In Cold Blood by Truman Capote | Rating: ★★★★☆“Once a thing is set to happen, all you can do is hope it won't. Or will-depending. As long as you live, there’s always something waiting, and even if it’s bad, and you know it's bad, what can you do? You can’t stop living.”
If you were to ask any reader of True Crime, a good portion of them would tell you that the first book they ever read in the genre would be In Cold Blood. Artful and chilling, it is easy to see why Truman Capote's novel shaped the way we, as readers, explore non-fiction. In Cold Blood is a classic for many reasons--viewed as the original True Crime novel--but it is not without its very obvious flaws. Like many readers, I got my start in True Crime with this book.
In this regard, In Cold Blood will always have a special place in my heart. I remember the first time I read it, a way to pass the time during a three-hour detention in high school. At the time, I wasn't much of a classic literature reader--but I had recently picked up an interest in Capote's prose due to my having read Breakfast at Tiffany's earlier that year. Something about Capote compelled me from the get-go and In Cold Blood really stuck with me. The way that he wrote the novel was stunning and full of something I, even now, can't put my finger on.
I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara | Rating: ★★★★★“I love reading true crime, but I’ve always been aware of the fact that, as a reader, I am actively choosing to be a consumer of someone else’s tragedy. So like any responsible consumer, I try to be careful in the choices I make. I read only the best: writers who are dogged, insightful, and humane.”
Before I begin, can we just take a moment to note the chill that runs down your spine upon reading the words once spoken by the killer that would later become this books namesake: "You'll be silent forever, and I'll be gone in the dark?" You so rarely understand the mind of a killer but in that moment, you realize the arrogance that extends beyond one man's cruelty and it's terrifying. In recent months, I've taken up reading all the true crime books I can get my hands on as I research the (unrelated) murder of my aunt for a novel I will be writing. I'll Be Gone in the Dark is fast on the track to becoming a classic in its own right--and with good reason.
Michelle McNamara's intensity in her prose--this frank and respectful way about her research--is what makes this book so remarkable. As you read it, knowing that she had passed away before publication, you get this sense of who she was and the end result is masterful. Ultimately, the experience is almost bittersweet when you acknowledge the fact that only a few months ago the killer stepped out into the light and was finally arrested after decades of mystery.
