In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 343

Publisher - Penguin

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. At the center of his study are the amoral young killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, who, vividly drawn by Capote, are shown to be reprehensible yet entirely and frighteningly human. In Cold Blood is a seminal work of modern prose, a remarkable synthesis of journalistic skill and powerfully evocative narrative.


My Review

One of my workies, Martin has been raving about this book for AGES, I bought it after another gab about it and the movies (I haven't seen them, yet!). Taking all the materials available and Capote had access to he reconstruct everything that happened in the murders and people affected or directly involved in the murder and case.

I have read a ton of true crime books, seen shows galore and a few movies. This one struck a different chord, when I started it I wasn't sure why it was so loved. As I got into it though I started to appreciate it the way so many others have.

The book has very few chapters which really put me off, however within the huge chapters there are some page breaks so you can stop there. I am not a huge fan of long chapters however the book does engage, I would just say pick it up when you have time to read it in long sittings.

We follow Dick and Perry on their seemingly unrelated journey in the day(s) running to and the murder. We meet the Clutters and how they were in the community and then everything is laid bare. You hear in the killers own words what happened and words spoken by the victims which really punch an emotive punch. It isn't often you hear exactly what happened when someone is brutally murdered let alone a whole family and the why.

It is a really sad case and you learn about the killers, their backgrounds and who they are/were as people. It makes an interesting read as you get to "see" the victims, the community, the police involved, the killers - it covers so much, 4/5 for me!

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