Compilation of old news
Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, aka Clark Rockefeller was a fascinating character that captivated the country’s attention in 2008, even earning a place on Top Ten Imposters of All Time lists, and an FBI *Most Wanted* poster. The wanna-be Mr. Ripley had assumed the roles of art collector, ship’s captain, talk show host, even a Pentagon Advisor before being captured and charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder. All the juicy ingredients for a possibly fascinating book, especially when the author is a journalist and a personal friend of the chameleon – but author Kirn’s disappointing shot misses the target. Was Kirn hoping for a comparison to one of the great crime non-fiction novels? BLOOD Will sachvui.co Cold BLOOD?…that’s where the similarities end. But, Capote’s In Cold Blood, consider to be one of the best true-crime novels ever written, is a tough act to follow. Blood Will Out, unfortunately, is not even on the same path. Not a chapter sheds new light, or insight, on the case against Rockefeller, or the man of many aliases. What Kirn delivers instead of smart revealing look at a psycho jackpot turns out to be nothing more than a lazy compilation of what we already know about Rockefeller, with some unspectacular personal interactions that come across as uninteresting petty incidents, even jealousies. The book lacks the research and professional polish to be an intriguing true story of a murder, or a mystery, and ends up masquerading as a limp re-hashed story. Wish it wasn’t so. I followed the case and was hoping for a riveting new book and didn’t even get a riveting chapter. [*Not a total wash. If this case is new to you, you might find this interesting.]
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