Blood on Their Hands
Murder, Corruption, and the Fall of the Murdaugh Dynasty
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4.2 • 89 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The highly anticipated inside look at the collapse of the Murdaugh dynasty by the celebrated investigative journalist and creator of the #1 hit Murdaugh Murders Podcast, Mandy Matney.
Years before the name Alex Murdaugh was splashed across every major media outlet in America, local South Carolina journalist Mandy Matney had an instinct that something wasn’t right in the Lowcountry. The powerful Murdaugh dynasty had dominated rural South Carolina for generations. No one dared to cross them.
When Mandy and her reporting partner Liz Farrell looked closer at a fatal boat crash involving the storied family’s teenage son Paul, they began to uncover a web of mysteries surrounding the deaths of the Murdaughs’ long-time housekeeper and a young man found slain years earlier on a backcountry road. Just as their investigations were unfolding, the brutal double murder of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh rocketed Alex Murdaugh onto the international stage.
From the newsroom to the courtroom, to the kitchen-table studio where Mandy recorded her #1 Murdaugh Murders Podcast, Blood on Their Hands is a propulsive true crime saga, an empathetic work of investigative journalism, and an excoriation of the “good old boy” systems that enabled a network of criminals.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This may not be the true-crime book you expect, but it’s a fascinating, deeply personal story. In 2021, Alex Murdaugh—a rural South Carolina lawyer from a prominent family—was charged with the murders of his wife and 22-year-old son. Local journalist Mandy Matney had been investigating Murdaugh for years before the murders, uncovering evidence of embezzlement, drug dealing, and even other possible murders, and in the wake of the new crime, she created the popular Murdaugh Murders Podcast to detail her findings. Rather than rehash the family’s scandals, Blood on Their Hands explores Matney’s process as an investigative reporter doggedly chasing down leads in spite of many obstacles. Harassed by corrupt local cops, stymied by newsroom sexism, and targeted by online trolls, Matney also goes deep on the toll the Murdaugh story took on her mental health. This book reveals how personal true-crime stories can become.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Murdaugh Murders podcaster Matney details her experiences covering South Carolina's infamous Murdaugh family in this propulsive memoir cowritten with New York Magazine editor Murnick. In only her second journalism job, at South Carolina's Island Packet, Matney was plunged into the Murdaugh story in the wake of Paul Murdaugh's deadly 2019 boating accident. As she dug into the accident, Matney discovered hints of much deeper, longer-running transgressions, and spent years researching records and cultivating sources to piece together the links between Paul's father, Alex Murdaugh, and a series of mysterious deaths and financial wrongdoings. Fighting overly cautious editors and online threats, Matney eventually broke from the Packet to tell the story in her podcast. When Paul and his mother were murdered in 2021, making national news, Matney's reporting on Alex provided the public with crucial context before his 2023 conviction for the killings. Matney and Murnick smartly spread the focus around, giving more weight than readers might expect to Matney's early reporting in order to establish the Murdaugh family's m.o., and they write with the unshowy momentum of the best investigative reporting. The result is both an engrossing true crime saga and a galvanizing ode to boots-on-the-ground journalism.
Customer Reviews
Well written, interesting and never boring!
I like how Mandy started the book giving the reader background on her start in journalism, her moves to different jobs, how each job led to the next and her ultimate career change to a podcaster. It is very well organized in regard to how it follows the story of the boat crash and delves into other aspects of how Alex Murdaugh impacted people’s lives. I’m not a big reader and I could not put this book away. I was finished within 24 hours. I personally purchased mine from Apple to read on my iPad and like the fact I can search entries and highlight passages I thought were impactful. I highly recommend her book.
Not About the Murder
Not so much about the actual murder investigation but more an autobiography of the author…so I was disappointed.
Painful
See review title.