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 Crime Roalty

Narration was great!! Heartbreaking story I had only seen the movie, I am so glad to have finally heard the book.

Brutal 3rd Time

Capote is one of those rare souls who uses his God-given talents to the fullest. Absolutely flawless writing. Not one wasted word.

I read this book as a kid, maybe once in college and now as a mom who is roughly the age of Bonnie Clutter. It gutted me. Over the years, even though I myself had experienced the pain of losing someone to murder, I had grown wishy-washy on the issue of capital punishment. This book re-convinced me it is absolutely necessary in some cases. These two murderers were animals. For the sake of a sub-plot, Capote tried his damndest to give them a human component and even excuses based on their upbringing, but in the end they were nothing but evil personified.

The performance of this audio book was one of the best I have ever heard. He hit every nuanced element of the writing style and he brought each character to life. He even nailed 1950s teenage slang. Such a great performance.

Chilling and Incredible

Profound account of a senseless crime. Capote expertly defines the personalities and exposes the psyches of the perpetrators. He draws you into their world to the point that you almost sympathize with their flaws. He weaves the accounts of witnesses, family members and law enforcement into a spellbinding tapestry. Truly masterful!

Riveting

Quality narrative. Exceptionally well written. A true magnum opus. Well researched and a great read.

Lived up to the fame

This is a fascinating book both as the psychological/social expose that Capote intended but also thinking about the psychology of Capote himself. Very well written. Also, Scott Brick Even succumbs to the rhythm of the story and doesn’t even sound like himself sometimes.

True Crime Classic

Great when you're out of MFM. Sags in the middle, but worth it. Talented narrator.

Excellent book

I am not one for writing reviews but I have to say something about this book. I love a good mystery and obviously, we know how this one ends. I am also trying to throw in some classics into my "reading". I say this because in addition to reading, I listen to books on tape when I hike and clean. Sometimes I weigh a book by the narrator and this one is read by Scott Brick, my favorite narrator, so this was a no brainer for me. Onto the book, this book is so very well written. It is engaging and other than the topic being very morbid, an excellent read. My goal was to check Truman Capote off my list but because I enjoyed this book so much, I will be dipping my toe into the world of Truman Capote.

Beautiful storytelling

Performer is fantastic. Effortlessly shifts between character voices. Tone and inflection changes are subtle and propel the narrative. A beautiful storyteller that never takes you out of the story.
As a novel, this is an engrossing, beautifully written story. As a true crime story, this is impressively researched and offers so many perspectives. FYI, it is not going to satisfy a "Serial" craving - we meet the killers almost immediately and there is never any question of who did it. You won't be solving a murder along with the narrator or any characters. You may also spend the whole time wondering if a character really said this or that. Just take Capote's word for it and enjoy.

could not stop

The narrator kept you intrigued. Storyline was great. Could not stop listening. I would recommend this book.

Classic

I have heard of this book for a long time. It was as good as expected. Brick was amazing as always. Well worth the purchase.