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In Cold Blood

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After reading In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, the formerly obscure vision of "natural born killers" is finally illuminated by their own words. To paraphrase Perry Smith, the killer of the Clutter family, somebody had to pay for all of the cruelty he had suffered during his life, even though these people were completely unknown to him, innocent of any wrongdoing, and admirable from every point of view.

The book chronicles the crime of Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, who, acting upon information provided by one of Hickock's former fellow inmates, drive off to Kansas to pursue the contents of one Mr. Herbert Clutter's alleged home safe. Mr. Herbert Clutter, an immensely successful and humble Kansas farmer, and his wife, teen-aged son and daughter are spending a typical quiet Saturday evening at home. After the family retires for the evening, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock walk into the house to make their big score. Upon discovering that there is no safe and precious little cash at the Clutter residence, Smith and Hickock systematically murder each member of the family. Each of the victims is tied up and shot in the head. So ends the lives of a fine, decent American family and so begins the examination of the crime in the seamless, highly readable account by Truman Capote.

Truman Capote takes the reader with the murderers on their long journey to the hangman's noose in the most intelligent manner of any crime writer to date. He doesn't leave anything out of the events and lives of the murderers and yet there is nothing superfluous or gratuitous about the account.

In Cold Blood is quite a departure from Breakfast at Tiffany's, to say the least, but for anyone who has read Answered Prayers, it is easy to look back with that good old twenty-twenty hindsight to see that Truman Capote never shrinks from an unpleasant topic. He, in fact, embraces it with his customary gusto and stylish restraint. However, In Cold Blood, presents the reader with an array of issues to ponder and inspiration to learn more about the trial. Mr. Capote addresses the possibility that the two killers were denied a fair trial since the venue of the trial was right in the heart of the region where the Clutter family were known and loved by so many. There was serious questioning about the competency of the prosecution and defense attorneys, the impartiality of the judge. All kinds of good stuff to chew on, to this day, if you are a hard-core advocate of the rights of the incarcerated self-confessed murderer. There is also some rather toothsome stuff for those who fervently believe in capital punishment (but would be content with plain old punishment) in cases such as O.J. Simpson. There is a twisted form of satisfaction, a faintly amusing irony, to be derived from the notion that Perry Smith and Richard Hickock paid with their lives for the future celebrated murderers who got off Scot-free. I wonder how Perry Smith would feel about that? Could his twisted sense of justice make any sense of that concept?

In Cold Blood is deftly written to leave the determinations of the outcome of the case to the reader. It would have been so easy for Truman Capote to slide in his own sentiments about the case but he stuck to excellence in writing, in reportage, and creating another one of those "can't put it down" books of my summer of 1999.

You won't be able to put this book down, and when you're done with it, you'll sit for awhile, deep in reflection of the journey you've just made.

"In Cold Blood" has been seen as one of the best nonfiction murder stories for the past forty years. Truman Capote wrote a griping tale of a Kansas farmer and his loving family who were brutally murdered on November 15th, 1959. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were two former convicts who had recently been released on parole. Both men made then journey to Holcomb, Kansas that November evening hoping to become ten thousand dollars richer. However, when they found no safe holding the loot, Mr. Clutter and his family paid with their lives. After years of searching the men were finally apprehended in Las Vegas and put to death on April 14th, 1965.
This book has you on the edge of your seat to the very last page. The way the book is laid out for the reader is what keeps it interesting. Capote moves back in forth between scenes with the Clutter family and scenes with Dick and Perry. Capote uses great description when it comes to the characters, making it so the reader can really get to know each one. His scenes are very detailed, making it easy as a reader to picture things in your mind. Overall I enjoyed "In Cold Blood." No scenes were too graphic and the most important thing was that it kept me interested. If you are looking for a good murder story, then "In Cold Blood" is a must read.

Truman Capote combines a real life event and all of the components of a novel into one beautiful and emotional thriller that keeps the reader on the edge of their seats. By his use of the suspense, Truman electrifies the atmosphere and keeps the emotional roller coaster at mach three. Gruesome detail leaves the reader feeling as if he had witnessed the crime in first person. Although Capote could have pictured the murder at the very beginning of the book, he continually switching back and forth between the narrator and the different characters. By giving the narrator omnicient abilities the reader is able to probe into the mind of a maniac. This also gives the reader a sense of fright and unsettlement, the likes of which are only known when watching "Psycho." Capote takes on an entirely different and untested writing style in "In Cold Blood." He calls his new style the "non-fiction novel." By writing about a real life murder in novel form, Truman achieves in making the hair on the back of the readers neck stand on end and not lay down for days after the completion of the book. I believe that everyone should read this book. First for the sheer blood curdling entertainment and second for the great and almost frightening writing style that includes ever so colorful language and such suspense that will leave the reader screaming into the book to tell him what happened that faitful night.