I bounced about a lot trying to decide what to rate this book, was it an easy 5*? No. Do I fear that this book is going to haunt my consciousness for the next 3 years? YES. As someone with a bit of a fascination with crime culture in the 60s (Bonnie and Clyde who…) the latter half of this book was a perfect deep dive into the American justice system, the flaws which exist and the ultimate instability of views surrounding capital punishment. That in combination with Capote offering readers  complex and intellectually developed killers; who you can’t help but hate the system for failing while equally despising them. Capote simultaneously explores what it means to be human and what it means to be monstrous this book forces you into the psyche of the persecuted and the prosecution, the victims, the fallout and those tasked with resolving it all. The small town vibes mirrored Beartown (which I love) and Capote’s writing is very Fitzgerald (which i also love) so this book was set up to be a success!