This is one of those reads like fiction levels of true crime because of how well the writing feels. An absolutely wild tale with the history shown within.

I don't usually pay much attention to current big crime type stories. I only heard of this one because my favorite singer talked about watching a documentary on it, a couple years ago.

I can't think of a better motto for this family than "absolute power corrupts absolutely".

The author does a phenomenal job tracing the family lineage, and it is clear from the start that they are, in fact, corrupted with power. We see the family rise from humble beginnings and grow into a dynasty, with the first three Randolph Murdaughs serving as the solicitor for the 14th circuit for a total of 87 years. To say the family controlled their little kingdom is an understatement.

Yet it is not because of their stranglehold on the Lowcountry that we know of them. Nor is it because of the 100 year-old family law practice that made them millionaires. Instead, it is because of the most recent patriarch's conviction for murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul that we know the secrets this family would have preferred to keep hidden.

Those secrets include two other deaths, which can be classified as homicides based on the evidence provided. There's Gloria Satterfield, the family's long time housekeeper, who practically raised Buster and Paul. She fell down the stairs at one of the family homes and died. There si the question, however, of how she fell, or if she was pushed. Alex told her sons he would take care of them, the family would take care of them, they would "sue" him to be able to get money to survive. Instead, all that money went to Alex and Gloria's sons not only lost their mother, but also a chance for financial help in the wake of her death.

Stephen Smith's death is also quite questionable, given the location of his car vs. his body on a rural road late at night. It was classified as a hit and run, despite there being literally no evidence to support this conclusion. Smith had been a classmate of Buster's and there were rumors of a relationship, of Buster possibly being gay, etc. The Murdaugh family did what they do best and hid any possible connections. Smith's case was re-opened after Alex's arrest, and investigators stated that information they uncovered during their investigation of the disgraced former lawyer led to them doing so.

Then there's also the case of the death of Mallory Beach, who was killed in a boating accident the night she and some friends were on the Murdaugh's boat, with a highly intoxicated Paul at the helm. It was no secret to anyone about how awful Paul was when he was drunk. He'd pick fights, hit his girlfriend, was basically an all around trash bag of a person, and refused to let anyone else drive his boat. The accident left several of the teens injured, and Mallory missing. Yet Paul somehow escaped any kid of consequences for the the death he caused and it was clear to all that the Murdaugh's really could get away with anything.

And as if murdering his wife and son wasn't enough, the crimes he'd committed for years in the lead-up to those murders would've been enough to put Alex Murdaugh away for a long time. It turns out he'd been embezzelling from his clients, millions of dollars over who knows how many years. Within all that, there are the many years of drug addiction, which Alex needed the money for, as well as to continue supporting the life that he and his family had always been accumstomed to living.

For decades the Murdaugh family was untouchable. Outwardly the family was a pillar of strength for the community, upholding law and order. Yet underneath the shiny veneer were layers of protection by those they paid off in order to keep their influence spreading far and wide over their domain. Just when think they could not possibly get away with one more thing, they do. Easily. It's truly gross just how much this one family had for a century. And even though Alex never became solicitor like his father, grandfather, and great grandfather, he did volunteer part time in the solicitor's office. He could hide his money laundering, embezzelling, and drug use behind his family name, because who would belive that the Murdaughs were not as upstanding as they appeared?

June 7th, 2021 triggered the beginning of the end. Alex discovered the bodies of Maggie and Paul at one of their homes and he naturally assumed once again that his word about what happened would be accepted as the gospel truth, and he'd be able to continue doing what he'd always done.

Not this time.

Instead, investigators did their jobs for once where the Murdaughs were involved.

As a result, the Murdaugh dynasty came to an inglorious end when Alex was found guilty of Maggie and Paul's murders, though far to late for their many, many victims over the years.

I think it was crucial for the author to include a detailed background of the family from the beginning. Men like Alex Murdaugh are made, not born. The wealth and privilege available to those that came before him set Alex up to be the entitled monster he became. This does not absolve him from anything. He could have chosen to not be a shitty human being. He could have chosen to give money to his clients that they won, he could have chosen to not cover for Paul with Mallory's death, he could have chosen to NOT murder his wife and son. But the environment in which he was raised made it seem as though he was entitled to whatever he wanted.

