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

Excellent true crime book

Any additional comments?

I slightly remember hearing about this murder a few times but never got the full story. This book goes through the grisly details through story form. It was interesting and unique to hear a true crime book to be told as a story. I would definitely suggest to anyone who is into learning about criminology and murders it's a solid read.

Astonishing Book, Engrossing Story.

Would you listen to In Cold Blood again? Why?

Yes, it comes across as a fictionalized account of a mass murder, rather than just a who done it novel.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The book is a very, very good psychological profile of these two men who were serial criminals, but got caught up in their own personal feud. It left me wondering how it would end for the murderers.

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

This one is a very good performance by Brick. He is a very good narrator.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

This was the first of its kind, true crime story, and set the standards for this genre of non-fiction.

A great read

I would %110 recommend this book. It made me feel all the emotions. It is so well written and narrated.

Fantastic Narration

What did you love best about In Cold Blood?

This is a great book. Capote gets you inside the story and it is no wonder that it was such a hit.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The narrator become Perry Smith. Just as Capote captures the soul of this character, Scott Brick sounds the way one thinks Smith sounded. The pauses, the nuances of the language.

Almost unbelievable.

Where does In Cold Blood rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Beautifully written, wonderfully read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of In Cold Blood?

Hickok and Smith just seem like a couple of ordinary young men. Smarter than most , but capable of true evil. They remind me of Adolf Eichmann.

Which scene was your favorite?

The way Capote is able to humanise these two vile people.

If you could give In Cold Blood a new subtitle, what would it be?

How close are we to evil?

Spellbinding tale of a tragedy

Well - yes, this is a five-star book and a five-star narrator. Nobody could have told the story of this tragedy more effectively or movingly than Capote has, and Brick's narration is marvelous. But the story is heartbreaking, not only for the callous murder of the victims but for the awful, wasted lives of the perpetrators. I was spellbound, but not in a happy way. If you're interested in true crime, this is certainly one of the best.

A Great Listen

I can't say anything about the book that hasn't already been said, so I will instead comment on the audiobook. I would have given it 5 stars, but the narration by Scott Brick was a little dramatic and theatrical for my taste. But I imagine that it won't be an issue for most, and I hesitated even docking the one star. If you enjoy a more emotive reading, consider it a 5-star audiobook.

The Penultimate of All True Crime Novels

Not only is the story compelling and harrowing, the writing is stunning and gorgeous. The narration is excellent.

Another Ho Hum "Classic"

Any additional comments?

After reading dozens of modern thrillers by John Grisham, James Patterson, Dan Brown, etc I decided to listen to some classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, In Cold Blood, etc. They were interesting, I guess, but not very thrilling. I guess I felt good that I could check them off my list but I am ready to get back to modern thrillers.

In Cold Blood was sort of interesting to me because I knew the area (Lansing, KS) and this was a true story. But other than that it was pretty boring, especially the end. I would definitely recommend the bridged version of this.

True Crime

Everyone has heard of this book, or maybe the movie that was based on it. But, I had never read it before. I didn’t know that Truman Capote was from Alabama and a childhood friend of Harper Lee (“To Kill a Mockingbird”). And, that she helped with the research and interviews (some have wondered if she helped with some of the writing). This book was significant because it was based on a real crime and was written as if it was a summary of the actual events leading up to and after the crime from the perspective of the killers, the townspeople, the investigators, and the trial. It is accurate overall, but Capote makes up some of the conversations and many of the locals felt misquoted. It started a new genre of historical fiction embellishes and expands on an event. The Clutter family was prominent in the community and ran a very profitable large farm. They were known for their generosity towards their workers (up to 18 hands worked there at times), as well as to others. And, he was known in the community for never carrying anything but very minimal cash, paying for everything by check (lest there ever be an IRS audit). They were strong church-goers and they seemed to be the last family that something like this would happen to, but in the middle of one November night in 1959, two men entered through the unlocked back door thinking that there was a safe with a lot of money for the taking. They were also determined to leave no witnesses and killed all four family members with shotgun blasts to the head. We know the story, the killers, and why they did it from almost the beginning of the book, but the author manages to keep our interest all the way to the end without the benefit of “suspense.” It is graphic, not leaving out any details of the murders and delves deeply into the psychology of the killers without excusing them for their actions. It was not my favorite book but was nonetheless very good.