Blood Will Out

Blood Will Out is Walter Kirn's first-hand account of his friendship with a man who called himself Clark Rockefeller, heir to the famous Rockefeller fortune. The story follows their relationship from their first meeting in 1998 through the subsequent revelation that "Clark" was actually Christian Gerhartsreiter, a German immigrant and skilled impostor. Kirn recounts his interactions with the supposed Rockefeller over many years, including dinners, conversations, and visits that seemed to validate Clark's identity and story. The author details how he, like many others, was deceived by Gerhartsreiter's elaborate performance as a cultured, wealthy aristocrat. The narrative traces the eventual unraveling of the deception as Gerhartsreiter's true identity comes to light, along with evidence of his involvement in a murder case. Kirn examines his own role in the story, questioning how and why he accepted his friend's increasingly improbable claims. The book raises questions about truth, deception, and the human capacity for both creating and believing false narratives. It functions as both true crime and memoir, exploring the psychology of trust and the complex relationship between storyteller and audience.

Readers focus on Kirn's raw self-examination and his complex relationship with con man Christian Gerhartsreiter/Clark Rockefeller. Many note the author's brutal honesty about his own naivete and complicity. Liked: - Sharp writing and dark humor - Deep psychological insights into both subject and author - Balance of personal reflection with true crime elements - Detailed portrayal of how intelligent people can be deceived Disliked: - Meandering structure - Too much focus on Kirn's own story vs. Rockefeller - Some found Kirn's tone self-indulgent - Complaints about repetitive passages "The author's self-awareness saves this from being just another true crime book" - Goodreads reviewer "Kirn spends too much time explaining why he was fooled" - Amazon review Ratings: Goodreads: 3.5/5 (8,800+ ratings) Amazon: 3.9/5 (400+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.7/5 (300+ ratings)

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The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal Presents another perspective on the Clark Rockefeller case through interviews with additional people who were deceived by Christian Gerhartsreiter.

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★ "Clark Rockefeller" was actually Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, a German con man who had assumed multiple identities since arriving in the US as a teenager in the 1970s. ★ Among his many personas, Gerhartsreiter also posed as a British aristocrat named Christopher Chichester and a Wall Street executive named Christopher Crowe before settling on the Rockefeller identity. ★ The real-life story took a dark turn when Gerhartsreiter was convicted of murder in 2013 for killing John Sohus in 1985, a crime that remained unsolved for decades. ★ Walter Kirn first met the fake Rockefeller in 1998 when he agreed to drive a disabled dog from Montana to New York as a favor, showing how con artists often use small acts of kindness to establish relationships. ★ The book's title "Blood Will Out" references both the murder at the heart of the story and the old saying "blood will out" - meaning the truth eventually comes to light, no matter how well hidden.