A Story That’s Hard To Put Down
Bestselling True Crime Author
John Glatt
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In Tangled Vines, bestselling true crime author John Glatt reconstructs the rise of the prestigious Murdaugh family and the shocking double murder that led to the downfall of its patriarch, Alex Murdaugh.
Among the lush, 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 discovered shot in the head on a local roadside.
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.
- Publisher : St. Martin’s Press
- Publication Date : August 8, 2023
- Hardcover : 320 pages
What’s Being Said
“Readers will be swept up in this account.” —Booklist, starred review
“In bestselling author John Glatt’s capable hands, this tragic tale avoids hyperbole and emotionally provocative prose … fascinating, gruesome and harrowing.”―Bookreporter.com
“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.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
My Thoughts
In some cases, fame and money can cause people to feel above the law. The Murdaugh family is a prime example of this.
The author, John Glatt, walks us through the history of this family from the beginning to the near present day. In this case, if you’ve watched various shows such as the Netflix series on the Murdaughs, you know that we are zeroing in on Richard Alexander Murdaugh’s wife and children.
This story began to take the spotlight in 2019 when Paul, Murdaugh’s teenage son, drunkenly drove a boat into a bridge killing one of the occupants, Mallory Beach. Then, two years later Murdaugh discovered his wife and Paul murdered. From this point on, Maurdaugh’s life will take a change hard to comprehend.
My Concerns
This was extremely thorough, but at times this research was more than I was interested in. The early history of the family, at the first of the book, didn’t quickly catch my attention. I had to plug along for a while.
Final Thoughts
If you’re searching for a deep dive into the Murdough family, this book is likely to meet your needs. I especially liked that there was a section in the middle with some pictures. Though it’s a very informative book, it lacked the story quality that so many of us search for. It felt a little more like a term paper. Yet, those can be interesting. This left me a little unsettled about how to rate it. On one hand, I loved everything that is included in the book, on the other, I would have been happy to skip some of the early information about great great great grandpas, etc. All in all, if you like true crime books, this is one to take a look at, even if you find yourself skimming over a few pages. In this case an audiobook may have worked better for me.
Thank you to St Martin’s Publishing for a gifted book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
English-born JOHN GLATT is the author of more than thirty books including The Lost Girls and My Sweet Angel, and has over thirty years of experience as an investigative journalist in England and America. He has appeared on television and radio programs all over the world, including Dateline NBC, Fox News, ABC’s 20/20, BBC World News, and A&E Biography.
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