There are many writers who pen novels that withstand the changing styles, the ebb and flow of cultural interests, and linger in the human consciousness long after the author takes his last breath. Then, there are writers who pen stylistic masterpieces, but generate controversy in their personal lives and in their writing. My favourite writer, with utmost certainty, belongs to the latter group. His work inspired me to become a writer myself, as the prose, dedication to the story and the sheer magnitude of the project characterize his final novel – arguably the most famous true crime book of all time. “In Cold Blood” takes a gruesome, horrific crime and spins a masterfully crafted tale of murder, delving into the minds of both the perpetrators and neighbours of the victims. Truman Capote spent years researching his novel and living in a town he describes in a way that makes simplicity sound captivating. He writes that “the village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call ‘out there.’”