If that’s the action and suspense you’re looking for, then In Cold Blood is the perfect book for you. Written by Truman Capote, In Cold Blood, is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of American literature to come out of the 20th Century, and it certainly lives up to its reputation. Based entirely on true events, Capote skillfully recounts the story of the murder and the events that led to and follow the capture of the killers. Considered the first non-fiction novel, Capote faces a major challenge when writing this book, how to keep his readers captivated. Seeing as many Americans already know about the murder and the capture, Capote still needs to be able to keep those readers in a state of anticipations and suspense. Utilizing his techniques of rapidly switching between scenes and perspectives, vivid imagery and descriptions, and initially leaving out the actual details of the murder itself, Capote ensures that even the readers that are most knowledgeable of the events surrounding the novel would still be filled with moments and moments of suspense.

One of the foremost techniques used in the novel to create anxiety and suspense amongst the readers was alternating between scenes. These short “chapters” that Capote employs switches off between events at the Clutters with events surrounding Dick and Perry. Later, after the murder, these chapters would switch off between Dick and Perry’s adventures with Dewey and Nye’s relentless pursuit of the culprits. This somewhat resembles a film, alternating between scenes to show what is happening at a specific moment in time. By using this technique, Capote takes advantage of the fact that this is a non-fiction novel. Because his readers know what is going to happen to the Clutters, the book is filled with dramatic irony. This is best shown in these two scenes: “It was then that she went through her beauty routine, a cleansing, creaming ritual, which on Saturday nights included washing her hair… Before saying her prayers, she always recorded in a diary a few occurrences… and occasional outbursts…” (Capote 56).

However, this scene is quickly followed by: “Dick doused the headlights, slowed down, and stopped until his eyes were adjusted to the moon-illuminated night. Presently the car crept forward” (57). As Nancy innocently pampers herself and writes in her diary about mundane occurrences, she is completely unaware of the fact that two men outside of her house and planning to kill her and the residents of her home. This fact, which the reader is aware of, creates dramatic irony and suspense as scenes shift back and forth, keeping the readers craving for more. Even after the murder itself, suspense is furthermore created in the shifting scenes when the police discover the identity of the murderers while Dick and Perry enjoy themselves, thinking they pulled it off flawlessly. This is certainly one way Capote constructs the novel to be suspenseful enough so that even an event most readers know a lot about can create anxiousness and anticipation.

In addition to the short chapters which shift from scene to scene, Capote fills the chapters with vivid details that keep the readers interested with a heightened state of suspense. With the imagery presented in this novel, Capote takes full advantage of the fact that although it is a nonfiction novel, it is still, in fact, a novel. Even though readers can just as easily learns the facts surrounding the murder from a newspaper article, newspaper articles lack a fundamental element which are typically found in novels: vivid details and imagery. After reading this novel, it is clear that Capote has filled his book with it:

But, then, in the earliest hours of that morning in November, a Sunday morning, certain foreign sounds impinged on the normal nightly scrape of scuttling tumbleweed, the racing, receding wail of locomotive whistle. At the time, not a soul in sleeping Holcomb heard them – four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives.

The above describes vividly the morning of November when the murder took place, appealing mostly to the sense of sound, but also to sight and some touch as well. From this passage, the description and style allows the reader to feel as if he is at Holcomb in the morning of the murder, creating much suspense. Following this, the author goes on to describe the distrust in people’s hearts and the surprise felt by the community of Holcomb. As a matter of fact, the first few chapters of the novel are entirely devoted to describing the town of Holcomb and later to the Clutter family. Capote’s use of details and local color, such as describing the accent in Holcomb, almost puts the reader right into the scene. The readers get the sensation that they themselves are experiencing the action and are present wherever the novel takes them. Because of this sensation, the readers enjoy much more suspense as they follow Dick and Perry along in their journey.

Furthermore, Capote makes the readers aware of little details which they might not have known before and which would probably not appear in a newspaper seeing as they would be deemed unimportant. All the details in the novel add to the already overwhelming suspense, allowing Capote to craft a masterful novel that makes sure the reader is always engaged.

A last major reason why the novel still manages to keep many knowledgeable readers “hooked in” is because Capote keeps the specific details of the murder a secret until towards the end of the novel, when both killers confess. After Dick and Perry arrive at the Clutters’ home, the story skips right away to Nancy Ewalt discovering the murder. This keeps the readers hooked to the novel and keeps the anticipation high. When Capote published the book, many people already knew of the murders. However, not many of them knew the specific details and the ulterior motives for the murder, let alone the confessions of the murderers themselves. When the events of the murder are described, how the Clutters were first bound and then murdered, this somewhat comes as a surprise to the reader who isn’t too familiar with the little details. By taking advantage of the fact that most readers are probably ignorant of the specific details of the murder, Capote manages to present a gripping novel in a mood of suspense which keeps the reader going, dieing to find more about the murder.

In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, is a truly pivotal book in both American literature and journalism. It is this book that established Capote as a great writer and after reading it, it is no wonder. With the facts concerning the book already known, Capote still cleverly manages to bring much suspense and surprise into the novel. Using shifting scenes which take advantage of the reader’s knowledge, Capote creates dramatic irony which adds to the suspense. With his vivid details, Capote manages to draw the readers into the action, adding elements of surprise and suspense. Finally, by keeping the specifics of the murder a mystery, Capote manages to keep the readers clinging to the book all the way until the surprising confession by both Dick and Perry. With all this added together, his book is both captivating and influential, and certainly makes all those years of research he put into writing the book worth it.