This family is like a train wreck, you can’t look away from it. John Glatt has done a great job in how he presented the Murdaugh’s and their messy past.

I’m from South Carolina so this trial was huge and I watched every second of it. If you followed along with the crimes Alex Murdaugh committed then you know how privileged and entitled he was. This book shows it goes back generations and shows how corrupted the community was because of this one family.

I did feel like parts of the book were heavy on hearsay and relied on what other people said based on bias.

I sort of followed this case in the national news and thought this book would just be a rehash of what I already knew. I was very wrong. Glatt spends a lot of time with the Murdaugh family history and the politics of the area they dominated for almost a hundred years. This information is crucial to understanding the privilege this family felt entitled to and for the most part, received.

Unless you consciously avoid news sites, podcasts, and social media, you are familiar with the basics of the case: Alex Murdaugh embezzled funds from personal injury cases he won to the tune of millions of dollars and also was convicted of murdering his wife and son. What this book clearly provides is the motive behind those murders and how Murdaugh assumed he would get away with all of his crimes. It paints an unflattering picture of the Murdaugh clan but especially Alex who was so desperate to cover his financial shenanigans, he resorted to murder.

I found this to be an informative book rich in background material about the Murdaugh family dynasty and how it all came tumbling down. The pacing is good and there isn't too much repetition of what I already knew about this case. Glatt's description of the good-old-boy network and how it allowed Alex and his family to escape justice for as long as they did is truly amazing. If you like true crime books, I think you'll enjoy this one.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book for review. The publication date is August 8, 2023.

This is an excellent coverage of the Murdaugh family murders that occurred in 2022. The depravoty and the arrogance of Alex Murdaugh in killing his wife and son while he embezzled millions from his clients and his partners in the law firm is mind boggling. I cannot cirticize John Glatt's coverage of the investigation. He was very comprehensive in his writing/ the only thing I may criticize is that the book ended before the trial and that should be covered (perhaps in a secnd edition?). Very well written.

I received a free copy of, Tangled Vines, by John Glatt, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Alex Murdaugh and his family has been in the news a lot, mainly for bad things, murder, drugs, law suits, etc. Alex Murdaugh had it all, then lost it all, all his own faults, his son was no better. Such a sad tale about the rich and their egos.

Very thorough, very detailed account of The Murdaugh Murders in South Carolina. The timeline is laid out very well, making the story easy to follow, and there are a lot of moving parts to this story. I was familiar with most of it from various documentaries and TV specials, but some of the details about the fraud and stealing money from clients were shocking when all of the stories were laid out back to back. The only disappointing part of this book was that the murder trial from earlier this year was not included. I thought with a book publishing in the fall, there would be enough time to include it. But if you're looking for the complete backstory leading up to the trail, this book is excellent. John Glatt knows how to pull together and write a true crime book.

Author John Glatt takes a deep dive into the Murdaugh family and the result is eye-opening. He starts at the beginning of the family legends with the first Murdaugh to become a lawyer then the prosecutor for the five county district. More generations follow that path, but then we come to Alex Murdaugh. Many of us have watched as he became more of a news item. The double life he led was fascinating, and reading more of the details of the story was so informative.

This was a very well written book. I didn't realize the murder trial wasn't going to be included; I thought it had been written after that and the coverage would be included in the book. But other than that not being included it was very comprehensive and covered all of the money theft, the actual murders, and every other crazy thing that happened. This family was insane. I'm glad this book was written and the family was exposed for the monsters they were. 4 stars

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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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's 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 dark secrets about this Southern legal dynasty came to light as authorities scrambled for clues and the community reeled from the loss and media attention. The Murdaugh family, 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 Murdaugh family, 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.

If ANYONE was going to write this book, it should be John Glatt…whose books I inhale when a new one comes out. I followed this trial and its white people privilege accusations from afar and was fascinated as the US judicial system is so different from the Canadian one. If you are going to shoot yourself in the head (0r have yourself shot in the head), at least do it PROPERLY and avoid a trial … I mean, all you did was make yourself look guiltier.

