The Family Man

Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh

By: James Lasdun

Narrated by: Matt Godfrey

An immersive account of a seemingly loving father’s transformation into a "family annihilator."

In 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 The New Yorker, 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.

Having 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 intensity of a Southern gothic novel, The Family Man constructs a masterful portrait of Murdaugh and the mind-boggling crimes that wreaked havoc on his community.

©2026 James Lasdun (P)2026 Dreamscape Media

Hearing a new version of this stoty

I could not find anything to dislike about this Audible book it was excellent and enjoyed the narrative

Excellent retelling of Alex Murdaugh, a wolf in sheep’s clothing

The author maintains his neutral position, attempting to answer the unimaginable : could Alex Murdaugh
Really kill his wife and son?

An interesting listen

This is a very interesting listen. My only criticism is the pronunciation of Alex. It sounds to me like the the narrator is is pronouncing Alex as El-lic.

Insight

I felt I had exhausted this subject and the author brought more insight and a variation on motive that resonated.

Unable to understand all of it

Puzzling. No compelling to annihilate his wife and son. But he had something to do with it