My Rating - 7/10
In Cold Blood was my entry point into the genre of true crime. A few words about true crime first. It is a branch of non-fiction where actual crimes are dealt with. Truman Capote was a not an investigative journalist by profession, but the amount of research he has put into this book is enormous.
The story describes the 1959 brutal murder of a well-to-do family in Kansas. It explores the life of the victims and the murderers simultaneously. The story goes through the description of the murders, the arrest of the convicts, their trial, and finally their execution.
Although extensively researched, the story is really pretty dreary. The revelation of the murderers at the very beginning of the story takes away the thrill of a crime novel. It is true that in a work of non-fiction the story has to be presented as the real crime happened. However, in this book, it is done in a long drawn-out manner. It is more of a psychological treatise than a book describing a crime. The crispness of a succinct story is missing.
I would not refer this book as the first to read in the genre, although it is the best known work of true crime. It did not satisfy my palate. But definitely tastes vary from person to person. So you might as well give it a try.
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