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Tangled Vines

Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Among the tree-lined waterways of South Carolina low country, the Murdaugh name means power. A century-old, multimillion-dollar law practice has catapulted the family into incredible wealth and local celebrity—but it was an unimaginable tragedy that would thrust them into the national spotlight. On June 7th, 2021, prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh discovered the bodies of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, on the grounds of their thousand-acre hunting lodge. The mystery deepened only months later when Alex himself was shot in the head and left for dead on the side of the road.
But as authorities scrambled for clues and the community reeled from the loss and media attention, dark secrets about this Southern legal dynasty came to light. The Murdaughs, it turned out, were feared as much as they were loved. And they wouldn't hesitate to wield their influence to protect one of their own; two years before he was killed, a highly intoxicated Paul Murdaugh was at the helm of a boat when it crashed and killed a teenage girl, and his light treatment by police led to speculation that privilege had come into play. As bombshells of financial fraud were revealed and more suspicious deaths were linked to the Murdaughs, a new portrait of Alex Murdaugh emerged: a desperate man on the brink of ruin who would do anything, even plan his own death, to save his family's reputation.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 26, 2023
      Bestseller Glatt (The Doomsday Mother) tells the stranger-than-fiction saga of South Carolina’s Murdaugh family in this exemplary work of true crime. While many readers will be familiar with the allegations that attorney Alex Murdaugh killed his wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul, in 2021—resulting in his 2023 conviction and double life sentence—Glatt deepens the story by placing those murders in the context of the family’s history. The Murdaughs “dominated a huge swath of South Carolina’s luscious Lowcountry, epitomizing power, justice, and big, big money” by serving as the equivalent of district attorneys at a time when state laws also permitted them to maintain a lucrative civil practice; they were well-known locally as both prosecutors and personal injury lawyers. Leading up to the murders, Maggie was beginning to consider filing for divorce, and Paul had been indicted for homicide after drunkenly crashing a boat and killing one of its passengers. All of this, Glatt explains, motivated Alex to act in desperate defense of the family legacy and their accumulated fortune, supporting this thesis by digging into the scope of both their influence and their wealth. Through his judicious use of police records, interviews with sources including local historians, and Alex’s own jailhouse phone calls (including one where he laughs off his crimes, saying “it is what it is”), Glatt has produced the equivalent of a juicy John Grisham novel, featuring a lead more “dark and totally devoid of conscience” than anyone he’s ever researched. This real-life Southern noir lingers.

    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      Glatt (The Doomsday Mother: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and the End of an American Family) explores the history, lies, and infamy of one of South Carolina's most prestigious families. In the Lowcountry, the Murdaugh name has long been linked to politicians, wealth, and privilege. On June 7, 2021, the family was thrust into the national news with the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, the wife and son of Alex Murdaugh. As authorities search for clues, it becomes clear that the once-celebrated family is at the center of several shocking crimes. Narrator Shaun Grindell offers compelling narration as listeners are introduced to the first Murdaughs, who established their name, to Alex, the man who tarnished it. True crime fans will be hooked by the many twists and turns detailed in this well-researched account. VERDICT Those who are new to the case and those who followed it since the beginning should enjoy this thorough exploration of corruption, influence, and depravity in this prominent Southern family. For fans of Sarah Weinman's Scoundrel or Juan Martinez's Conviction.--Elyssa Everling

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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