{"product_id":"the-family-man-blood-and-betrayal-in-the-house-of-murdaugh","title":"The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAn absorbing and vertiginous chronicle of the trial of Alex Murdaugh.-- \"The New Yorker, Best Books of 2026 So Far\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis story, with its wild human convulsions and its dense moral fiber, demands serious narrative muscle from its teller. James Lasdun has what it takes, and more: his final chapters are a masterclass in calm, hard reasoning.--Helen Garner, author of This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJames Lasdun, one of our very best true crime documentarians, has written a riveting account of the notorious Alex Murdaugh murder trial of March 2023. Though adjudicated, this public exposure of an 'incredibly corrupt South Carolina ruling class' remains a mystery in many ways, as Lasdun reveals. \n\u003cem\u003eThe Family Man\u003c\/em\u003e is a memorable examination of the making and enabling of a psychopath who is also a 'good ol' boy' from a prominent South Carolina family; a 'family-values' gentleman who is also a 'family annihilator.' Highly recommended.--Joyce Carol Oates, author of Fox\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA true-life Gothic tale of moral horror that wrestles with the reality of evil and its sinister, persistent influence over one powerful family and its milieu.--Walter Kirn, author of Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eThe Family Man\u003c\/em\u003e is a meticulous, spotlessly written, and clear-eyed journey into a distinctly American morass of wealth, privilege, and power. It's also a morally responsible meditation on the tragedies left within the ruinous wake. James Lasdun doesn't allow us a moment's breath to flinch and look away.--Paul Tremblay, New York Times best-selling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat \n\u003cem\u003eThe Family Man\u003c\/em\u003e does illuminate to devastating effect is the way the case is emblematic of the direst aspects of contemporary American life: opioid addiction, litigiousness, brazen mendacity (and its bedfellow, gullibility), as well as guns. . . . Not since 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' have I read so vividly wrought an account of the South. . . . when the book reaches a crescendo in its stunning final chapters, the elaborate detail becomes the foundation for his chilling distillation of Alex's crimes.--Orlando Whitfield \"New York Times\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eThe Family Man\u003c\/em\u003e is the Truman Capote version of the Murdaugh story, a thoughtful, well-researched, and beautifully written inquiry into how and why a person comes to commit such an appalling crime.--Laura Miller \"Slate\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLasdun has brought his considerable storytelling skills to the life and times of the Murdaugh family, a Southern Gothic tragedy that redefines the genre of true crime. Lasdun does not contest the conviction, but he does frame the story of murder, corruption, and fraud in ways far more spellbinding than previous accounts. Evil is always dark, and here Lasdun makes it come to light.-- \"Air Mail\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLasdun is a 'true crime' writer in the reflective mold of his late \n\u003cem\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e colleague Janet Malcolm. Although investigating the double murder case drives this narrative, Lasdun is most interested in exploring the ultimate unsolvable mystery: the mystery of evil.--Maureen Corrigan \"NPR\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn March 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife and younger son at Moselle, their home in South Carolina's Lowcountry. By then, the story had become headline news across the country, with its revelations of corruption in high places, massive fraud, opioid abuse, fake suicides, suspicious accidents, and the generational recklessness of the wealthy legal dynasty at its center. Having covered the case for \u003cem\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e, where his article became the magazine's most read story of the year, the acclaimed novelist James Lasdun brings his long-standing interest in the darker drives of the human psyche to an investigation into the serial embezzlements, fatal boat crash, and other events leading up to the slaughter at Moselle. \"Justice may have been served,\" Lasdun writes in the preface to \u003cem\u003eThe Family Man\u003c\/em\u003e, \"but the human element of the story didn't seem to add up.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving traveled extensively in the Lowcountry, Lasdun draws on original interviews (including with Murdaugh's notorious \"Cousin Eddie\"), transcripts of phone calls Murdaugh made from prison, the literature of criminal psychology, and the murder trial itself. Deeply researched, sharply written, and with the page-turning intensity of a Southern gothic novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Family Man\u003c\/em\u003e constructs a masterful portrait of Murdaugh and the mind-boggling crimes that wreaked havoc on his community.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781324075325, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/18\/2026 (EAN 9781324075325, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781324075325, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eLasdun, James\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJames Lasdun\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in London and lives in Brooklyn. His novels, memoir, poetry, and short story collections have won many awards, and his essays have appeared in the \n\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, the \n\u003cem\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e, and \n\u003cem\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e, among other publications.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496155775254,"sku":"9781324075325","price":38.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781324075325.jpg?v=1783054306","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-family-man-blood-and-betrayal-in-the-house-of-murdaugh","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}