers, the investigation that led to their capture, the trial, and their ultimate execution by hanging. Truman Capote's extensive research enabled him to delve deep into the minds of the murderers and rewrite a story that allows readers to witness how the events preceding the murder and the actual murder might have unfolded in real time, but from the perspective of the killers themselves, Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Edward Smith.

It is evident throughout the book that the killers were twisted sociopaths. Consider the banal, bleakly noir yet paradoxical and utterly shocking statement that Smith made regarding Herb Clutter's murder to Capote during one of their interviews: "I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat."

IN COLD BLOOD is an extraordinarily compelling work, seminal and pioneering in nature, that explores the depths of a motiveless multiple murder and brings to life the reaction of the community and a shocked nation. It is no wonder that there is still controversy today about the impact that writing this novel might have had on Truman Capote himself. There is little doubt that the effort left him a very different man.

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

In Cold Blood, Truman Capote

This article focuses on the remarkable book by Truman Capote. "In Cold Blood" is a non-fiction novel penned by the American author Truman Capote and first published in 1966. It vividly details the heinous 1959 murders of four members of the Herbert Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas.

When Capote got wind of the quadruple murder, even before the killers were apprehended, he made the resolute decision to journey to Kansas and chronicle the crime. He was accompanied by his childhood friend and fellow author Harper Lee. Together, they tirelessly interviewed local residents and the investigators assigned to the case, amassing thousands of pages of detailed notes. The killers, Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith, were arrested six weeks after the murders and later met their fate with execution by the state of Kansas.

Capote dedicated a staggering six years to working on this book. Upon its final publication, "In Cold Blood" achieved instant success. Today, it holds the distinction of being the second-biggest-selling true crime book in publishing history, surpassed only by Vincent Bugliosi's 1974 book "Helter Skelter" which is about the Charles Manson murders. The book has had several published titles in Iran, and it has had a profound impact on the literary world, solidifying Capote's reputation as a master storyteller.

