The Fall of the House of Murdaugh: Moonshine, Manipulation and Murder in South Carolina

by Michael M. DeWitt Jr.

Welcome to The House of A storied, century-old legal and political dynasty in the South Carolina Lowcountry synonymous with wealth and power and gilded in Southern charm and mystique.

Then along came scion Alex Murdaugh, a smooth-talking, pill-popping lawyer-turned-con-man looking to cash in on the family’s connections, prestige, and generations of trust, while concealing his misdeeds by any means necessary. By 2023, what took a century to build was brought to ruin and disgrace amid scores of criminal charges and multiple homicides or wrongful deaths – including the brutal murders of Alex’s wife and younger son.

The Murdaugh crime saga has captured the attention of journalists, podcasters and writers around the English-speaking world, but only one storyteller actually lived and worked among them to know the Murdaugh clan as the talented, yet tortured and controversial characters they were.

Award-winning journalist and historian Michael M. DeWitt Jr. shares this historical, true-crime epic of the Murdaugh dynasty, a narrative that takes us from the fallen Confederacy to an internationally publicized, modern-day double-murder trial, and beyond as the search for answers and justice continues.

This is The Fall of the House of Murdaugh.

Kindle Edition

Published July 9, 2024

Reviews

[Betty Adams]

I am obsessed with all things Murdaugh, but this really didn't add any new facts or analysis.

[Joanne Alexander]

I did not follow the daily events or many podcasts about this SC event, so when this book came my way, I read it to fill in the gaps in my knowledge, particularly since, nearly simultaneously, the case decision was thrown out due to jury tampering and will be retried! This book is a workmanlike coverage of what happened, with a fair amount of background information and backstory, which is very revealing in a place where relationships go back generations. No "In Cold Blood," writing-wise, I did learn about the case. There's a more highly recommended book out there that I may read later.

[Ann]

This book doesn't really break any new ground from the other Murdaugh books. However, the author's being the Hampton newspaper's editor does give a little different perspective. I also felt like his descriptions of the trial were the best I had read. There were some spelling errors which should have been caught by a good editor.

[Catherine]

Text was often repetitive, I wondered if this had been a series of newspaper articles. The detailed family history is probably more interesting to locals than it was to me.

[Lisa Bodner]

Fascinating and sad. This story and this family is not to be believed, but it's all true.