In Cold Blood is the new school classics selection in the group catching up on classics for November 2016. Having read Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's recently and enjoying his writing, I could not wait to read this nonfiction thriller in advance of the upcoming group read. Writing in his relaxing southern style, Capote turns a horrid crime into a story to make the how's and whys accessible to the average American. It is in this regard that I rate this thrilling classic five stars.

On November 15, 1959 Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith, on a tip from another inmate, brutally murdered four members of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas. Having heard that the Clutters possessed either a safe or $10,000 cash in their home, Smith and Hickock desired this wealth for themselves so that they could live out their days in a Mexican beach resort. To their surprise and chagrin, the Clutters did not have neither the safe nor the cash, but Hickock had said to leave no witnesses. Crime committed, the pair escaped to a life of continued crimes and violence and believing that authorities would never catch up with them. And in the beginning it appeared that this ill advised lifestyle might actually work.

Due to the relentless work of the Kansas Bureau of Investigations (KBI) lead by Alvin Dewey, Hickock and Smith were eventually brought to justice and ultimately given the death penalty. Capote weaves a tale by giving us the backstory of both felons as well as a picture of Holcomb and nearby Garden City, Kansas as an idyllic place to raise a family. The crime changed everything. Families kept their doors locked and did not allow their children to venture far from home. In the surrounding areas, people viewed their lives as a before and after. Inevitably, the Clutter case lead to less community interaction and a beginning of a breakdown of society.

Yet by providing the backstories of the felons, Capote allows the the readers to emphasize with their place in society. Dick Hickock was on his way to finishing at the top of his class with a possible athletic scholarship and a degree in engineering. His family could not afford a university education even with the scholarship so Hickock went to work. An automobile accident left him partially brain damaged as his parents maintained that he was not the same person since, and this one incident lead to his adult life of crime. Smith, on the other hand, lead a bleak childhood to the point where readers would feel sorry for him. Coming from a fractured family and only a third grade education, Smith suffered from a superiority complex his entire life. His role in the Clutter murders was the consummation of a lifetime of rejection. The felons came from diametrically opposed upbringings and yet I was left feeling remorse for both.

Capote pieced together the crime to the point where I felt that I knew the people of Holcomb as well as the principal players in the crime intimately. This work lead to a new genre that brings together nonfiction and fiction in a way that history feels like a story. Both Capote and his research assistant Harper Lee ended up as award winning authors. Their fictional writing skills allowed for the personalization of this tale and ultimately help change the way many write nonfiction.

Truman Capote is one of 20th America's master storytellers, and In Cold Blood is by many considered his opus. His research was detail oriented and allowed him to bring the story of the Clutter murders to the average American home. After completing this five star work painting the picture of the how's and whys of murder, I look forward to reading more of his charming Southern stories.

This book is one of the first, if not the first, true crime novel. According to Wikipedia, only Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders has sold more copies in the True Crime category than In Cold Blood. While true crime fans might read this today and think that it sounds like your basic true crime story, at the time it was groundbreaking to detail a crime in this much detail and in a format as big as a novel.

One of the things it appears that this novel set the precedence for, and that I have seen in other true crime novels, is that the author is not only researching the story, he is getting in the mix and talking face to face with the criminals (example - Ann Rule). Sometimes this leads to relationships and feelings that are reflected in the retelling. After you finish reading this, it is interesting to look this up online and see some of the theories about how Capote approached this crime and the people involved.

Speaking of Capote, I have never seen any of the movies about him, but it sounds like all of them focus on this part of his life – and there are at least 3 of them! I may need to check them out to see what I think. Also, I need to check out the classic film that came out shortly after publication.

One think I found very, very interesting  when speaking of what criminals could do on death row in Kansas, basically everything – every form of comfort, entertainment, ways to pass the time – were taken away from them. The justice system went out of their way to make things as uncomfortable as possible for those awaiting death. However, they let them read as much as they want. I am wondering why reading was the one acceptable past time they were given?

