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The Family Man

Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh
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The Family Man

By: James Lasdun
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

What drives a loving family man with everything to lose to become a killer?

In March of 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife Maggie and their younger son Paul at their home in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. The story became headline news around the world, with its outlandish 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.

James Lasdun explores the psychological puzzle at the heart of the story, which the murder trial failed to answer. Why did Alex Murdaugh murder his wife and son?

Featuring a cast of villains ranging from supposedly respectable lawyers to violent street gang members and a gothic setting in a small town in America's deep south, The Family Man is a gripping, immersive, twisting investigation of a murder that seems to defy explanation.

‘This story, with its wild human convulsions and its dense moral fibre, 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

© James Lasdun 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Criminal & Forensic Psychology Murder Psychology Psychology & Mental Health True Crime

Critic reviews

This story, with its wild human convulsions and its dense moral fibre, 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)
James Lasdun, one of our very best true crime documentarians, has written a riveting account of the notorious Alex Murdaugh murder trial. THE FAMILY MAN is a memorable examination of the making and enabling of a psychopath. Highly recommended. (Joyce Carol Oates)
A 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 Family Man 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 bestselling author of HORROR MOVIE and A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS)
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