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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 (15,074 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 Best True Crime Audiobooks for Your Inner Detective


The best true crime audiobooks will have you on the edge of your seat—whether the story divulges details about well-known serial killers or unidentified villains of unsolved crimes. You won’t be able to stop listening as each mystery unravels, especially when these fascinating, gripping tales are read by some of the most captivating voices in audio. Here are the best true crime audiobooks to get your heart racing.

What listeners say about In Cold Blood

Average customer ratings
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

Truman Capote writes in a long-winded style, that at first I found off-putting. A different meter that can take a while to style into. I really enjoyed this book and now fully understand its enormous impact.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Long and detailed

I enjoyed the different perspectives presented but at times felt too drawn out. That may be a consequence of my living in a faster paced environment than when this book was published. I am researching how much of the facts may have been changed for dramatic effect.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Truman style of writing

I thought the book was completely well written, and well worth the accolades. It’s gotten over the years.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

wow

wow. compelling bit of writing. compelling case. compelling characters!
I'm so glad I finally got to read this!
I couldn't put it doen!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

No Regrets

Truman Capote accomplishes something timeless and truly valuable with "In Cold Blood." From the very beginning, he paints every character, no matter how minor with loving attention. His story telling makes what could have been just another crime documentary into a tragic tale of humanity. The innocent, the despicable, the strong, the weak, and the forgotten all have their moments in the reader's sun. This book entertains and it educates. It does not form opinions. In fact "In Cold Blood" raises more questions then it answers. The narration is also excellent.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

A Classic

The book that re-defined crime books. Amazing detail, beautifully written. Personally, I found the detatched narrative a little tiring after a while.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Truly a masterpiece

Any additional comments?

I've been going back to some more "modern" true crime books (e.g. Helter Skelter, I'll be Gone in the Dark, etc), and I often take for granted older true crime books. This is truly a masterpiece that reads like a novel. There is a reason it is often at the top of true crime lists.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Tragic

What a tragic story. Very well told by Scotty. I really felt he got into character... Capote helped by his complete character sketches. I highly recommend this classic novel.

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Fascinating story, heart breaking and shocking

This was an amazing listen and great writing and storytelling.
What is shocking is the killers feel slighted when on death row as if others are to blame for their actions.

Capote wired on this for years and has written a great book

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    5 out of 5 stars

Still

My sister read this book to me when it was first published.It is just as consuming now as it was then!

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1 person found this helpful