One thing I forgot to add when I originally wrote this review was that having read this and Breakfast At Tiffany's, it is hard to believe it is the same author. Probably the most diverse writing from the same author I have ever encountered.

True crime fans! Non-fiction fans! Fans of must read classics! You must add In Cold Blood to your list.

Τα πέντε αστέρια δίνονται πρόθυμα, ειλικρινή και ένθερμα στο «Εν ψυχρώ», πρωτίστως για την εκπληκτική δουλειά του συγγραφέα και τον διακριτικό, ταπεινό, διεισδυτικό σεβασμό που χαρακτηρίζει την τεχνική ύφους και γραφής του βιβλίου.

Ακολουθεί μια σιωπηρή αξιοπρέπεια στην αφήγηση των γεγονότων χωρίς να αποστασιοποιείται απο την τραγωδία, δίχως επικλήσεις συναισθηματικών εξάρσεων, χωρίς επιτήδευση και μακριά απο την τυπική δημοσιογραφική προσέγγιση.
Ένα λογοτεχνικό έργο που δεν δείχνει, δεν προμηνύει το μακριά, το μέλλον, το μετά, μα εστιάζει στην ουσία της πραγματικής ιστορίας.
Καταφέρνει με αριστουργηματικό τρόπο να παραμένει αόρατη η μακρόχρονη έρευνα και επεξεργασία που έκανε πριν μας χαρίσει μια αληθινή αίσθηση εγκληματικής φαντασίας ως εν ψυχρώ εμπειρία.

Το βιβλίο αναφέρεται σε μια ανατριχιαστικά βάναυση δολοφονία μιας ευκατάστατης, αγροτικής οικογένειας, στο Κάνσας το 1959.
Οι δολοφόνοι, δυο περιθωριακοί, απλοί τυχοδιώκτες, θύτες και θύματα μιας αγιάτρευτης κοινωνικής ψυχοπαθογένειας.
Το κίνητρο τους αβάσιμο, το σκεπτικό τους ασταθές, το έγκλημα τους μοιραία και ανησυχητικά τυχαίο.
Η εξέλιξη γεγονότων και συμπτώσεων που προκαλούν τον αφανισμό της οικογένειας είναι μια λεπτή διαχωριστική γραμμή ανάμεσα στα πάντα,που φαίνονται και είναι κανονικά στην καθημερινότητα των ανθρώπων και στην απόλυτη καταστροφή, που χτυπάει ξαφνικά απο το πουθενά.

Ο θεμελιώδης σεβασμός είναι το στοιχείο που διεισδύει και μεταφέρεται σε όλο το βιβλίο.
Ο Καπότε σέβεται την οικογένεια των θυμάτων που τους σκιαγραφεί με απόλυτα κομψό άγγιγμα.
Αποδέχεται χωρίς μεγαλοστομίες την τοπική επιβολή των νόμων στην αγροτική περιοχή καθώς και τον τρόπο ζωής και σκέψης του λαού της.
Δείχνει βαθιά εκτίμηση σε κάθε ανθρώπινη ύπαρξη, σε θεσμούς και φορείς που συνθέτουν την λειτουργεία της κοινωνίας.
Ακόμη κι όταν αμφισβητεί τη δικαστική διαδικασία το κάνει σιωπηρά και όσο πιο αντικειμενικά θα άρμοζε στην αξιοπρέπεια.

Θαύμασα απεριόριστα το σπουδαίο ταλέντο της ενσυναίσθησης του συγγραφέα καθώς και την κατανόηση που εκφράζει όταν αναλύει τις ζωές των δολοφόνων.
Σε πρώτη φάση αφηγείται την πορεία των γεγονότων προς το έγκλημα με σαφήνεια, μα σε πιο βαθύ επίπεδο τα αφήνει όλα μυστήρια, αναπάντητα και ανεξήγητα αναφορικά με τις αιτίες που δημιουργούν έναν δολοφόνο.
Αίσθηση τραγωδίας διαπνέει την διαμόρφωση της ζωής τους, μα ο τελικός απολογισμός δείχνει καθαρά να σέβεται όχι το «ποιοι» ήταν οι δολοφόνοι αλλά το ποιοι θα «μπορούσαν» να είναι.