And Buster, oh Buster, you Wiley Coyote. Are you enjoying living on Hilton Head and WORKING AS A LAWYER? (One would think that a law firm would not want the only remaining supposedly non-guilty member of that family on their letterhead…but maybe that is me. But then again, Murdaughs are lawyers, or killers, or both!) Are you the killer of Stephen Smith? (FYI - May 23, 2023: the death of an openly gay teenager whose body was found in a road close to the Murdaugh property has been officially ruled a homicide – almost eight years after law enforcement closed the case as a hit-and-run.) Was it you or your dad??

SO. MANY. UNANSWERED. QUESTIONS. And this book will only make you think MORE.

I now must add the show about the family to my Netflix queue and will recommend this book to all my true crime readers and lovers of sensationalism. Well written, and highly readable, I recommend this John Glatt book (and all OF HIS others) to, well, everyone. #shortbutsweetreviews

I'm not usually that into true crime stories, but kept hearing about this nut job Alex Murdaugh in the news. He came from a generational family of successful lawyers from the South Carolina low country. I was watching when he got sentenced for the murders of his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul. Whenever I encounter one of his mug shots it gives me the chills.

This is a very good summation of the entire situation, from the history of the Murdaugh family and their entrenched power and influence over the decades, where various members played hard and fast with the law, but never paid...until now. The first section of the book covers the family background, building up to this current generation and their debauchery. The father Alex had an addiction to pills and proceeded to bilk huge amounts of monetary judgements he won for his clients into his own coffers. Alex and his wife Maggie let their sons drink while underage. Youngest son Paul would drink and drive. He was at the helm of the family boat when it crashed, killing teenage friend Mallory Beach. There were other questionable deaths swirling suspicion around this family such as their housekeeper falling down the stairs and a gay teenage classmate supposedly dying by hit and run, but the Murdaugh family had the prestige and power to seemingly skirt these issues- until the wall finally came crashing down with the violent shooting deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

This book is eminently readable and informative, closing at the arrest of patriarch Alex Murdaugh for the crime of double murder. It does not cover the trial and his ultimate conviction, but perhaps the final publication will include some of these details.

Thank you to the publisher St. Martin's Press who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I watched the trial on relevsion and learned a lot more than I prepared did..this books gives great detail on Alex Murdaugh and his descent into chaos. This man had privelage due to his family name and squandered it all away. Fascinating read on the family as a whole and how the disfunction as a whole. As my mother used to say, ‘What is done in the dark comes to the light”. If you want a good read about the man, the family and his comeuppance, this is the book for you. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on my thoughts about this book. .

A true crime look into the now infamous Murdaughs of South Carolina. This one dives a lot into Alex Murdaugh’s family. I didn’t think all that was as relevant. Some of it yes, but the extended family line details, not as much. If you don’t know this story, it definitely is worth a read as it’s a wild ride! If you are familiar with the story, not as much will be new here to you.

Pub date: 8/8/23
Genre: true crime
Quick summary: The Murdaugh family ruled South Carolina's Lowcountry - but a family tragedy led to the exposure of decades of corruption and crime.

The Murdaugh story has captivated the US with a large amount of news coverage and multiple documentaries. I found it hard to resist learning more about this story that's truly stranger than fiction. My favorite part of the book was the beginning, in which Glatt went back to the origins of the Murdaugh family's role in Hampton County's legal system. The book spent a lot of time covering Alex Murdaugh's father and his work at the family law firm. I also thought that the book added more detail on Mallory Beach's death as well as Alex's drug addiction, helping flesh out the story.

What disappointed me a bit was the last chapter covering Paul and Maggie's murders; there wasn't much new information there. I had been hoping for more synthesis/conclusion since these events have been so well covered by the media, but the book ended rather abruptly. This is still an interesting read for true crime fans, but don't be afraid to skim the last section if you're already familiar with the murders.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I want to thank NetGalley, author John Glatt, and the publisher St. Martin's for the opportunity to review an ARC of this new book in the "true crime" genre. I attest the review is original and my own work.

