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Book Review of In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood
reviewed on + 289 more book reviews


Truman Capote's In cold blood is a chilling pioneering example of the true crime genre. On November 15, 1959, four members of the Clutter family were killed in their home in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas with almost no clues or apparent motives for this violent crime. Starting with the description of their last encounters to the execution of the killers, Capote pens a somewhat detached but a precise narrative, switching between the townspeople and law enforcement on one hand, and the killers on the other. His prose and psychological portrayals effectively contribute to the chilling tone. Of historical note, Capote's close friend Nelle Harper Lee, author of To kill a mockingbird helped with the interviews and the book deservedly is on the list of 1001 books you must read before you die.