The Devil at His Elbow
Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty
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4.6 • 217 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The definitive account of the Murdaugh murders. Forget the podcasts, the TV specials, and the documentaries—this is the version of the story you’ll want to read. And once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down.”—John Carreyrou, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of Bad Blood
Power, privilege, and blood—this is the true story of Alex Murdaugh’s violent downfall, from a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter who has become an authority on the case.
Alex Murdaugh was a benevolent dictator—the president of the South Carolina trial lawyers’ association, a political boss, a part-time prosecutor, and a partner in his family’s law firm. He was always ready with a favor, a drink, and an invitation to Moselle, his family’s 1,700-acre hunting estate. The Murdaugh name ignited respect—and fear—for a hundred miles.
When he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son Paul at Moselle on a dark summer night, the fragile façade of Alex’s world could no longer hold. His forefathers had covered up a midnight suicide at a remote railroad crossing, a bootlegging ring run from a courthouse, and the attempted murder of a pregnant lover. Alex, too, almost walked away from his unspeakable crimes with his reputation intact, but his downfall was secured by a twist of fate, some stray mistakes, and a fateful decision by an old friend who’d finally seen enough.
Why would a man who had everything kill his wife and grown son? To unwind the roots of Alex’s ruin, award-winning journalist Valerie Bauerlein reported not just from the courthouse every day but also along the backroads and through the tidal marshes of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. When the jurors made their pilgrimage to the crime scene, trying to envision Maggie and Paul’s last moments, she walked right behind them, sensing the ghosts that haunt the Murdaughs’ now-shattered legacy.
Through masterful research and cinematic writing, The Devil at His Elbow is a transporting journey through Alex’s life, the night of the murders, and the investigation that culminated in a trial that held tens of millions spellbound. With her stunning insights and fearless instinct for the truth, Bauerlein uncovers layers of the Murdaugh murder case that have not been told.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The powerful lawyer at the heart of this true-crime story had all the privilege in the world—and used it to try to get away with murdering his family. Journalist Valerie Bauerlein recounts the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, a high-flying lawyer born into a family who were de facto royalty in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. She details how the attorney murdered his wife and son, then leaned on his legal-world influence to try to avoid a guilty verdict. Bauerlein goes far beyond the sensational reporting that characterized this case, conducting exclusive interviews as well as heavy-duty research in hospitals and crime scenes. Brilliantly, she uses the murder to tell a bigger story of how a once-respected family unraveled, devolving into fraud, embezzlement, and abuse of power. If you’re fascinated by the crimes of the rich and powerful (and especially stories where it all comes crashing down), pick up The Devil at His Elbow.
Customer Reviews
Brilliant!
This was an absolutely brilliant read. The author took a very complicated story and made it compelling and completely understandable to someone who wasn’t in the trenches. Well done.
Murdaugh the Monster
Better than I expected it to be. I have followed this case from the beginning, and listened to Mandy Matney’s podcast from its early days. This book included a details I don’t recalll seeing or reading elsewhere. The murders were horrific. But jail is too good an outcome for what he did to the Pinckneys, Satterfield boys and others he took advantage of when they were most vulnerable.
5/5
I was already familiar with this case and its many sordid details, yet the author presents the story with such clarity and depth that it still felt revelatory. I especially appreciated the inclusion of new insights into the family’s history, which added fresh perspective to a well-known tragedy.