Even if you've seen documenteries about the family, I would still recommend the book. I feel like the author had much more time and opportunity to really delve into the family history, which is critical to the story as a whole.

When I tell you the amount of research that went into this book is astounding, that is an absolute understatement! I’ve followed this case since it occurred but I read this book and realized I hadn’t even scratched the surface of the Murdoch family. What a heartbreaking, outrageous story that ruined SO many lives. John Glatt did an amazing job investigating all of the facts for his book and I have recommended this to all the true crime friends I know! Cannot recommend enough!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for sharing this book with my in exchange for my honest feedback!

I was so excited to get this book because for some unbelievably strange reason, I was not interested in the Murdaugh trial when it was going on and I wanted to learn more about what happened to their family.

This book had some great investigative journalism, just like the other John Glatt books I’ve read before, but goodness was it boring!!!

I thought learning about his financial crimes was really interesting, but I was the most interested in learning more about their family and the circumstances around the murders that set all of this media circus in motion. And in the book, it ends on a really anticlimactic note, and nothing seems to be wrapped up. The murder trials hadn’t even started yet, so the book just seemed incomplete to me.

This book was very informative and interesting to read.
As we all heard about the Murdaugh murders there are so many questions.
Fans of true crime will be excited to read this account

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this e-ARC! I do my reviews on my social media platforms. I am currently working on getting through my reviews so stay tuned! Leaving a rating as a placeholder for me and to not effect the books rating in order to post this. Thanks again!

"Staging his own death was just the latest chapter for Alex in a rollercoaster of murder plots, financial crimes, and drug addiction, straight out of a Southern Gothic novel."

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Within the South Carolina lowcountry, the Murdaugh name incites power and fear. A century-old, multimillion-dollar law practice developed by the first generation of Murdaughs has capulted the family into South Carolina royalty. However, it is tragedy of the worst kind that would introduce the South Carolina royal family to the rest of the world.

Going into this book, all I knew about the family was what I had heard in the news regarding the murders of Maggie and Paul. Fortunately, the author did extensive research regarding the family and was able to include everything a reader would need to know. This book made me so sad at parts to see how much Alex and his family extorted the loyal people of the town they had lived in for generations. Alex stole millions of dollars from his clients and funneled them into a private account so that his wife, Maggie, and his sons could have the best of everything. The hardest part of this book was reading about the death of Mallory Beach. Everyone on the boat did everything in their power to keep themselves safe and what should have been a night of fun ended in the worst tragedy possible. The worst part of learning more about the family was reading about every crime (including murder) they were allowed to get away with because of the influence they had within the community. All of the lawyers and judges were so afraid of Alex that they would not prosecute any crimes that had the name Murdaugh attached to them.

Overall, I would give this extremely well-written book 4/5 stars and recommend it to anyone who was following the Alex Murdaugh trial and is interested in finding out more about this unbelievably twisted family.

As a paralegal working within the legal system, I found this book particularly necessary to shine a spotlight on the importance of impartiality and integrity in both the investigative and trial process. When I worked for two circuit judges, I saw first hand the inner workings of the system sworn to serve and protect, meant to offer justice to victims of crime. This case underscores some of the glaring issues that remain to be dismantled, such as voluntary blindness, which is so prevalent in places like the south. elements of entitlement and special treatment are so common in this case, they are practically habitual, and unchecked privilege is corrosive to people's trust in the system. This book is a call-to-action for legal professionals like myself to be more firm in upholding the principles we were instilled in us in our Legal Ethics course. I think Glatt did a great job exploring his insights of the Murdaugh murders, but an even greater job in exemplifying why we must ensure that justice is truly blind.