*Αξιοθαύμαστο*

Η απίστευτη λεπτομέρεια στην περιγραφή, τα στοιχεία που συνέθεσαν το αποτέλεσμα, το ίδιο το έγκλημα, οι δραστηριότητες των εμπλεκομένων στην υπόθεση ή των απλών παρατηρητών, καθώς και αναλυτικές συσχετίσεις με άλλα εγκλήματα εξίσου απεχθή και ανελέητα, αποκαλύπτουν την αξία του συγγραφέα.

Τίποτα δεν ακυρώνει το βασικό αίσθημα της τραγωδίας και το τελικό αποτέλεσμα ολοκληρώνεται με μια αιώνια σύγκρουση.
Η ρίζα του κακού είναι η μόνιμη φθονερή αντιπαράθεση δυο κόσμων που οριοθετούν την παγκόσμια κοινωνία.

Ο δυσλειτουργικός, βίαιος, στερημένος κόσμος των ασθενέστερων κοινωνικών στρωμάτων εκδικείται με αναδρομικά κατάλοιπα τους εκπροσώπους των τακτοποιημένων και ευκατάστατων κοινωνικών τάξεων που εκπροσωπούν επιτυχία και εξουσία.

Τελειώνοντας αφήνει την πικρή γεύση της ανασφάλειας και του φόβου στον αναγνώστη που μπορεί να ξεχωρίσει τους δυο κόσμους ... και να συμπεράνει ως εκ τούτου, πως, τέτοιου είδους μυστήρια πίσω απο αυτή την ιστορία, μένουν πάντα ανεξιχνίαστα.

Ό,τι παραμένει για πάντα ανεπίλυτο είναι προφανές πως μπορεί να επαναληφθεί και να εξελιχθεί με πιο δραματική βάση και ουσία.



Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.

I just wonder why it took me so long to get this masterpiece on my currently-reading shelf. What a breathtaking story! And told in the most amazing novelistic style! The cold-blooded murders in Kansas in 1956 are described by a cold, distant narrator via the interviews of the family, acquaintances, and community around the victims and the hair-raising stories of Perry and Bobby, the murderers. It is a real page-turner - I couldn't put it down! The descriptions of the youth of all the tragic protagonists are explored from every angle under a magnifying glass. In Cold Blood kept me thinking that most of the recent murder mystery shows and movies were indebted to this piece of literature (that Capote probably deserved a Pulitzer for but was passed over, helas, in 1965). There is this strange homoeroticism between the two murderers (who call each other "sugar" and "honey") but who both spout homophobic words throughout. Like the lawyers, I felt Richard was the coldest one and Perry the most twisted and tragic.

This book is a true masterpiece of the non-fiction novel (even if some of the facts brought out by Capote were disputed) and its narration is stupendous in character development and maintains an enormous amount of suspense end-to-end. It is even more astounding because the reader already knows who commits the crime, the novel only elucidates the "why" and even that is ambiguous and pathetic. An awesome read.

Note that in A Capote Reader, there is a great short essay about the making of the movie In Cold Blood where Capote talks a bit about the 6 years it took him to write this masterpiece. (Haven't seen the movie yet :/)

[UPDATE] I finally saw the movie Capote and it was absolutely amazing as a backstory to this book. I still haven't found the movie In Cold Blood yet.

