In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

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An absolutely brilliant reconstruction of the 1959 mass murder of a whole family in a remote Kansas town, by two drifters for no very logical reason. Capote sets the scene brilliantly in the first chapter, as he jumps from the family living their ordinary day to the two murderers, chatting, driving. The reader knows an awful event is about to happen; as little events happen, such as the neighbour\'s child coming over to visit, you wonder whether she is going to be harmed or will she get away in time...
In the 3 succeeding chapters, the police are looking for these \'persons unknown\' until the answer presents itself. And throughout we learn more of the killers, though not enough to comprehend their motivation.
Shocking and highly readable.