Tangled Vines is the true story of the powerful Murdaugh family of South Carolina lawyers, who ruled the 14th circuit and several counties as Solicitor for over 100 years. It all came crashing down with the arrest and conviction of the current patriarch, Alex Murdaugh, found guilty of murdering his wife and son in May of 2023. But Murdaugh did more than just kill his family members; he also was involved in a notorious scheme to defraud personal injury clients of their insurance/malpractice awards (where applicable) as well as laundering money in a multimillion dollar drug ring. The indictments continue to mount as the book reaches its apex.

I read this story, meticulously put together by author John Glatt, with a range of emotions. You read this and you want to see Alex Murdaugh burn in hell for all of his crimes, but that's up to a higher power. It is a story filled with a man's hubris and feeling that he is so powerful and politically connected that he can get away with anything. And he and his sons, his father and grandfather did for generations.

The book made me angry at the Murdaughs and sorry for their many victims that suffered emotionally and physically by hiring the corrupt lawyer and his rogue network of thieves. Hopefully all of these that did evil will pay for their sins.

Tangled Vines is much different from many true crime novels out there that tend to focus on serial killers and drug lords. The fact that this is a true story adds to the reading experience. I highly recommend it and believe it will be a successful book upon publication.

Thanks so much Netgalley, St. Martins, and John Glatt for an ARC of Tangled Vines.

In true John Glatt fashion, the writing in Tangled Vines was both informative and casual. It’s not often the true crime writers master the ability to make a non-fiction book move along like fiction.

I’ve followed the Murdaugh Murders through Netflix, news clips, podcasts, and posts in social media groups since the family and case became well-known. Regardless, I still learned a lot in Glatt’s latest true crime masterpiece. The talented author gives such interesting history of the Murdaugh family, dating all the way back to the 1700s and 1800s. I learned a lot just when I thought I knew everything!

The chapter length is uniform, and that also made it easy to read. I spent about 7-11 minutes on each chapter according to my Kindle.

Part House Of Cards, part The Fall Of The House of Usher, Tangled Vines is a modern tale about an age-old lesson: greed eventually catches up with you.

Highly recommended!

Thanks St. Martin’s Press for offering this true crime title to me for review. I dint think I would have read this otherwise, because I had been turned off by all the media coverage of these events. That said, the book revealed a lot I didn’t know, especially the extent of the embezzlement conducted by Murdaugh. I think this book would/will be better with the inclusion of the outcome of his trial which was not covered in the ARC. Recommended for those with an interest in true crime.

Author has written another great true crime. Loved it.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

The Murdaugh family might be the most famous family in Carolina history. Generations upon generations of the family have been in the legal field and controlled a lot of what took place in the local courthouses. The family led a life of luxury and Alex Murdaugh and his direct family were no different. Their kids led a spoiled and privileged life which only seemed to harm them as they grew up. Ultimately, Alex let things get over his head and resulted in the death of his wife and child and hurting many others by stealing from them.

I have been a big fan of the author and read his last 3 books and enjoyed all of them. Prior to reading this I had of course heard the Murdaugh story at a high level and mainly knew of him being accused of killing his wife and kid. I also heard about the boat crash that involved his other son and the girl who died because of his actions. I was not aware of how deep the Murdaugh roots went in their community and the level of corruption they had sunk to. Obviously, I would have really liked to hear about the outcome of this story but the trial hasn’t taken place yet but hopefully it will added to the published version or a second book written. If you are a true crime fan you will certainly enjoy this one and I would highly recommend.

This is a pre-publication review, so there may be changes in the published book. The version I read doesn’t include the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, but there is an indication that the final published version will.

Much of the focus of the early part of the book is the history of the Murdaugh family as prosecutors and, at the same time, plaintiffs’ tort lawyers. I’m glad this is such a focus, because anyone who took any interest in this case already knows a lot about the events from the last few years, from housekeeper Gloria Satterfield’s death at the Murdaugh house, young Stephen Smith’s death on a rural road, Paul Murdaugh’s drunken boat driving causing the death of Mallory Beach, Alex Murdaugh being fired from his firm for embezzlement on a grand scale, his attempt to claim somebody tried to murder him and, finally, the murders of Alex’s wife Maggie and son Paul.