Tuve este libro en mi biblioteca por mucho tiempo. La verdad es que nunca me llamó la atención y por cosas de la vida decidí leerlo para ver que tal... y wow!! Quedé gratamente sorprendido con la decisión que tomé y es uno de los mejores libros que he leído en bastante tiempo. Después de leerlo me puse a leer un poco más acerca del contexto y el autor y resulta que al parecer es una mezcla de ficción con realidad.
En cuanto al libro en sí, me gustó mucho la forma en que toda la historia fue relatada, iba cambiando desde el punto de vista de los personajes y la descripción tanto de la vida de los asesinos como de la vida de los Clutter iba tomando forma y fue muy fácil interesarse en ellos. Lo mismo pasó incluso con los personajes secundarios. Hubo días que no hacía nada en mi trabajo y en vez de eso leía este libro.
Me resultó muy interesante que se pusiera todo el contexto y se hablara de la vida e infancia que Hickock y Smith tuvieron, y de esa forma no eran solamente los malos de esta novela porque sí, si no que eran malos con fundamento, había una explicación detrás, lo que a mi entender le da un plus muy grande.
Totalmente atrapante y con un ritmo genial. Me encantó y no tengo nada malo que decir. Lo amé.

بهترین کتاب جنایی و یکی از بهترین کتاب‌هایی بود که توی زندگیم خوندم.
اگر دنبال اتفاق‌ها و معما می‌گردین، این کتاب احتمالا گزینه‌ی مناسبی برای شما نیست؛ اما اگر می‌خواین یک جنایت رو تمام و کمال درک کنین، از «در کمال خونسردی» بهتر پیدا نمی‌کنین.
این کتاب، داستان آدم‌هاست، واقعیت آدم‌ها، بی‌پرده، ذهن و شخصیتشون، همه‌ی افراد مرتبط با یک جنایت، از قاتل و مقتول تا بازپرس و اهالی یک شهر.
فضاسازی این کتاب و شخصیت‌پردازیش بی‌نظیر و بسیار عمیقه. هر جزئیاتی که ازش صحبت می‌شه، بخشی از تصویر کاملیه که کاپوتی می‌خواد در ذهن ما شکل بده تا به یک درک واقعی از مفهوم جنایت برسیم، نه فقط این مورد، بلکه جنایت به طور کلی.

من عاشق دونستن ِ آدم‌ها ام. اینکه شخصیت آدم‌ها و قصه‌شون و ذهنشون رو بفهمم. این کتاب باعث می‌شه از درک سطحی آدم خوب و بد و قضاوت مطلق فراتر بریم و بدونیم چقدر روان انسان پیچیده ست و سیستم قضایی ناقص و ناکافی.

این کتاب، یک زندگیه، یک زندگی کاملا روزمره که بر حسب تصادف جنایتی توش اتفاق میفته.
الان که تمومش کردم، در مورد یک سری چیزهایی مثل شخصیت جنایتکارها و مجازات و اعدام و غیره دچار تردید شدم که قبلش تکلیفم باهاشون نسبتا مشخص بود و این از دید من بهترین اتفاقیه که با خوندن یک کتاب می‌تونه برامون بیفته: به هم ریختن پیش‌فرض‌ها.
--------------------
یادگاری از کتاب:
دقیق می‌دانست در هر ساعت بناست چه کاری انجام دهد و آن کار چقدر وقتش را می‌گیرد.
...
خیلی مهمه که آدم همیشه یه چیزی پیشش داشته باشه که مال خودش باشه، چیزی که واقعا مال خودته.
...
یه چیزی تو این حوالی برای همیشه تموم شده.
...
مسئله اینه که بتونی ذهنت رو از همه‌ی صداهای دیگه خالی کنی. کاملا ساکت باشی و خیلی دقیق گوش کنی. ولی آدم هیچ‌وقت نمی‌تونه اون‌طور که باید سکوت کنه...
...
صادقانه بگویم، فکر می‌کنم هیچ کداممان نمی‌توانیم کاری که خودمان با زندگی شخصی خودمان کردیم را گردن کس دیگری بیاندازیم.
...
من خیلی حساسم؛ خیلی وقت‌ها می‌فهمم تو ذهن آدم‌ها چی می‌گذره.
...
همون لحظه که نامه رو خوندم، فهمیدم باید این کار رو بکنم چون ادعا کرده بودم دوست این آدم هستم.

