This week we're reading the breakout 2001 book by French writer Emmanuel Carrere, a true-crime story about a man who killed his wife, children, and parents after living a life of, as the book's subtitle has it, "monstrous deception." We talk about the line between drama and sensationalism, and speculate about what goes on in the heads of pathological liars. In the second half of the show we talk about a Paris Review interview with Carrere in which he talks about why In Cold Blood is a fundamentally dishonest and "morally hideous" book.

For more, including links to things we talked about in this episode, visit us online at bookfightpod.com.