Blood Will Out

Archival Summary & Scope

Author Walter Kirn delves into his fifteen-year relationship with Clark Rockefeller, an enigmatic figure who was ultimately unmasked as a brazen serial impostor, child kidnapper, and brutal murderer. Kirn was drawn into Rockefeller's elaborate world of deception, from Manhattan's elite circles to the hard-boiled courtrooms of Los Angeles. Combining confessional memoir and true crime, Kirn explores his own susceptibility to the con, the psychological links between artist and impostor, and the surprising literary sources of Rockefeller's crimes. The narrative culminates in a tense jailhouse reunion with a man Kirn barely knew, prompting a profound reflection on identity, ambition, and the human capacity for self-delusion and deceit.