• In Cold Blood

  • By: Truman Capote
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (14,915 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
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    4 out of 5 stars

very good book

great exanple of early true crime writing. dragged a little towards the end but over all a very good book

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Captivating, poignant

Amazing work, no wonder it’s a classic. Capote captured such depth in all the characters, while moving the story along in riveting detail.

The narrator, Scott Brick, did an excellent job giving life to each of the characters and pulling of their different accents. Great recording, glad I listened.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great reviews but not what I expected

I know this book is one of the most well known true crime books but it wasnt what i excepted. If it was fictional, I'd say that I wasnt gripped, didnt have any feelings for any character and it was dull.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Chilling & exquisite

Capote’s recollection on the events of the Clutter family murder is chilling and intense. However, it was fascinating the way the perpetrators were humanized- so often we think of murderers as monsters when most are just seemingly ordinary people. Scott Brick as the narrator brought the book to life with his eerily calm voice.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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a bit pendatic

its pretty good, a bit pedantic but overall good I give it an 89/100 make you question your values and morals

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Tiresome and repetitive

it's not sorry telling if the content is mostly quoted letters, articles, and transcripts. The actual story telling was fictionalized, as there is no way to have private conversations with the deceased that happened. The first third of the book contained such details, First with the family and then by the killers. the last section focused on the killers trial, incarceration, and subsequent execution. Oft times it was clear Capote wanted us to feel sympathy, or at least forgiveness, for the killers as to their fate.

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  • mt
  • 09-08-21

gray. loved it now if your software . I want to go

why do I have to type fifteen words to continue on with this app

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Great Listen

This is truly a great listen, never wanting to miss a word. The reader is excellent

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Still great

Human insight to criminals and victims The things that impressed the most were the lack of guilt and compassion shown by Hancock and Smith and Smith for the Clutters as well as the bravery and love shown by Mr Clutter The Audible version is outstanding thanks to narrative by Scott Brick who I often don't like.

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Preferred to book

I was forced to read this book in high school and hated it. Cut to seven years later and it pops up on a “must read” list I’ve been working through. My old copy’s back at my parents’ house, so I decided to give the audio a try. It was wonderful and spine-chilling. Scott brings it to life and has the perfect accents, and pauses that make you tense and check your locks real fast. His performance makes it human, honest, and positively horrifying.

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