What we get from the history of earlier years is a much better sense of the extreme privilege, power, and utter corruption of this family. Author John Glatt includes story after story about the cynicism of the Murdaughs, who passed out favors as prosecutors and raked in money as tort lawyers, even going so far as to try to take everything from a local small businessman representing a woman who actually rear-ended him. Why and how would they do that? Person after person tells about how the Murdaughs knew absolutely everyone in their district, paid no attention to conflicts of interest, used a local law that would let them sue anybody with the slightest connection to their district, and could get juries to grant outrageously high damages because they knew the Murdaugh family and either liked or feared them—maybe both.

Despite being treated as if they were upstanding representatives of the law, there is evidence that the Murdaughs were active drug runners for decades; one of them being suspended for six months but escaping prison while a co-conspirator did time.

There is also much detail in the book about Alex’s embezzlement schemes; both how he set them up and who he scammed—from horribly injured poor clients, survivors of those killed in accidents (including Gloria Satterfield’s sons), right down to his own brother. Alex’s trial for financial misdeeds should be a doozy. Glatt also writes about the other men involved in Alex’s alleged drug-dealing and money-laundering activities, which I hadn’t previously known much about in detail. Again, another trial that should be eye-opening.

We all heard in the news coverage about how a teenage Paul was a habitual and nasty drunk. Maybe you wondered how his parents allowed him to get wasted and drive a car or boat. It turns out his father was at least as bad when he was a teenager and was just as indulged. Nobody ever thought there would be consequences for a Murdaugh, especially the Murdaughs—and while Maggie was unhappy living in tiny Hampton SC, she was more than happy to not work, leave the child-rearing mostly to Gloria Satterfield, spend loads of money, and fall right into the attitude that Murdaughs can do whatever they want.

When he reaches more contemporary events, Glatt skillfully contextualizes, so that the reader can see what might have triggered Alex’s actions. For example, certain court actions over Mallory Beach’s death, and the Satterfield sons’ learning that they hadn’t received money awarded in their wrongful-death lawsuit both happened very shortly before Alex took extreme actions to try to avoid having his embezzlement schemes revealed.

I came away from this book feeling I know quite a bit more of the Murdaugh family story and how generational power and corruption can change life for people far beyond the bounds of the family.

Whewwwwww a lot of I information, background and corruption of the Murdaugh family. Written less as a story more just giving facts which was what I guess the author was wanting to do I was looking more for a story about the family. Leads you through all that I wanted to read about never the less. Just fell flat for me overall.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Tangled Vines
By John Glatt

This book is the true crime story of the Murdaugh legal dynasty of the Low Country in South Carolina – and specifically the genesis of Alex Murdaugh, the brilliant lawyer who brought on the downfall of the dynasty.

Alex Murdaugh, brought up with the mindset that "I do it because I can", became a successful lawyer in his family's law firm. But somewhere along the way he became addicted to drugs and the high life – and lost sight of right and wrong in his quest to support his lifestyle.

Alex married his wife, Maggie, and produced two sons who were brought up to believe that whatever they wanted to do was okay, including drinking copious amount of alcohol from childhood. His older son, Buster, is rumored to have been involved in many scrapes – and possibly a murder – which Alex used his power to get him out of. Buster even lost his law school place for dubious reasons.

Paul, Alex's younger son, had ADHD and was on medication from early childhood, which didn't mix well with the vast quantities of alcohol he consumed with his parents' connivance. He was known to have a bad tempered, violent personality when drunk. Paul, while drunk, was responsible for a boating accident which ended a friend's life. Alex intervened here as well, to try to get his son off the hook.

Alex, with help from old friends, had been pillaging clients' settlement money for years to support his lifestyle. Now his world threatened to come crashing down. In a rage, Alex shot and killed his wife and son, Paul.

All of his crimes eventually caught up with him. Even the murders he thought he'd gotten away with. He is incarcerated for life, having lost everything and destroyed his family.

This book explains how this kind of hubris came to be – and the dangers of believing you are not responsible for your actions.