Every once in a while I feel the need to get a couple of IQ points back by reading something that is considered a "classic" or won prizes or whatever.



So, this book is based on a real murder that happened way back in the 1950's. A family was killed in a small town in Kansas and it was a big deal. Not like these days. We hardly flinch anymore when the weekly killing spree is on the news. Truman Capote was super obsessed with this case and took his buddy, Harper Lee, with him to Kansas where they interviewed everyone extensively in this small town. This book was the result and took him 6 years to get out. He insisted that it is completely factual even though he was called a filthy liar with pants on fire because "they" say he made some things up. Personally, I don't care. The book is good whether or not he exaggerated or gave "alternative facts." Again, sign of the times. We are so used to facts being spun that we don't even expect absolute truth anymore.



The only thing that was difficult for me with this book was the unbelievably descriptive writing. I have little patience for long flowing sentences with many many adjectives to describe a wheat field. I die of boredom really easily. It's a problem. But, I pressed through it because I am brave like that, and I found myself very immersed in the story. I don't know if it is because all of that purple prose got my mind envisioning the story better than others or what, but it worked. Still not a converted fan of the excess adjectives though. I made ONE exception. Can I go back to my vampire smut books now?


Cool! See ya!

Too often crime is seen as one dimensional; criminals come from another realm that can't be explained. Capote had a gift for chipping away at criminal and victim to expose a deeper truth...often hidden for a reason. This book really captured my interest; one of the first 'true' books I can remember reading that made seek out other books about crime.

Truman Capote - image from the NY Post

This is one of the great ones. Capote blankets Holcomb, Kansas with his curiosity. The root of this work is a ghastly crime. Two recently released convicts, seeking a fortune that did not exist, invade the Clutter family home, tie up the four family members present and leave no witnesses. It takes some time for the perpetrators to be identified, then tracked down. Capote looks at how the townspeople react to this. Many, fearful that one of their own was responsible, become withdrawn. How do people mourn? He looks at the sequence of investigation that leads ultimately to the capture of the suspects, focusing on one of the chief investigators. He looks in depth at the criminals. What makes them tick? How could people do such awful things? In reading this I was reminded of some of the great panoramic art works of a bygone age, works by Bosch, or Breughel, in which entire towns were brought together into one wide-screen image. This is what Capote has done. But even with all the territory he covers there is considerable depth. I was also reminded, for an entirely different reason of Thomas Hardy. Capote has an incredible gift for language. He writes beautifully, offering descriptions that can bring to tears anyone who truly loves language. It has the power of poetry. This is truly a classic, a book that defined a new genre of literature. If you haven’t read it, you must.


Murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith - image from ABC Australia

In case you are in the market and in the neighborhood, this 10/24/19 item from SF Gate by Clare Trapasso, might be of interest - The Untold Story Behind the Infamous 'In Cold Blood' Murder House—and Why It's for Sale

“There’s got to be something wrong with us. To do what we did.”

Bravo. Truman Capote’s magnum opus. This was his last published work; he never finished another novel. Six years of research and writing. Wow. Well it certainly shows within the pages. I found the writing style to be almost cinematic. Speaking of movies, I watched both the 1967 In Cold Blood and the 2005 Capote film adaptations.

