Not a bedtime story

🌹🍃🌹🍃🌹

I'm not sure how the book In Cold Blood ended up on my reading list, but it had been there for years. I heard about the murders a long time ago, and I have vague memories of seeing the movie. When I ran across the paperback at the library, I checked it out in a hurry. Funny though, as I was reading it, I mentioned the title to two friends, and neither one had ever heard of it.

        A true murder is not exactly sweet dreams material for someone like me who settles down to read at night before going to sleep. This book is different from the ones I typically reach for, but I was curious enough about what happened to this family, that I gave in to the urge, and I prepared myself for a tough read. 

        Truman Capote details the murders of the Clutter family. In 1959, two ex-cons turned a doorknob and strolled into a big farmhouse, in a community where the residents felt so safe, they left their doors unlocked. On one fateful night, the Clutters had done just that and provided easy access for the prowling, soon-to-be slayers. 

        The intruders sashayed into the house and murdered a family of four; a mom and dad and two teenaged kids, for no reason, other than a radio they took with them when they left, and forty dollars they confiscated from purses and pockets. The killers had expected to find a safe filled with a fortune, but the Clutter's stash of loot was only a myth told to them by a former inmate.

       Authorities made quick work of tracking down the murderers, and they were both hanged in 1965 on the anniversary of the day the killings took place. 

       Capote tells the story well, and the family's tragic end will weigh heavily on a reader's mind. It also reminds us to keep our doors locked. I still think about the Clutters. They lived in Kansas, a place that conjures up images of sunflowers, Dorothy and Toto, and the Land of Oz, but their story hardly reverberates the sentiment of "there's no place like home."

        Now that I've finally read In Cold Blood and marked it off my list, I'm moving on to something more lighthearted. I'm also remembering to lock my doors at night.

🌹🍃🌹🍃🌹