This novel by Truman Capote has been hailed as the best true crime story ever written, and it definately lives up to the praise.
It was originally published in 1965 and delves into a homicide that took place in a small farm town in Kansas.
The murder is that of the Clutter family who were brutally gunned down in the middle of the night by two career criminals, the shy Perry Smith and the more brazen Richard Hickock.
Richard Hickock comes up with the scheme to rob the Clutter's after he hears that they have money hidden in a safe at their farm house. When come to get their big score in the middle of the night, they soon learn that the money does not exist and are left with a house full of witnesses.
Once they have killed the family, the story then follows them as they try to outrun the law and make their way out of the country.
Truman Capote soon catches wind of the story and becomes so enthralled with it, that he travels down to Kansas with his friend Harper Lee (who went on to write To Kill A Mockingbird) to follow the happenings more closely.
What makes this story so well written is the fact that it did consume Capote so much. He even went on to develop a friendship with Perry Smith that last until his hanging.
In Cold Blood is a compelling and suspenseful read from cover to cover. The story is full of intriguing characters who are so well written that putting the book down becomes an impossibility as you become invested in what will happen to them next.
Capote is also able to achieve the difficult task of making the reader feel empathy towards the one criminal, Perry Smith. Now whether this is because he was actually a decent person led astray by Hickock, or if it was due to Capote's own feelings for Perry, that is left up to the reader.
I would recommend this book to anyone who not only loves true crime stories, but anyone who has an apprecitation for a well written and enthralling story.
In Cold Blood is a literary masterpiece that will continue to be relevant through the years.