“No one will ever know what 'In Cold Blood' took out of me. It scraped me right down to the marrow of my bones. It nearly killed me. I think, in a way, it did kill me.” -Truman Capote

"How much money did you get from the Clutters?"
"Between forty and fifty dollars."

n  n

Top Picture Hickock, Richard Eugene (WM)28 KBI 97 093; FBI 859 273 A. Address: Edgerton, Kansas. Birthdate 6-6-31 Birthplace K.C., Kans. Height: 5-10 Weight: 175 Hair: Blond. Eyes: Blue. Build: Stout. Comp: Ruddy. Occup: Car Painter. Crime: Cheat & Defr. & Bad Checks. Paroled: 8-13-59 By: So. K.C.K.

Bottom Picture Smith, Perry Edward (WM) 27-59. Birthplace: Nevada. Height: 5-4. Weight: 156 Hair: D. Brn. Crime: B&E. Arrested: (blank) By: (blank). Disposition: Sent KSP 3-13-56 from Phillips Co. 5-10yrs. Rec. 3-14-56. Paroled: 7-6-59.

As I write this review, I'm sitting about 60 miles from the Clutter house in Holcomb, Kansas. Holcomb is a small, farming community located just west of Garden City. This is a place where everyone in the whole county not only knows your name, but also has a working knowledge of your family history going back fifty plus years.

I usually avoid reading true crime books. I don't want my head filled with tragedy. I want to go about my life with a degree of caution, but not be ruled by the fear I feel such books will instill.

I picked up a copy of this book at the Dodge City Library. The librarian at the check out desk, a woman about mid-sixties, slender, elegant, and still attractive ran her finger along the edge of the spine. I noticed a shiver had rolled up her back and rippled her shoulders. She looked up at me with pinched blue eyes and said in a whisper, "I remember when this happened".

She watched her father put locks on the doors for the first time. The murders became a demarcation line in her life there was life before the Clutter murders, and then there was life after the Clutter murders. Her response surprised me. We live in a time when any crime anywhere in the country is broadcast out to the nation and something tragic that happens in Illinois or in Virginia or Alaska impacts our lives. I would have thought over time some of the significance of the Clutter murder would have been buried under the avalanche of murder and mayhem that the news cycle brings us 24/7. For this community and for all the small communities dotting the map of Kansas, and even in the surrounding states, this was something that wasn't supposed to happen in a small town. This was big city crime that happened in their own backyard.

As I talked to people about the Clutter murders most everybody had some kind of physical reaction. They flinched as if they were dodging a blow or took a step back from me or developed a twitch along their jawline. Their eyes gazed through me or beyond me as the fears and anxieties of 1959 came flooding back into their mind. Most of them attributed more deaths to the crime, each of them citing six deaths rather than four. I'm sure they remembered that there was six family members, but two older girls had already left the home to start their own lives. They were not present on that fateful night when their family was murdered.

In Cold Blood was required reading in many schools in this region clear up until about the 1970s, so even people who were too young to remember the crime have experienced the tragedy through Truman Capote.

In the description above regarding Perry Edward Smith there is a reference to Phillips County. This has special significance for me because I was born and raised in Phillips County. The family farm is located in Phillips County. My Father and I graduated from Phillipsburg High School. My Dad was a sophomore in high school in 1955 when Perry Smith decided to burglarize the Chandler Sales Company in Phillipsburg, Kansas and this seemingly insignificant act was really the beginning of this story. Smith and his accomplice, also Smith, stole typewriters, adding machines etc and left town with their ill gotten goods in the backseat of the car. Later they ignored a traffic signal in St. Joseph, Missouri and were pulled over by a police officer. The cop was very interested in what was in their backseat. They were extradited back to Phillipsburg, where through an open window (imagine my embarrassment for the law enforcement of my home county) they escaped. Later Perry was caught again and sent back to Phillipsburg where the law enforcement fortunately did a much better job of keeping track of him.

