In Cold Blood (Part One)

FM:  I’ve known about this book, and wondered about it, for most of my life, but just now got around to reading it.

CJ:  I too have known about this book for years, but for whatever reason have avoided it. Strange though, I have a kind of deja vu that I have either read the story or seen a movie, but can't for the life of me nail it down.

FM:  I think there is a movie based on the book that is considered something of a classic in its own right, in much the same way that the movie of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” with Gregory Peck, is a classic.  Although we don’t encounter the dramatic event that “In Cold Blood” is centered on until the first corpse is discovered on about page 60, there is a palpable “slow build” up to that point which literally quickens the pulse.

CJ:  At first I struggled to keep track of character names, but quickly began to appreciate the chronological order of character development. I like the fact that the murders weren't introduced until page 60. It built suspense but by the time we got there we "knew" the characters and could almost picture their faces.

FM:  One interesting device Mr. Capote uses to help us relate to the characters better is that of ending each of the story segments – at least early on – with an ominous foreshadowing of the horror to come.  (“Then, touching the brim of his cap, he headed for home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last.")  While this could have come across as rather corny literary show-off ploy, the author uses just enough finesse to pull it off; indeed managing to make it add immeasurably to the story.  One of several odd touches that set this author apart.

CJ:  I found it odd that friends of the Clutters came to clean the crime scene. Is that standard procedure? TV never shows us what happens after the coroner drives away with the bodies.

FM:  So much has happened in this first of four parts that one wonders; how much plot line can be left for the remaining three?  It almost seems as if the climax of the book has already occurred.  But if the quality of writing to which we have already been treated is any indication, there should be plenty of intriguing plot line left to discover.  We have already seen some foreshadowing of the tensions that will build between the various members of this closely knit small community as the suspicions mount over who the murderer(s) might be.  And we already know that the real murderers are eventually discovered from fact that the details of their actions are so well known.

CJ:  I think the climax will come with the disclosure of the motive. It is obvious the killers know where the victims live, not an easy place to find for strangers. I'm also interested in knowing their previous crimes. Another piece of the puzzle yet unsolved is how authorities connect the killers to the crime.

Next segment: Part Two