IN COLD BLOOD (1966) AND THE EXECUTIONER’S SONG (1979) When people try to justify the appeal of true crime, these are the books they cite. Capote’s account of the Klutter family killings launched a cottage industry of movies, books, more movies, and even more books, but it still stands as a great read. Norman Mailer’s account of Gary Gilmore’s decision not to oppose his own death sentence for the murder of two men in two separate robberies won a Pulitzer but is long-winded and exhausting, like Mailer himself.