Perry Smith received 10 years in the Kansas Penitentiary in Leavenworth. Richard Eugene Hickock was already serving time in Leavenworth for fraud. The two met and became friends. The final piece to the puzzle that not only determined the fate of the Clutter family, but also the fates of Smith and Hickock was snapped down in place when they meet Floyd Wells. Wells, serving time for some bit of stupidity, had worked for Herb Clutter back in 1948. He told Hickock and Smith that Clutter was a wealthy farmer, and kept a safe full of cash in his house.

Wells was absolutely full of shit.

There was no safe. There was no pile of cash. There was absolutely no reason for four people to lose their lives for $40.

n  n

After the murders they went to Mexico for a while, but even though they could live cheaply down South the money still trickled through their fingers. After they burned through the goods they had acquired through the Clutter robbery and through defrauding a series of retail stores, they found that working in Mexico didn't pay well either. They came back up to the United States and there was this baffling moment where Perry Smith is reading the paper and sees an article about a family that was tied up and shot to death. "Amazing!" Perry glanced through the article again. "Know what I wouldn't be surprised? If this wasn't done by a lunatic. Some nut that read about what happened out in Kansas."

WTF? Some nut? How about the original coconut heads that murdered the family in Kansas?

Perry does have a moment or two where he weighs what happened in Kansas. "Know what I think?" said Perry. "I think there must be something wrong with us. To do what we did."

"Did what?"

"Out there."

"Deal me out, baby," Dick said. "I'm a normal."

Truman Capote had been looking for the right story for an experimental form of writing he'd been considering trying. He wanted to blend fiction and nonfiction. The Clutter murders struck him as the perfect story to launch this new form of writing. I have to admire his fortitude, for a man of his sensibilities not only spending that much time among farmbillies, but having to befriend them as well. It must have been somewhat of a painful experience.

n  n
Capote in the Clutter home

Floyd Wells eventually comes forward and tells what he knows about the murders. He had always liked Herb Clutter and felt ashamed that what he had told, in a moment of prison bonding, had led to such a vicious conclusion. Without his statement I'm pretty sure that Smith and Hickock would have gotten away with the murders. The slender evidence tying them to the murders would have made it almost impossible to prosecute them. Their sentencing can have only one conclusion...death.

As they are being led back to their cells:
Smith says to Hickock, "No chicken-hearted jurors, they!" They both laughed loudly, and a cameraman photographed them. The picture appeared in a Kansas paper above a caption entitled: "The Last Laugh?"

When I consider their bravado the last vestiges of any sympathy I may have been harboring for their plight dissipated.

This is a beautifully written book. I want to thank Harper Lee for her role in helping Capote bring this book to completion. I'm not sure Capote would have had the perseverance to see it through without her holding his hand. I was surprised about how many connections I have to the events in this book many of which I had no idea until I read them in the book for the first time. I was long overdue to read this book and this experience has certainly convinced me to add more of the classic True Crime genre to my reading queue. This book is legendary not only because of the heinous nature of the crime, but also because Capote was ushering in a new way to tell a story.

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n  "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is."n

n  Initial Thoughtsn

In Cold Blood has been sat on my TBR pile since the day I first conceived it. With a reputation that precedes it as the first, and widely regarded the best, true crime novel. So when I was given the challenge of reading a "grizzly true crime novel" by the Night Shift Horror Group on Facebook there really was only one option.

It was first published in 1966, after appearing in a serialised format in the New Yorker, from the pen of the acclaimed author of Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958)... Truman Capote.

Based on actual events that took place in 1959, the idea for the book was formed when the author was struck reading an article that reported a horrific murder of a Kansas family that for him soon developed into an obsession. His fictionalisation of that incident received massive acclaim and was later adapted into a movie in 1967 and remade in 1996.

So after finding this out I was left scratching my head as to why I hadn't already read it. Better put that right before I'm the last person on the planet to do so. Well out of those select few that still actually read.

n  The Storyn

As I said this one starts in the year of 1959 with the murder of a Kansas farmer, named Herbert Clutter, and three members of his family at the River Valley farm in the rural village of Holcomb. A village where people trust one another and would leave their doors unlocked. That was until the shocking events that took place on that fateful night and changed the lives of everyone within that community forever.

