In Cold Blood is a non-fiction (True Crime) novel that tells the story of a family brutally murdered by two killers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959.    Truman Capote and his friend Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) traveled to Kansas to interview the locals and authorities.    He made 8000 pages of notes and over the next 6 years continued to research and write the book, detailing the background lives of the victims and the murderers, the facts of the crime (in detail), the investigation, the arrests, the trials, and the final execution of the killers.

The strength of the story is its detailed journalistic style, but with a novelists skill and vision.    The story is told in a factual way, but with many insights, back-stories, flashbacks, interview reports, and all with a sequential storytelling style that builds interest and a sense of closure, providing the questions that start with why, how, when, where, who, and what.

I am not a big fan of True Crime stories, but Truman Capote adds a level of artistry to the journalism the story is based on, bringing the novel to a high standard.   A recommended book – 4.5 out of 5.0 stars4.5

An audio excerpt: