Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Aug 2023
320 pages
Genre: True Crime
Publication Information
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.
"[An] exemplary work of true crime...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)
"Readers will be swept up in this account." —Booklist (starred review)
"The so-called "Murdaugh Murders" have spawned a virtual cottage industry of content, from podcasts to a Netflix docuseries, and it's hard to see what Glatt, though he capably catalogs all the relevant events, offers that's unique. Ultimately, the narrative feels like a book-length Wikipedia article. An exhaustive, uninspired work of true crime." —Kirkus Reviews
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
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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