Herbert 'Herb' Clutter was a prosperous farmer in western Kansas. Parts of the book differ from the real events, including important details. In Cold Blood is regarded by critics as a pioneering work in the true-crime genre, although Capote was disappointed that the book failed to win the Pulitzer Prize. The psychologies and backgrounds of Hickock and Smith are given special attention, as is the pair's complex relationship during and after the murders. In Cold Blood has been lauded for its eloquent prose, extensive detail, and triple narrative which describes the lives of the murderers, the victims, and other members of the rural community in alternating sequences. Some critics consider Capote's work the original non-fiction novel, although other writers had already explored the genre, such as Rodolfo Walsh in Operación Masacre (1957). In Cold Blood was an instant success and is the second-best-selling true-crime book in history, behind Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter (1974) about the Charles Manson murders. Capote ultimately spent six years working on the book. Killers Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were arrested six weeks after the murders and later executed by the state of Kansas. He was accompanied by his childhood friend and fellow author Harper Lee, and they interviewed residents and investigators assigned to the case and took thousands of pages of notes. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas.Ĭapote learned of the quadruple murder before the killers were captured, and he traveled to Kansas to write about the crime. In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966.

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