As an English reader, I was initially unaware of the Clutter massacre, and my knowledge of Truman Capote was limited to his novel "Breakfast at Tiffany's". It took some time for me to recognize the true greatness of this novel. The domesticity of the 1950s did not appeal to me. It seemed alien, claustrophobic, gender-specific, and rather dull. However, after a while, I realized the genius in Capote's meticulous description of the setting of that time and place.
The "New York Times" has lauded "In Cold Blood" as "The best documentary account of an American crime ever written." This ground-breaking book by Truman Capote is widely regarded as the first factual novel, although others had explored the concept before. It chronicles the murders of the Clutter family at their farmhouse in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. The four murders received significant media attention due to the unclear motive. Partly because of this, Capote and his friend, author Harper Lee, decided to travel to Kansas to write about the crime before the killers were apprehended. They painstakingly interviewed all the local residents and investigators, taking numerous notes that Capote later incorporated into his novel over the next six years.
The killers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, were arrested six weeks after the murders. However, Capote does not begin his narrative at that point or even at the moment of the actual slayings for dramatic effect, as many writers would. Instead, he starts by describing the comfortable, happy family lives of the devout Christian people in the small town of Holcomb, down to the tiniest details. Their daily routines, the aspirations of both the old and the young, and the clinical depression of Bonnie Clutter (the mother and Herbert's wife) are all carefully recorded. Capote also weaves into the narrative a dispassionate account of the killers' early childhoods, documenting the highlights and events that, in hindsight, seem extremely shocking. However, his meticulous recording creates a non-judgmental picture.
It is the juxtaposition created by Capote that allows the reader to assess the situation for themselves. The impoverished and brutal early childhood of Perry Smith (some of the cruelest episodes ironically perpetrated by nuns) stands in sharp contrast to the settled, happy community that was devastated by the event. First-hand accounts from the residents are included, with most expressing fear, all being stunned and confused. Some were bent on revenge, while others sought forgiveness. Every single person in this church-going community seemed to want to do the right thing, although they differed as to what that was.
The feelings of the investigators involved, including the stress and deteriorating health, became more intense as the search continued. Truman heightens the sense of suspense as the search progresses while making us more familiar with the two characters who committed the crime. We become acquainted with Perry Smith's abusive childhood and Dick Hickock's head injuries and possible brain trauma following a car crash in 1950. At no point does the author comment on these episodes; he remains impartial. He doesn't really need to, as the reader now has ample material to make subtle inferences about the extent to which these two could be responsible for their actions.
The actual murders are recorded approximately halfway through the book, and the following six weeks, during which they were on the run, are chronicled as a time when the relationship between the two was breaking down. Here are the thoughts of Dick Hickock, as he contemplates setting off on his own, as described by Capote: "Goodbye, Perry. Dick was sick of him - his harmonica, his aches and ills, his superstitions, the weepy womanly eyes, the nagging, whispering voice. Suspicious, self-righteous, spiteful he was like a wife that must be got rid of." In turn, Perry Smith is beginning to wonder why he ever admired Dick Hickock, who takes pleasure in running over stray dogs and prefers to steal even when they have money in their pockets. Both come across as extremely damaged personalities even before any formal psychiatric analysis.
The pair were eventually tracked down by the evidence provided by a former cellmate, Floyd Wells. Having worked for Herbert Clutter himself, he had chatted with Dick Hickock about how well-off this Methodist family was, providing details of the farmhouse, the family's habits, and whether they had a safe, etc. When he saw the subsequent use Dick Hickock had made of the information, he informed the police. (He claimed that although Hickock had boasted to him that he would kill all the family, such boasts were so common in prison as to be meaningless. In addition, there was a reward for information.)
There was enough other evidence to convict the pair, including photographs of bloody shoe prints that were invisible to the naked eye and a radio that had been stolen from the house during the attack and later sold. It may seem like precious little evidence to present-day readers accustomed to DNA analysis, etc., but when coupled with the evidence given by the prisoners later, as to where they had disposed of the weapons, etc., it was sufficient at the time.
Capote uses the statements made by both prisoners (who were kept separate to prevent collaboration) to describe these horrific events. By this clever device, the part of the novel that could have been almost unbearable to read takes on a clinical feel. It is never sensationalist or gratuitous; these are the killers' own words.
At this point, the complex psychological relationship between the men comes more into focus. We already feel as if we know these men and perhaps understand some of the reasons why they were able to commit such acts. It becomes poignantly clear that what sparked the actual events was the complex relationship between the two, who in turn relied on each other, admired each other, and hated each other. Here is a quote from Perry Smith to detective Dewey: "Then he says to me as we're heading along the hall towards Nancy's room, 'I'm gonna bust that little girl.' And I said, 'Uh-huh. But you'll have to kill me first'….that's something that I despise. Anybody that can't control themselves sexually." And again, most revealingly, as picked up by a psychologist later: "I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat." And of Dick Hickock: "I meant to call his bluff… I didn't realise what I'd done til I heard the sound. Like somebody drowning…. Dick panicked….I couldn't leave him like he was…. Then I aimed the gun." Dick Hickock also shared this antagonism towards his partner, but it was only later, when his former cellmate Floyd Wells was called as a witness, that Capote says, with a flash of insight, he realized he was not as dangerous as Perry. "Suddenly he saw the truth. It was Perry he ought to have silenced."
Capote states that Alvin Dewey, the investigator most involved in this case, considered that the two versions of the killings were very similar. However, he concluded that the confessions of how and why failed to satisfy his sense of meaningful design. The crime was a psychological accident, virtually an impersonal act. The actual amount of money stolen was between $40 and $50.
The lead-up to the trial, like everything else, is carefully documented. The choice of legal representation, the judge, and the jurors are all described. One potential juror, when asked his opinion of capital punishment, said that he was ordinarily against it but in this case, no. Yet he was still assigned to the jury. There were no qualified psychiatrists within Garden City, where the trial was held. The prosecuting attorney referred to the profession as a "pack of head-healers" sympathetic to the defendants. "Those fellows, they're always worrying over the killers. Never a thought for the victims….. Our own local physicians attend to the matter. It's no great job to find whether a man is insane or an idiot or an imbecile." Whereas the defending counsel said, "Whatever their crime, these men are entitled to examination by persons of training and experience… Psychiatry has matured rapidly in the last twenty years." Listening to both sides, the judge acted strictly within the law, appointing three Garden City doctors despite the fact that the unpaid services of a qualified psychiatrist experienced in such cases had been offered.
Details from the trial linger in the memory. The testimony of Dick Hickock's father, who was seriously ill at the time (he died months later) but was mocked by the prosecuting attorney for getting the dates of the car accident that led to his son's head injuries and subsequent personality change wrong. One eminent psychiatrist had been called as a defense witness. However, the judge only allowed him a yes/no answer to the question of whether he could state that the defendants knew the difference between right and wrong. He answered "Yes" in respect of the first one and was then dismissed. No further comment was allowed. Presumably, faced with an impossible question to answer in those terms, he then answered "No" to the question when put about the second accused. Again, no further elucidation was allowed by the judge, as this was perfectly permissible under Kansas law.
Capote goes on to quote the psychiatrist's prepared analysis after his examinations of the defendants, which presents a much fuller picture. The conditions described after several intensive interviews with the killers use terms that are more familiar to modern readers, such as organic brain damage from the accident, schizophrenia, and dissociative behavior, where an individual suddenly finds himself destroying some key figure in his past who may be unclear to him. These may well have been new concepts to the jurors, who were mainly farming people, but they were not privy to this crucial information in any case.
Although the ending of the trial is a foregone conclusion, the actual execution of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith did not take place for a further five years. Capote explains that in the US judicial system, it is possible to appeal several times, and this is common practice. He spends a further part of the novel describing the characters and crimes committed by various other inmates on Death Row. Interestingly, this part of the novel is not as objective as the rest. Capote's feelings begin to impose more. Perhaps it did not seem as important to be scrupulously impartial as these cases were not crucial to the main text. However, what it does for the reader is create a sense of the suspension of reality, a reflection of the interminable waiting that the prisoners must have felt.
The execution by hanging, the witnesses, and the quiet behavior of the killers are all described. And a final short scene is added, which is pure fiction, where Alvin Dewey goes to the graves of the Clutter family and meets one of the children's close friends, now an adult. This I found quite acceptable as a coda. It ties up the ends neatly, and I'm not sure how else Capote could have done this without inserting his views in a summing-up, which clearly he did not want to do.
This novel is not only ground-breaking but also superbly crafted; it is a near-perfect novel. The continual switch between present and past tenses only serves to give a more immediate feel and an edge to the narration. My star rating? Well, I cannot say I "like it" (3 or 4 stars), but I can say, "It was amazing!" Five stars.

On October 26, 19, it doesn't matter to me if some of this story is fabricated. It's still outstanding writing. Capote is at his prime.

Exquisite crime writing with a human perspective.

It's a perfect book for Audible. It was like listening to monologues.

I completely understand how Capote became so closely associated with the criminals. His meticulous attention to detail, his careful choice of words, and his struggle to determine how to conclude the book all demonstrate how emotionally invested he became. Obviously, these men were culpable of four heinous murders, but Capote showed that they were also two individuals with abusive childhoods, broken hearts, and unsatisfactory family relationships. He delved deep into their psyches, revealing the complex web of emotions and circumstances that led them to commit such atrocities. Through his masterful storytelling, Capote made us see these criminals not just as monsters, but as human beings with their own tragedies and flaws.

Between 3.5 - 4****.


"I thought that Mr. Clutter was a very nice gentleman. I thought so right up to the moment that I cut his throat." This is one of Capote's most renowned works. It is a non-fiction, true crime account of the quadruple murder of the Clutter Family in the small town of Garden City, in Holcomb, Kansas. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the investigation into the slaying of this family.


Capote amassed over 8,000 pages of notes, along with interviews of those involved in the investigation, the townspeople, and the murderers. He delved into an enormous amount of detail in researching these murders, presenting a horrific crime that readers have since studied and contemplated.


Capote's writing is divided into sections following a timeline of the murders. It consecutively covers: the family before the crime, after the crime and the investigation, the court case, and death row. Simultaneously, Capote provides a triple narrative from the perspectives of the investigators, the townspeople, and the murderers. Thanks to his thorough research, Capote was able to humanize all the victims, giving a backstory and personality to the Clutter family and ensuring their importance and remembrance. He also humanizes the officers and investigators in charge of the crime, detailing their home lives and personalities, and the steps of the crime procedure they had to undertake to eventually arrest Dick Hickcock and Perry Smith.


In particular, Capote paid close attention to the psychology of both murderers, how it affected their relationship with each other and their approach to the crime. He focused on their home lives and what they were like growing up, suggesting possible influencers of their social situations that led them to commit this crime. I would have liked to see how a thorough psychological analysis, which Capote accounted for but was not brought up in court, might have affected the trial decisions.


Overall, this book is a fascinating true crime work, detailed and well-researched, providing accounts and important narratives of many people and showing how a violent crime and subsequent investigation impact the lives of those involved. The reason I gave it 3.5 - 4 stars is that I found some parts overly dramatized or unnecessary.

After I read it, I looked up pictures of the Clutter family, and just stared for about five minutes. They endured what is probably everyone’s worst fear.

The experience of reading this book was intense, gripping, and suspenseful from beginning to end. Having never heard anything of the Clutter murders prior to reading, I was completely immersed. Capote's impartial writing style was remarkable. He relayed facts and details to give a complete character illustration of everyone involved. From the Clutters themselves, to the investigators, lawyers, and even the murderers. He didn't reveal his personal sentiments or biases, or presume to know right from wrong. In his "non-fiction novel," he brilliantly combined fictional elements with factual journalism and psychological analysis to show the moral dilemmas of murder.

In the section about the Clutter family's final days, Capote's description of their daily routines made what was to come even more troubling. Nancy and Kenyon were going through typical adolescent hardships. Nancy had a boyfriend her father didn't approve of and was popular in school. Kenyon was self-conscious, nerdy, and socially awkward. Herbert and Bonnie's marriage was a bit shaky. Bonnie had a mysterious mental illness, and Herbert was busy with his farming business. But despite their problems, they had a strong family bond and were well-liked in the community.

After the murder, Capote didn't immediately reveal how or why Perry and Dick committed the crime. Instead, he took us on their journey as they tried to escape and the investigators tried to solve the crime. We learned a lot about these two characters through their interactions, letters, diary excerpts, and interviews. We were brought deep into their psyche, learning about their habits, mannerisms, and quirks. In an uncomfortable yet brilliant way, Capote made us sympathize with the murderers for a moment. What went wrong with them? Was it Perry's childhood of abuse, neglect, and displacement? Or was it Dick's head injury? Even though they were capable of evil, they also had goals, insecurities, and the capacity for creativity, love, and fear.

The final section of the book presented the moral dilemmas of punishing crime. Capote didn't make any definitive conclusions but posed many questions. Is execution right or wrong? Why the long delay between the guilty verdict and the execution? Was a fair trial possible or necessary? It's impossible to summarize the impact of this book in a few paragraphs, but it will stay with me for years to come.