From the Bookshelf of Reading List Completists…

In Cold Blood

Truman Capote

Start date: December 1, 2021

Finish date: December 31, 2021

Discussion: Group Reads

Why we're reading this: December 2021 Completist Selection
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What Members Thought

Mar 27, 2017 Michael Finocchiaro rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-lit, american-20th-c, classics, historical-fiction, favorites, novels

I just wonder why it took me so long to get this masterpiece on my currently-reading shelf. What a breathtaking story! And told in the most amazing novelistic style! The cold-blooded murders in Kansas in 1956 are described by a cold, distant narrator via the interviews of the family, acquaintances, and community around the victims and the hair-raising stories of Perry and Bobby, the murderers. It is a real page-turner - I couldn't put it down! The descriptions of the youth of all the tragic prot ...more

756 likes · Like · see review

Jun 22, 2017 Matthew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, audio, non-fiction, true-crime, library

This book is one of the first, if not the first, true crime novel. According to Wikipedia, only Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders has sold more copies in the True Crime category than In Cold Blood. While true crime fans might read this today and think that it sounds like your basic true crime story, at the time it was groundbreaking to detail a crime in this much detail and in a format as big as a novel.

One of the things it appears that this novel set the precedence for, and t This book is one of the first, if not the first, true crime novel. According to Wikipedia, only Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders has sold more copies in the True Crime category than In Cold Blood. While true crime fans might read this today and think that it sounds like your basic true crime story, at the time it was groundbreaking to detail a crime in this much detail and in a format as big as a novel.

One of the things it appears that this novel set the precedence for, and that I have seen in other true crime novels, is that the author is not only researching the story, he is getting in the mix and talking face to face with the criminals (example - Ann Rule). Sometimes this leads to relationships and feelings that are reflected in the retelling. After you finish reading this, it is interesting to look this up online and see some of the theories about how Capote approached this crime and the people involved.

Speaking of Capote, I have never seen any of the movies about him, but it sounds like all of them focus on this part of his life – and there are at least 3 of them! I may need to check them out to see what I think. Also, I need to check out the classic film that came out shortly after publication.

One think I found very, very interesting (view spoiler)

One thing I forgot to add when I originally wrote this review was that having read this and Breakfast At Tiffany's, it is hard to believe it is the same author. Probably the most diverse writing from the same author I have ever encountered.

True crime fans! Non-fiction fans! Fans of must read classics! You must add In Cold Blood to your list. ...more

212 likes · Like · see review