No one could figure who would do such a thing and with what motive. Was it a burglary that went wrong or simply an opportunistic killing by a complete sadist? In the following account Capote answers all of the questions right to the bitter and brutal end. Honestly, there's a lot going on in this one with the investigation and the aftermath but I am determined not to spoil this one for you.

n  The Writingn

The first thing you need to know is that this book blurs the line between fact and fiction. Yes it is based on actual events but to compose it in the form of a story Capote has to take some artistic licence in recreating the scenes. And he does this beautifully with flawless writing and a brilliant setup.

It's structured as a converging story at the onset, with a number of plot threads taking place that eventually come together and follow a more linear style. This works really well as it gave me a full and comprehensive picture of the different elements at work and the impact that the brutal events had on everyone involved.

I could just tell that this was meticulously researched and loaded with facts and after a bit of digging myself I found the researcher that Capote relied on for help was none other than his longtime friend and fellow renowned authorHarper Lee, who of course went on to writeTo Kill a Mockingbird. Is that a match made in heaven or what? Indeed he dedicated the book to her.


Truman Capote outside the Clutter House

What's really interesting is that even before the murderers were apprehended Truman had decided to write about their crime and visited Holcomb to begin interviewing people connected to it. Including the officials who were investigating it. So he had no idea how this one was going to pan out when began the project.

The actual prose are excellent and the guy was obviously very talented. They're subtle and lull you in before hitting you in the face with something shocking. It's extremely readable and I had a very clear picture in my head of not just the events but also the way of life at the time.

The pacing is careful and deliberate, this isn't one hundred miles an hour. He's a writer who knows how to draw things out to perfection, giving you multiple points of view that really open up the world around you to make it a living breathing place. A perfect snapshot of that place and time. After finishing the book I actually felt like I'd been there, tasting the atmosphere, getting to know that diverse array of characters and experiencing the events first hand. And isn't that the true purpose of any book?

n  "The suffering. The horror. They were dead. A whole family. Gentle, kindly people, people I knew - murdered. You had to believe it, because it was really true."n

n  The Charactersn

The big surprise for me with this book was how effective and defined the actual characters were, as the narrative focused on the impact of the crime on those around it. There's a level of humanity that translates throughout the story and flows through each character, even the killers! Perry Smith and Richard "Dick" Hickock are small time crooks and it would be easy to portray them as stereotypical villains. But they are drawn with such intelligence, with real nuance and heart, that you begin to empathise with them if not sympathise. That's while being horrified by their actions.

n  "Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, a "natural killer" - absolutely sane, but conscienceless,and capable of dealing, with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblow."n

Capote delves into their backgrounds and it's this work that for me makes them the stars of the show. You really begin to understand the scars of their past and what drove them. Perry in particular is an extremely complex and complicated individual that had me conflicted on a number of issues. And that is not like me at all.

Getting to know the Clutter family was also vital in establishing the emotional impact and they are a traditional upstanding family who believe in helping those around them. The portrayal of the sixteen year old daughter, Nancy, as a realistic and vivacious teenager made this one very hard to take for me. It almost leaves an emotional scar due to the level of brilliance in the detail.

n  Final Thoughtsn

It's been a long review but honestly this book deserves it. I could honestly talk all day about it. A tremendous piece of work that is worthy of all the acclaim it has received. I'm now in no doubt about why it has such a reputation within the genre of true crime.

When a book makes you think and question your beliefs it's always a good thing as that's how we grow as people. This one raises important questions on capital punishment, mental illness and the rule of law. Really deep stuff for someone who generally reads trashy horror!

I consider this a must-read for anyone and not just fans of true crime. An absolute classic that gets the full five stars from me. So add this to your TBR and don't leave it on there as long as I did.

Thanks for reading and...cheers!