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  • In Cold Blood

  • By: Truman Capote
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (15,080 ratings)

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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

Featured Article: The Audible Essentials Top 100


The spirited (but friendly) debate over these titles could have gone on indefinitely. With years of listening, countless customer reviews, and a catalog of seemingly infinite great listens, 100 suddenly felt like a very small number. What we know for sure—each title that made it to this collection is elevated and made special in some way by audio, whether by a layered performance from a single narrator, a brilliantly cohesive full cast, original music, or immersive sound effects. Discover an audio experience for the ages.

What listeners say about In Cold Blood

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9,319
  • 4 Stars
    3,820
  • 3 Stars
    1,381
  • 2 Stars
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Performance
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    8,831
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  • 3 Stars
    745
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    7,914
  • 4 Stars
    2,886
  • 3 Stars
    1,104
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Scott Brick > Truman Capote

Scott Brick is an outstanding narrator and he brings life to Capote's most notable novel. Years ago, I had read this book; However, listening to the audible confirms that Truman Capote was a usurper of the highest order

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, didn't download well

If you could sum up In Cold Blood in three words, what would they be?

very well written

What did you like best about this story?

well researched, well written

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Scott Brick is one of my favorite readers. His performances are always flawless.

Any additional comments?

book would sometimes skip ahead at fast pace.;could be just a bad download. I would still recomend it as a great listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best Audiobook I've heard. Ever.

Seriously intense. Seriously good. I would recommend this audiobook to anyone! I loved the voice, I loved the story, and could not stop listening.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent rendition of a masterful account.

Regardless of how true to life this work is, as a piece of literature, it deeply impressed me. Highly recommended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Narrator

The true crime classic comes to life with Scott Bricks narration. excellent audio book. long chapters. easy to lose your place.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Well written, but longer than it needed to be

This is a well written and researched novel. However, it is too long and contains too many unnecessary, less interesting details. It was harder to get through than I expected.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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DEEPLY MOVING

Makes you stop and think.

I look around at strangers in a whole new light.

Possibly not a good light.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Speechless.

Man, this book really is something. Totally worth reading. Especially the end, made me tear up a little.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Dark

Exceptional writing of a very dark and grisly story. Scott Brick does a superb narration.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Rare

J'avais vu le film, bon
Mais le livre est bien supérieur. Bien écrit ,bien conçu, intéressant tant pour les détails des personnages multiples, que pour l'environnement, que pour l'évocation de l'époque. Les deux"héros" de cette histoire vraie sont bien analysés .
Intéressant de savoir que Truman Capote n'a rien pu écrire ensuite et à sombré peu à peu.

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