This family is insane and I cannot get enough of this story. Another juicy entree into the Murdaugh family saga. What a train wreck.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of Tangled Vines by John Glatt in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I have been following the Murdaugh story so was excited to be approved to read this. WOW - the level of deceit and hurt this family has caused so many is just mind blowing. John did a great job of keeping me interested and I found myself shaking my head in disbelief at so many parts of this book - talk about awful humans! I hope everyone that has been affected by this family can heal in their own time and I pray for peace and happiness for all of them in the future.

As someone who has closely followed the ongoing saga involving this horribly sad case, I was really grateful that St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me an ARC so that I could read this book. It provided additional background and insight into the Murdaugh family, and further illuminated the unfolding tragedy we’ve watched unfold for the past few years.

“Tangled Vines” is without a doubt a well-written work of true crime non-fiction.

Overall enjoyed it, this author does a good job of writing true crime in a way that isn’t boring. However, with the amount of media attention this case received I didn’t feel like the book brought anything “new” that we as the public didn’t already know. I wish there was more about the investigation into how they found evidence incriminating him in the murder of his family.

I followed this case pretty much from the beginning, but this gave a lot more background than what I knew. The version I read (the Arc) was completed prior to the trial and I see that the official published version has it in there.

Thank you so much NetGalley, this shed a lot of light on the family.

We've all heard about the Murdaugh murders by now, but this book is an in-depth look into so much we didn't hear on the news or in podcasts. I enjoyed this book and its definitely up there in the true-crime realm.

I have been on a nonfiction kick recently and the complexity of this case really stood out to me. The author captured my attention immediately and held that attention which can be difficult in books like this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I dont think there is much in this book that was not in the documentary shown on Netflix other than the family background, which is a little difficult to follow and get through, but it was quite amazing to see how far the history of lawyers in the family had stretched. The amount of cover ups, lies, and conniving behavior will astound you with all of the detailed accounts and explanations. The boat crash scene was described extremely well and with so much detail and feeling, that was when it began that I didnt want to put the boom down, even knowing what I did from the television documentary.

This is my second true crime book I have read by John Glatt, the other being on the Christopher Watts case and I have to say he never skimps on details, does amazing research, and is an excellent writer of these stories! I would love to check out more of his books and definitely recommend them!

John Glatt is one of my favorite True Crime authors. I love the way he writes and the books are always on point and interesting.

👋 Hey, Hey, Hey - Mini Reviews 👋

Hey! Zoe and I are still here, but it’s taking longer than anticipated for me to get back to regular posting. 😜 Having kids out of school makes unpacking harder and I knew we had a ton of stuff, but phew! 🫣 It’s ridiculous even with the excessive purging. 📦📦📦

Here are the books I’ve read since I’ve been absent/moving…I’m still reading! OK, so audiobooks mostly, but I’m getting them checked off! ✅✅✅

Tangled Vines - This one is about the Murdaugh family murders. It was eye-opening and disturbing, yet just wasn’t my favorite. It was OK for me. 🤷‍♀️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Glatt has done it again! He has written another compelling true crime story about power, greed, white male privilege, and murder! I love this author's books, and this one did not disappoint!

If you haven't yet watched the Netflix series, wait and read this book first! It was meticulously researched and written, starting with the family history from over a hundred years ago. It details each generation and the downward spiral of the Murdaugh family dynasty.

This author also knows how to spin the story to maximize both emotional reaction and jaw-dropping disbelief. I was spitting mad several times over the course of my reading experience and jumping for joy by the end. I absolutely can not wait to see what this author comes out with next!

A gracious thank you to @StMartinsPress and @Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders was a good true crime read by John Glatt. This book follows the rise of the Murdaugh family and the double murder that led to the downfall of Alex Murdaugh. The Murdaugh name means power in the South Carolina low country. The family has a century-old multimillion-dollar law practice that has made them wealth and local celebrities. On June 7th, 2021 attorney Alex Murdaugh discovered his wife and Son dead on the grounds of their hunting lodge. Months later, Alex himself was discovered shot in the head on the side of the road. While investigating, dark secrets about the family come to light. The family weilded their wealth and influence to portect one of their own. I enjoyed reading thisbook and cant wait to read more by the author.