In Cold Blood

By: Truman Capote

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins

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

True story told well

Crazy true story, but a little slow at times. Had to keep listening to find out what really happened.

The Original True Crime!

Capote provides over-abundant details of every person, place and thing that came near the Clutter family or the killers in this pioneering true crime novel. I always wanted to read this book, but found it a little dry and it was very slow going. The audio is a different story. Having this book read to you makes it more exciting than it ever could have been if I had read it myself.

Good book, could have be better.

The book was great however, I'm not one for violence, profanity or intense mystery. So all in all this book really was not for me but certainly could have been better.

Excellent

A very interesting and well read story. I very much enjoyed the reading of this story.

Perry Eugene Smith, a small troubled man.

It's odd how true crime fanatics enjoy listening or reading tragedies for real life people. This book covered a multitude of lives intertwining with one another. Perry Smith, was an odd ball amoung all of them.

wow

This was a really good book. You can tell that the author carefully crafted this book. The details and emotions were so real that I felt joy, sympathy, and bone chilling terror at certain times.
It starts out kind of slow - but when it gets going it does not stop until the end.

This is a great true crime non-fiction.

The narrator is also great. I've heard him narrate before and I've never been dissapointed with his work.

The Absolute Best Audible Book I've Listened To

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I had read Capote's short stories which were good but not exactly my favorite type of subject. I held off reading In Cold Blood but when I finally did it was transformative. The detail and factual telling of the timeline in such a engaging way makes this book my absolute favorite audible.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The murders are brutal and detailed but the investigation and journalism is by far the most remarkable part of Capote's book. This should be a manual for other journalist.

Excellent

A little slow at times, but marvelous nonetheless. I recommend it heartily, especially for fans of "Serial." Also check out "Music for Chameleons."

forever a classic

this story is much more heartfelt than I ever imagined definitely an emotional Journey well worth the time and a classic forever thank you mr. Truman Capote

Riveting, great story telling

As would be expected from this author, the story is expertly told from numerous prospective allowing the listener "see" the story in their minds eye. Well worth the time to listen,