• In Cold Blood

  • By: Truman Capote
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (14,911 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 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
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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No idea why it took me so long

First time in my 40+ years of life reading this book. The Audible version is fantastic. Truman Capote is a true master. The words and phrases he uses paint a vivid portrait of family, hardship, murder, abuse, loss and punishment. Wow. Just wow.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A hunting classic

A haunting classic that will stay with you long after you finish it. Worthy of listening to again and again.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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I found it hard going.

Interesting but I just found it too long and moving off topic. Good descriptions of life at that time.

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Great reading

The book was boring but the audiobook and the different voices made it bearable and more interesting.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Listen

It is a bit slow but this book is made to be that way...Truman Capote did a great job of describing these murders and the entire case! Recommended read!

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A must-hear book

Once you’ve read/listened to this book, you understand why it’s called a classic. It’s not just the story of the actual murders, but an intriguing, disturbing, emotional story of a family , of two disturbed and damaged young men, and a look into a section of the U.S. social structure of the 1949’s and 1959’s that we don’t often see. Yes, some of the book gets very detailed and that got a bit tiresome after awhile, but the vast majority of it is well worth the time, and the book is just as relevant today as when it was written. Narrator Scott Brick is superb.

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  • SS
  • 03-03-15

Not what I thought

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Being a big fan of Harper lee and reading that she did all the legwork for this book gave me high hopes.
Very disappointing.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I can't imagine

Would you listen to another book narrated by Scott Brick?

Yes

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably not if it was done in the written time frame.

Any additional comments?

No

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Brilliant performance

This is a long book, however the brilliant performance kept me enthralled throughout. Great job!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting !

it was pretty good, but some parts felt very boring and kinda repetitive. But, I really loved how the writing and performance connected me with each of the characters

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Grt book/ grt performance

Fantastic, entertaining - grt book - i would sit in my driveway to listen for another few mins.

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