Title of the Book: In Cold Blood
Author: Truman Capote
 Number of Pages: 343
 Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆


Review:

The novel In Cold Blood begins in the small and quiet town of Holcolm, Kansas before the entire town was turned upside down. Within this safe town in which no one s their doors is the innocent Clutter family that is well-known throughout the town. The Clutter family is an esteemed family that does a tremendous amount for the town and is an exemplary citizen and his family is equally pleasant. This is all about to change in the strange turn of events that transpire throughout the following weeks to the unsuspecting family. Two criminal soon come town with the intentions of robbing the Clutter family and using their weapons to get Mr. Clutter to show them where he keeps all of his money if need be. The way in which the author Truman Capote presents the story is through the eyes of many different people throughout the town. This allows the reader to see the way in which this true story affects the entire town of Holcolm Kansas and the citizens living therein. Dick Hickock is the one who comes up with his “master” plan to help him and his friend Perry Smith rich enough to flee the country and live out the rest of their lives in Mexico.

While in prison for one of Dick’s many crimes he shares a cell with a fellow criminal who used to work at the Clutter family home. Dick soon takes advantage of his cellmates information and learns all about the different aspects of the layout of the Clutter family house and that the Clutters are very wealthy with a lot of lands. Dick’s cellmate also informs him about a safe that Mr. Clutter has in his office in which he keeps no less than 10,000 dollars in at all times. This newfound information prompts Dick to recruit Perry for the heist of the century. The novel continues to follow the lives of Dick and Perry after the crimes that they committed at the Clutter family household. There was no significant source of money to be found in the house but the two men are not discouraged. During this time the true colors of Dick and Perry begin to be shown to the reader. Throughout this part of the novel, Dick is portrayed to be the evil mastermind of their ventures to scam people and steal their money. Perry, on the other hand, seems to be the one with higher emotional intelligence and the one who knows right from wrong.

These two men do not seem to show any signs of empathy throughout the novel or any remorse for what they had done to the poor and unsuspecting Clutter family. Dick continues to purposefully hit dogs and other animals with his car which is a telltale indication of his emotional state and the type of person he is. Meanwhile, in the once quiet town of Holcolm people begin to flee for other parts of the United States. The violent and gruesome events that took place within their small, rural town shook everyone within the town to their core. Of the citizens that did not flee town many people began to lock their doors at night (which they should have been doing in the first place!) and stopped going to social functions. This distrust between neighbors further disturbed the town and changed the atmosphere of the entire area. Investigators and local police were looking for answers and many people suspected that it was someone from Holcolm who disliked the Clutters. The only problem with this theory was that those who knew the Clutters did not know of anyone who did not like the Clutters or wanted harm to come to them. Holcolm was a close-knit community where everyone knew each other. The only two leads that were found at the crime were sets of footprints that were presumed to be the killers.

The two criminals may have gotten away with their crimes if Dick had not told his former cellmate about the details of the crimes that he planned to commit. The former cellmate Willie-Jay soon learns about the crimes that were committed to the Clutter family and he also sees the awards available to anyone who can provide information that leads to the arrest of anyone connected to the robbery and violence towards the Clutters. Willie-Jay’s testimony eventually leads to the capture and confession of the two criminals Dick and Perry. At the end of this vexing true story is a twist that will shock those that read the novel. The revelation at the end of the story proves that not everyone is as they seem and that we must watch our backs.

I would rate this novel a five out of five stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys forensic sciences and the study of true crime and how police use different phycological methods to capture criminals. This novel was very unique in the way that Capote presented the story. The story that is presented throughout this novel is hard to read but the way in which the author tells the story allows the reader to connect with those in the novel. The insight provided to the reader allows them to understand that although it is evil in the world, there is also an awful lot of good. I feel that light always chances out the darkness and the justice system within our country is a large part of this. All information considered, this novel is an informative and entertaining novel that shows the silver-lining of the bad situations that arise in this hectic world.