Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty

Wall Street Journal reporter Valerie Bauerlein recounts the fall of the House of Murdaugh in tiny Hampton County, South Carolina, with depth and eloquence in “The Devil At His Elbow.” Although the media relentlessly covered the sordid Murdaugh saga during Alex’s trial in 2023 for his wife’s and son’s murder and subsequent trial in 2024 for his financial crimes, the author does an outstanding job of capturing the lengthy story in an eminently readable 414-page book.The book reads like a Grisham novel, and to this reader’s pleasant surprise, Bauerlein includes details that the news media did not widely report. Additionally, she provides a list of significant characters, photographs, a map of Southeastern South Carolina where the events took place, endnotes, and a detailed bibliography of sources.With “The Devil At His Elbow,” Bauerlein leavens this suspenseful tale of a dark heart gone off the rails with just the right amount of emotion to satisfy true crime and general narrative nonfiction readers alike. Holding her audience spellbound with the Alex Murdaugh investigation and subsequent courtroom drama as he faces trial for Maggie’s and Paul’s murder, the author also relates the history of the Murdaugh dynasty. In doing so, she provides sufficient context to explain how Alex Murdaugh could ascend to the pinnacle of the legal profession and then spectacularly flame out, ultimately causing the dynasty’s collapse.Bound up in corruption almost since its inception, Randolph Murdaugh’s election to the Hampton County solicitor’s seat in 1920, and extending through Alex Murdaugh’s pathological lying and stealing, the Murdaugh house of wealth, power, and status seems to have been built on shaky foundations. Although the Murdaughs successfully prosecuted many criminals in Hampton County, they appeared to tilt the scales of justice depending on the defendant's identity. If he were a relative, friend, or friend of a relative or friend, or if the price was right, the author reveals, justice was fungible. DUI charges, for instance, were routinely dropped or nolle prossed, resulting in “one of the lowest conviction rates for drunk driving in the state.”Appalling lack of regard for the rule of law is the best way to describe this family's approach to law enforcement. More awful, however, is the Hampton County community’s complicity in this conduct. Undoubtedly, the Murdaugh shadow loomed large over the community, and the fear of crossing the Murdaughs and paying the price was sufficient to deter those aware of the schemes and scams from speaking up.Insurance payouts resulting from lawsuits Alex brought on behalf of clients often ended up in his pocket. But his attempted cover-up of his son’s culpability in the fatal boat crash that claimed Mallory Beach’s life in 2021 was clearly the final straw. Alex’s famicide and then the staging of his own suicide in a desperate attempt to salvage the Murdaugh name and what remained of his empire are incomprehensible to most human beings. At this point in Bauerlein’s book, one has to suspend disbelief. The events of the ensuing trial, culminating with Alex taking the stand as he attempts to avoid accountability, are simply jaw-dropping.The prosecution, skillfully captured by Bauerlein through careful pacing as it unfolds over six weeks, leaves the reader incredulous. Were it not for the experienced and measured Honorable Clifton Newman presiding and a first-rate South Carolina state prosecution team led by Creighton Waters, Alex may have escaped justice.In summary, “The Devil at His Elbow” is a breathtaking account of arrogance and self-dealing run amok. Justice and the Murdaugh name would likely have remained synonymous in this tiny corner of South Carolina if not for courageous individuals such as Mark Tinsley, who decided "enough is enough" regarding Alex Murdaugh's illicit activities. Tinsley’s determination to give voice to Mallory Beach and her surviving family members, while suing Alex, combined with the State of South Carolina bringing its legal "A-game" to remove the Murdaugh stain from rural South Carolina, succeeded. It toppled the Murdaugh house of cards and ensured Alex would spend the rest of his life in prison.“The Devil at His Elbow” offers a thorough, fair, and balanced view of the Murdaughs' downfall. When contemplating heinous acts of injustice on this level, one is left to conclude that evil, in fact, walks among us. Alex Murdaugh, a veritable Frankenstein's monster beget from the Murdaugh family line, found a way to defraud, no, dehumanize even the most disadvantaged of Hampton County citizens. His predation seemingly knew no bounds as he found ever more creative ways to steal from the defenseless. But killing his own wife and son is depravity on another level altogether. Through Bauerlein’s excellent account, we witness a cipher, an empty shell of a man, devoid of conscience, and incapable of feeling or emotion. Sociopathic in the extreme, Alex Murdaugh viewed p...

Great read, I saw the Netflix series as well. Nicely written and well researched. To correct a prior readers review who mentioned that the series stated that the housekeeper fell on the back steps and stated that the author was incorrect is not true. The series showed the front steps and the book reflected this as well. In depth research and well written.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As neither a native South Carolinian nor a follower of the Alex Murdaugh saga, I was drawn to it for a simple reason: I wanted to understand a bit about my new home of Summerville, SC from January 2022 after having lived my whole life in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.While ‘Summerville’ was mentioned merely once in the book (and then, only in passing), I had made a few trips to Walterboro to buy furniture at Hamilton’s. Just down the street from there I saw a forlorn-looking building with a ‘Murdaugh Law’ sign out front. Our new home in the ‘lowcountry’ is prompting me to read what I can about the area.But back to this book. What a great job Val did to create a historical view of the people and the places described therein. Am I intrigued enough to take the one-hour drive from Summerville to see these places for myself? Absolutely!The work put in by Val to write ‘The Devil at His Elbow’ was worth my highest praise. I’m happy to have purchased this book.The photo was taken September 12, 2025 at Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport, Maine where we have a second home.

A solid piece of reporting and writing. Bonus points for using the word “frisson.” An excellent read — well worth the time.

Enjoyed the thoroughness of the research and the skilled, articulate story telling about one of the most recent falls from grace in Southern history. Valerie Bauerlein has skills honed by decades of reporting for the WSJ and tells this intricately branching series of episodes of a family in the Low Country of South Carolina.