Read More: In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote always makes it on the list for must-read books so I thought "Well, I guess I must read this!" It was, what I consider, my first true crime book. Although I love scary movies, I did not enjoy reading about these murders. It felt ethically wrong reading about the horrors the Clutter family experienced. Although I loved books like Devil in the White City and The Monster of Florence, I don't feel like they fit into this sort of sensationalist genre - maybe because the focus was on the mystery? Maybe it affected me differently because these murders were not bizarro, but something that could easily happen to me?

Stylistically, I didn't see what the big ado was about this book. I thought the writing was fairly bland and straightforward. Maybe it was just because it was one of the first true crime books, and therefore shocking at the time, that it won all its acclaim. Which is not to say it wasn't a good book, just not a great book. I did like how for most of the book Capote led me to believe one was the more evil of the two murderers, but you don't find out until they are caught that it's actually the other way around. I didn't see that coming.

For this and that reason, I've decided that some books are not fit to read on the train. This one falls in that category too. Reading a book about murderers surrounded by people, most likely one of whom is having violent thoughts -- very scary.

- Megan Leigh