• In Cold Blood

  • By: Truman Capote
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (14,911 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

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
    9,199
  • 4 Stars
    3,785
  • 3 Stars
    1,372
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Performance
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  • 3 Stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7,804
  • 4 Stars
    2,860
  • 3 Stars
    1,096
  • 2 Stars
    291
  • 1 Stars
    169

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    5 out of 5 stars

A classic, timeless Masterpiece

Has a first time Capote reader I knew that I was in store for a treat. This wordsmith was definitely one of the great writers of our time. The juxtaposition from different sources, timeframe and viewpoints throughout the novel are in comparable to anything I’ve read before. What a treat! I can’t waiting to read more of what Capote’s works.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Heartbreaking!

Warning: Don't listen in a place you can't show emotion. This is a heartbreaking story. The reader does an excellent job! Highly recommended!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Intense

This book is intense and kept me interested.
I knew I would not have time to sit and read the book itself, so I went with the audio version.
I highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Production good, not great, but definitely worth a listen

Good, though perhaps not the best voice to give real voice to this masterpiece work, but the words speak their terrible, poetic truth. It is one of my all-time favorites for good reason.

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Very vivid narrative

Great book that brings you close to the characters by taking you in a tour around the main plot. The book offers a very detailed account of facts, people and places that allow you to recreate the story within yourself.
Narration is just perfect!

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I really like the book and the narrator was great!

The book was exciting!!!!!

And I like having it read to me cause my eyes aren't so good

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    5 out of 5 stars

Seriously Incredible

I've heard of his book all throughout my life and a movie I watched recently made me think of it. I had a credit or two so I read a bunch of the reviews to see if I should dive in. There were a few reviews that put me off but I have to say I am so so glad I listened to the sample and decided to go for it. I just finished it and am about to start it again, I loved it that much. I recommend this book a hundred times over!!! Seriously, take a listen, if you are into true crime and incredible writing, than this is for you!! Oh and I loved the narration, time and credit well spent!!

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  • MW
  • 02-16-19

A pleasure

I enjoyed the story and narration.

A sad story but the characters were interesting. Well written.

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Fantastic! Superb!

A truly masterful text, now I understand why people praise In Cold Blood. And the narrator is absolutely perfect!

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Justice Served

It’s amazing of all the effort and research that Truman Capote went to reconstruct paths of two young men that committed one of the most horrible crime in killing four innocent and good people on false information given by a fellow inmate that the owner of a big farm surely had a safe stuffed with money could be robbed with little trouble.
An excellent account and description of a real event?

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