• In Cold Blood

  • By: Truman Capote
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (14,913 ratings)

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In Cold Blood  By  cover art

In Cold Blood

By: Truman Capote
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Editorial review


By Kat Johnson, Audible Editor

IN COLD BLOOD IS STILL THE GOLD STANDARD IN TRUE CRIME

In Cold Blood was the first true crime book I ever read, and after that, the bar was set. I was a junior in high school and a massive bookworm, though until then I’d read almost exclusively fiction, usually of the Great American Novel variety. For all I knew when I first picked it up, at a thrift shop or take-one/leave-one library where I hunted down cheap books, it WAS fiction, such was the towering reputation of Truman Capote and the breathless description of murder and Americana on the back cover.

Of course, as I now know full well, In Cold Blood is Capote’s 1966 masterpiece of narrative nonfiction—so rich in detail, dialogue, and character that it’s also called a "nonfiction novel"—and the crime it depicts was real, a media sensation in its day. Capote had already published a bestselling debut novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948), and the triumphant novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) when he went to Holcomb, Kansas with his friend Harper Lee to report on the shocking murders of four members of the popular and prosperous Clutter family, inspired by little more than a brief New York Times article calling it "the case of a psychotic killer." Armed with charm, confidence, and boundless ambition, Capote gained the locals’ trust and soon convinced all the key sources that his story was the one they had to be part of.

Capote was right. Like Serial a half-century later, In Cold Blood ushered in a new kind of true crime storytelling, one that centered both journalistic excellence and the narrative art of fiction. Showcasing Capote’s immaculate prose and intimate access to those involved (particularly convicted killer Perry Smith), the book was an instant success whose reputation has only grown. From its frightening description of the murders—the lonely Clutter farmhouse and open Kansas plain scare me to bits even without the quadruple homicide, thank you—to Capote’s authenticity-soaked regionalisms and atmosphere, In Cold Blood is an entire world as seen through the lens of a crime: the random, senseless violence; the hyper-nuanced portraits of the victims and killers, who lives might have turned out some other way, any other way; the peculiar celebrity of murder; the slow machinations of justice and the horror of death row.

I will never forget that first time reading it, which transported me from my dorm room in Rhode Island to a Kansas farmhouse, then to a claustrophobic prison cell. More recently I discovered the audio version, a legend in its own right thanks to narrator Scott Brick’s pitch-perfect performance, which seamlessly marries Capote’s haunting authorial voice with homespun prairie-isms (I lost count of all the "I don’t rightly know"s). With chilling precision and palpable respect for the material, Brick captivates as the tale gathers momentum. Depending on where you are when you listen, his performance might even be too immersive for comfort.

True crime conveys truths about the world that can be hard to hear. But in Capote’s telling and Brick’s performance, In Cold Blood beats with beauty, humanity, and propulsive storytelling to keep us listening through the darkness and through the decades.

Continue reading Kat's review >

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The most famous true crime novel of all time "chills the blood and exercises the intelligence" (The New York Review of Books)—and haunted its author long after he finished writing it.

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

In one of the first non-fiction novels ever written, Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, generating both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

©1965 Truman Capote (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A masterpiece ... a spellbinding work." —Life

"A remarkable, tensely exciting, superbly written 'true account'. " —The New York Times

"The best documentary account of an American crime ever written ... The book chills the blood and exercises the intelligence ... harrowing." —The New York Review of Books

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Featured Article: The top 100 classics of all time


Before we whipped out our old high school syllabi and dug deep into our libraries to start selecting contenders for this list, we first had to answer the question, "How do we define a classic?" The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might guess, though there’s a lot to be said for the old adage, "You know it when you see it" (or, in this case, hear it). Of course, most critically, each of our picks had to be fabulous in audio. So dust off your aspirational listening list—we have some amazing additions you don’t want to miss.

What listeners say about In Cold Blood

Average customer ratings
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One of the Best For me This Year

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The story and characters were interesting and compelling and the narration excellent. I very much felt in the mood of the story and was a little bit glad when my time with it was done, as I was choosing to be part of a dark tale. I definitely recommend this.

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Capote is still relevant

The story was very realistic for the people like me who were part of the same era. The portrayal of the townspeople was so reminiscent. The religious connotations were very believable. Now I want to see the movie.

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Love the narrator!!

I’m going to find more books read by Scott Brick! He’s phenomenal! Such an interesting story. I love tru crime!

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Reads like fiction!

Scott Brick is amazing. I understand why it's on the essential list. Don't debate too hard over this one.

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It's a classic! A must-read story.

What can one say, other than that this is a classic and fascinating story about tragic and sad people.

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A beautifully written True Crime

This is my first crime novel, and at first the beautiful language worried me. I thought it would take away from the serious and horrid nature of the crimes discussed. But it didn't. It helped convey the human side of this tragedy, not only for the victims but for all those involved. The narration was great, with superb diction and character differentiation. I really want to know more about this case now, and perhaps rematch the movie with Phillip Seymour Hoffman that I haven't seen since it was first out. I can't wait to get another Capote book under my belt.

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An Excellent Non Fiction, At Times Painful to Read

"In Cold Blood" is, without question, one of the finest works of non fiction that I have ever read. It is the story of a brutal crime in the Sate of Kansas in 1959. Although non fiction, it often takes on the style of a crime fiction "page turner". As an audiobook, it is very well read. I did need to sometimes turn up the speed of the listening to match my natural reading speed and then slow it down at particular moments in order to listen to details or absorb the emotions of the work.

The only reservation I have is that it is, for me, as a retired police detective with PTSD, at times, very painful. It really reminded me of cases I worked and did reopen some old scars. Of course that is also evidence of excellent writing. If I was teaching young detectives how to work a violent felony with no known suspects, I would not hesitate to use this book as a resource. Thank You....

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Beautifully written, beautifully read

This is one of those books that I'm grateful I listened to, rather than read. Scott Brick's performance is so great (as usual), that I think I would've missed out on something special otherwise. He was the perfect person to read this, his understated yet heartfelt delivery beautifully matching the author's prose style. Capote's devastating true crime opus is a true must-listen.

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Excellent

As a fan of non-fiction and true crime, ICB hits all the marks - great story and great writing.

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so much depth

An incredible thought provoking story told masterfully. Every detail is accounted for. It leaves you wondering how the author knew some of the things that happened.

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