Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. Deliberate Cruelty is an excellent true crime, historic biography of sorts. Ms. Montillo's work is meticulously researched but never dry or boring. I knew very little about the life of Truman Capote, other than the fact that he wrote In Cold Blood and was friends with Harper Lee. This book begins with the story of Ann Woodward, a former showgirl who wanted to climb out of poverty and into high society. She married Billy, a trust fund baby but was despised by her mother-in-law and most of the high society that she wanted to enjoy. When Ann kills Billy at their home, believing him to be a prowler that had been in the area, she is vilified by the socialites she wanted to be part of. At the same time, Truman Capote is climbing the social ladders in the same circles. Ann makes disparaging remarks regarding Truman's sexuality and he never forgets and exacts his revenge years later, in the form of a story published in Esquire and manages to include all the gossip told to him over the years by the socialites. His downfall, Ann's death, are scandalous and simultaneous. Well-written and very fast paced for a study in history and society, Deliberate Cruelty has been one of the most fascinating books I've read so far this year.

Such an interesting book. I happened to have read “Capote’s Women “ recently, and this was the perfect companion to that book. I have always been fascinated by Capote and his Swans and this book speaks about his Swans and his ugly duckling,Ann Woodward.

Though I knew the general story, this excellent retelling was fascinating. For those that are interested in Ann’s story, I urge you read “The Two Mrs Grenvillles” by Dominick Dunne. It is also an excellent TV miniseries with an incredible cast.

Montillo captured the stories of Capote and Woodward and I enjoyed reading this book. Thierry are several other books that will help the reader delve further into these fascinating characters, as well as movies.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this interesting ARC I think my readers will enjoy it and will follow up with more books on these fascinating subjects.

This one was really interesting. Sometimes I just had to stop reading a take a breath. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Deliberate Cruelty is a fictionalized account of the true story of Ann Woodward who shot her banker husband. She claimed she thought he was an intruder but few people believed it and it was an enormous scandal.

She was at the top of the top in society - having risen from showgirl to one of the richest and awe inspiring women in the 1950s. The highest of female society embraced the highly intelligent author, Truman Capote, who had written "In Cold Blood." These women shared their innermost secrets with him, and he was considered as high in society as they were.

Capote became captivated by Woodward's story and was determined to make this his follow-up to In Cold Blood. A story of this most scandalous of situations.

In writing this he exposed the secrets of the female upper echelons, his darlings. H believing that by showing the inside of the pinnacle of society he would write a masterpiece that the world would worship.
What he didn't realize was that the world that had so loved him was aghast that he would betray them and their worlds to the public.
The story "Answered Prayers," led to his ouster and may well have led to Ann's suicide.

This book, part history and part fiction, brings this story into a light much welcome - and truly fascinating look into the rise and fall of top society

I absolutely love books on Truman Capote. This book is deliciously evil and I loved reading about that time period. It’s full of tidbits of gossip and incredibly interesting story.