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As stated during the reading updates, I'd seen the James Franco, Noah Hill film and found the story intriguing since it bore a vague similarity to the adaptation of In Cold Blood due to the murders of innocent people. When I learned the film has been adapted, I make an effort to track the book down.

Told in a sort of diary format, Michael Finkel shares his own battle with the truth along with that of Christian Longo, husband to Mary Jane and father to three young children. Longo came from a Jehovah Witness family and was 7 years younger than MJ when they met. Due to the conservative 'rules' Witness' abide by, it took several years for them to become husband and wife. During that time Chris struggled with finding a stable vocational path, but when the first child was born, things changed.

Finkel was a young, successful New York Times magazine journalist whose stories stood apart from most. When he learned of cocoa plant 'slavery' in Africa, he was compelled to explore the details, and when it came to writing the story, he 'fudged' major parts of the research in an effort to 'dramatize' what he'd learned. Soon after it was published, the truth surfaced and with it, the loss of his career.

Longo jumped from one job to another and found stability working as a construction laborer. When the other two children were born, making ends meet became challenging. Taking notice of the difficulty contractors had getting companies to clean up the sites, he managed to finance a start up that delivered clean up services. Over the course of a year, the company grew from 3 employees to over 100 and with it, a $15K/week payroll. But with the growth came challenges since contractors tend to delay payments straining the financial stability of Longo's company. Having succeeded with deceit of lesser nature in his youth, he resorted to criminal behavior in an effort to keep both his family and company floating. As the saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished', he went deeper into debt causing him to forge checks, deceive creditors while keeping his family in the dark.

Suffice it to say that Chris Longo had difficulty with the truth and like any sociopath, lived in a world of lies. Soon he resorted to desperate measures and in this case, he fabricated stories in order to convince his family that it was 'time to leave'. On the run from creditors and the law, they eventually ended up in Newport, OR where Chris created a new identity. Over time the truth surfaced causing their domestic life difficulties. In one instance a battle with his wife triggered a horrific murder of his family. In need to escape arrest, he ran to Cancun, MX and when his money was nearly gone, took on the identity of Michael Finkel, a journalist he revered.

What's important to understand is Finkel learned the 'true story' via countless letters sent by Longo from prison which were enhanced by regular visits during the year Chris awaited trial. The relevance of this 'match made in heaven', is both of them have issues with the truth making the story unlike most. Longo pleads guilty to murdering his wife and one child and during the trial, his testimony is pure fantasy.

Having watched the film twice, its extremely disappointing to see how the script leaves out the details that led to Longo's murders. Dramatizing is one thing, but naming a film "True Story" seems erroneous in all ways imaginable. When compared to the Oscar winner, "Capote" which captures nearly every detail of In Cold Blood, this is a travesty of epic proportions.

For those who may have read In Cold Blood, or find unique murder mysteries to their liking, you'll find this book of particular interest since its based on fact rather than fiction.