An incisive, stylish exploration of how Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood and the ethics of storytelling by a star non-fiction writer 'A gem of a book' The Times In 1960, Truman Capote arrived in the small town of Palamós on the Costa Brava.He'd hoped a short break from New York's social scene would help him finish the book he was writing about two young men convicted of a horrific murder. He wound up staying in Europe for three years of agonising self-exile, wrestling with his haunting material, crafting a masterpiece, and waiting for the event that would allow him to finish it - the execution of those two men. Following in Capote's footsteps in Palamós, celebrated journalist Leila Guerriero finds almost no trace of those turbulent years. As she sorts through a jumble of competing local accounts and blatant fabrications, she launches a dazzling enquiry into the curious afterlife of writing - and the dark complexities of turning life into literature.

Leila Guerriero is one of Latin America's most acclaimed journalists. Born in Junín in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, she began her career at the magazine Página/30. Since then, her work has appeared in international publications including Rolling Stone, El País, La Nación and L'Internazionale. She is the recipient of a 2026 Maria Moors Cabot Prize for journalism. The Call was a major bestseller in Spain, where it was named best book of the year by El País and El Periódico. Her books A Simple Story and The Difficult Ghost are also available from Pushkin Press. Guerriero lives in Buenos Aires.