--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'In Cold Blood' is not a thriller at all…" description: "\"'In Cold Blood' is not a thriller at all, really. It is, however, the first work of its kind: a true crime book that reads like fiction.\" — Lisa Unger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/lisa-unger-3678_blood_in-cold-blood-is-not-a-thriller-at-all-r_1225144.png" --- # 'In Cold Blood' is not a thriller at all, really. It is… ![“'In Cold Blood' is not a thriller at all, really. It is, however, the first work of its kind: a true crime book that reads like fiction.” quote by Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/lisa-unger-3678_blood_in-cold-blood-is-not-a-thriller-at-all-r_1225144.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/lisa-unger-3678_blood_in-cold-blood-is-not-a-thriller-at-all-r_1225144.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/lisa-unger-3678_blood_in-cold-blood-is-not-a-thriller-at-all-r_1225144.png) > “'In Cold Blood' is not a thriller at all, really. It is, however, the first work of its kind: a true crime book that reads like fiction.” [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The book blurs genre lines, presenting true crime with literary storytelling flair. **In simple terms:** True crime can read like a novel. Key Takeaway Appreciate genre‑bending works. Themes literature crime storytelling Mood analytical curious Type literary educational When to use this quote - reading clubs - writing workshops - media analysis Key Concepts genre theory narrative truth Questions to Reflect On - What does genre fluidity change about our expectations? - How does narrative style affect perception of truth? A Different Perspective Readers may misclassify it, limiting its reach. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Cold Blood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-blood-752786/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [However](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/however/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Like Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-fiction/) [Reads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reads/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Thriller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thriller/) [Thriller Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thriller-really-2485983/) [True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true/) [True Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-crime-2/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [He was one of the masters of the thriller and he really was one of the great signposts, because he took the spy thriller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-forsyth/he-was-one-of-the-masters-of-the-thriller-and-he-really-was-one-of/) [Frederick Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-forsyth/) > [“Look, you're cute, but you're not cute enough to keep me from going off on you for being an idiot. - Cold Blood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-hildenbrand/look-you-re-cute-but-you-re-not-cute-enough-to-keep-me-from-going-off/) [Heather Hildenbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-hildenbrand/) > [When you see the carrot at the end of the stick, what do you do to get it? These kinds of things that come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/when-you-see-the-carrot-at-the-end-of-the-stick-what-do-you-do-to-get/) [Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/) > [Nothing splendid was ever created in cold blood. Heat is required to forge anything. Every great accomplishment is the story of a flaming heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-splendid-was-ever-created-in-cold-blood-heat-is-required-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “In Cold Blood is the story of these six people—the \[four\] Clutters, who died together November 15, 1959, and Perry Smith and Richard Hickock,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/in-cold-blood-is-the-story-of-these-six-people-the-four-clutters-who/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“I didn’t need your help. (Angelia) Believe me, I’m well acquainted with your willingness to stab and kill in cold blood. (Fury)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-didn-t-need-your-help-angelia-believe-me-i-m-well-acquainted-with/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“The greatest joy is by giving, not receiving. Expect none from a warm heart rather than cold blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-yeow/the-greatest-joy-is-by-giving-not-receiving-expect-none-from-a-warm/) [Steven Yeow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-yeow/) > [“He's difficult, isn't he?" "That's the understatement of a lifetime," I told Franz. "What a pain in the ass. I really don't know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-zapata/he-s-difficult-isn-t-he-that-s-the-understatement-of-a-lifetime-i/) [Mariana Zapata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-zapata/) > [In the cold, all the blood rushes to your core to protect your heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and brain. When you leave the water,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-gordon-pugh/in-the-cold-all-the-blood-rushes-to-your-core-to-protect-your-heart/) [Lewis Gordon Pugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-gordon-pugh/) > [I heard about the project over a year before we began. My American agent said, 'Oh, you might want to read 'In Cold Blood'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-jones/i-heard-about-the-project-over-a-year-before-we-began-my-american/) [Toby Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-jones/) > [Boldness in battle is nothing out of the way... but to face down fear in cold blood is rare in any man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/boldness-in-battle-is-nothing-out-of-the-way-but-to-face-down-fear-in/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [I believe the entertainment industry cannot portray on film people gunned down in cold blood, in living color, and not have it affect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-russell-ballard/i-believe-the-entertainment-industry-cannot-portray-on-film-people/) [M. Russell Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-russell-ballard/) > [I would rather have been shot straight-up in cold blood-but to be set up? By people who you trusted? That's bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-would-rather-have-been-shot-straight-up-in-cold-blood-but-to-be-set/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [“In Aristotle’s classic form, outlined in The Poetics, drama takes a three-part form. In Part 1, which I call the World of the Story,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-euchner/in-aristotle-s-classic-form-outlined-in-the-poetics-drama-takes-a/) [Charles Euchner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-euchner/) > [Critics have said I write without spontaneity, in cold blood. I don't. I write in hot blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/critics-have-said-i-write-without-spontaneity-in-cold-blood-i-don-t-i/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) ## More by Lisa Unger > [“When they’re small, they’re part of you, on you in bed, showering with you, climbing onto your lap, holding on to your leg. Slowly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/when-they-re-small-they-re-part-of-you-on-you-in-bed-showering-with/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“We hate our parents for having their own lives, don’t we, for making decisions for themselves that don’t seem to take us into account.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/we-hate-our-parents-for-having-their-own-lives-don-t-we-for-making/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“Depression is not dramatic, but it is total. It’s sneaky - you almost don’t notice it at first. Like a cat burglar, it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/depression-is-not-dramatic-but-it-is-total-it-s-sneaky-you-almost-don/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“...in the end it's not just the big and small events that make you who you are, make your life what it is, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/in-the-end-it-s-not-just-the-big-and-small-events-that-make-you-who/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [The Universe doesn't like secrets. It conspires to reveal the truth, to lead you to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/the-universe-doesn-t-like-secrets-it-conspires-to-reveal-the-truth-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“We have more patience for girls who act like boys than boys who act like girls. A tomboy is considered cute. One day she’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/we-have-more-patience-for-girls-who-act-like-boys-than-boys-who-act/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“You didn't wind up on a pole without a lot of help from your family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/you-didn-t-wind-up-on-a-pole-without-a-lot-of-help-from-your-family/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Writers are first and foremost observers. We lose ourselves in the watching and then the telling of the world we find. Often we feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/writers-are-first-and-foremost-observers-we-lose-ourselves-in-the/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [I loved him so much. It didn't change all the reasons we couldn't be together, but it kept me returning to his body, kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/i-loved-him-so-much-it-didn-t-change-all-the-reasons-we-couldn-t-be/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [It was a strange lightness, a drifting feeling. Zero gravity. I understood that everything that once seemed solid and immovable might just float away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/it-was-a-strange-lightness-a-drifting-feeling-zero-gravity-i/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Of course, like all organic processes, there is an ebb and a flow to writing. One does not exist without the other. The writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/of-course-like-all-organic-processes-there-is-an-ebb-and-a-flow-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [When you start to really know someone, all his physical characteristics start to disappear. You begin to dwell in his energy, recognize the scent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/when-you-start-to-really-know-someone-all-his-physical/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [It's strange how memory gets twisted and pulled like taffy in its retelling, how a single event can mean something different to everyone present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/it-s-strange-how-memory-gets-twisted-and-pulled-like-taffy-in-its/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Many people believe that evil is the presence of something. I think it's the absence of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/many-people-believe-that-evil-is-the-presence-of-something-i-think-it/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Even if someone is overcome with rage, it takes amazing arrogance to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/even-if-someone-is-overcome-with-rage-it-takes-amazing-arrogance-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) [Explore all 124 Lisa Unger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) ## More Blood quotes > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Don't trust everyone, because one day you will shed tears of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/don-t-trust-everyone-because-one-day-you-will-shed-tears-of-blood/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [I have no intention of retiring. Even my blood sugar is better when I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-even-my-blood-sugar-is-better-when-i/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [What about you three, where are you going?" Even before Halt answered, Will knew what he was going to say. But that didn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/what-about-you-three-where-are-you-going-even-before-halt-answered/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [A day without blood is like a day without sunshine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-ermey/a-day-without-blood-is-like-a-day-without-sunshine/) [R. Lee Ermey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-ermey/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I think cricket is there in Usain Bolt's blood. Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/i-think-cricket-is-there-in-usain-bolt-s-blood-since-i-got-to-watch/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Browse all 6,234 Blood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'In Cold Blood' is not a thriller at all, really. 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