Sofa Spotlight - In Cold Blood, Truman Capote

I finished it in a coffee shop in Hastings with a milkshake. A pleasent way to finish a book on an unpleasent subject. As this was my second reading I knew what to expect but somehow I appreciated the writing more this time round. If one thing disappointed me it was the knowledge that Capote didn't always stick to exactly what happened and embellished a few things. But it was still worth the read.

The story follows the investigation of the murder of the Clutter family in 1950s America.  Both the culprits are caught and subsequently executed. What makes the book more chilling is how human both the killers are. In some ways they are almost likeable - maybe not Hickock, but certainly Perry Smith. Something that got me thinking was the  part of the book that looks at the psychology of the crime and the mental state of the perpetrators. I'm not sure where I stand on the subject, but I do like that one of those present at the trial states that the killers were not the only people with sob stories but not everyone goes onto commit crime. Fair point.

It's a gripping read and thought provoking too. Just don't read last thing at night.