Tangled Vines : Power, Privilege and the Murdaugh Family Murders

Title: Tangled Vines;  Power, Privilege and the Murdaugh Family Murders
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: August 8, 2023
Page Count: 310
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

In Tangled Vines, John Glatt does an excellent job of delving into the Murdaugh family dynamic, giving us behind-the-scene details of this Southern Gothic "crime family." It begins with a history of the past 110 years or so of the Murdaugh family; it's a bit hard to follow, given that almost every male of the past several generations had been named either Randolph or Buster. But once we finally get to the current generation, we have a good understanding of the tight network of judges, lawyers, and law enforcement that enabled the Murdaugh family's stranglehold on the judicial system in their part of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

 It's all a heady mix of murder, white-collar fraud, misappropriation of funds (almost $9 million dollars from personal injury clients), money laundering, forgery, drug manufacture and trafficking and more. It's hard to feel any kind of sympathy for the truly deplorable Murdaugh family. As one of Alex Murdaugh's victim said "I know Mr. Murdaugh as my attorney ... A very nice man and very cordial. I never had any issues and would communicate with him on a regular basis. Now here's the problem. He treated me that nice and he stole every dime I had from the injury I incurred." 

Perhaps because the scope of all the crimes is so huge, it's hard to get a sense of wife Maggie's personality, and sons Paul and Buster - other than spoiled sons of parents who encouraged and abetted their violent fits of anger, underage drinking, vehicular manslaughter (Paul's drunken boat accident that killed Mallory Beach), the mysterious death of Steven Smith, and the mysterious death of Gloria Satterfield. 

At four years old they cussed like sailors [...] and Maggie thought it was funny. [She] instilled in them from a very young age that they were better than anyone else because they were Mardaughts. The same rules didn't apply to you that apply to these other people. 'You're a Murdaugh! You're a Murdaugh.' 

As the book was, for the most part completed in late 2022 and early 2023, the advance-reading copy did not include trial updates and developments. It is my understanding that the final version does contain trial information. 

If you are looking for a great over-all examination of the Murdaugh family and their numerous crimes in the context of the Southern Lowcountry where they "ruled" for over a hundred years, you won't do better than Glatt's account. The book is a bit light on specific details on the actual murders of Paul and Maggie, and Paul's drunken boat accident is skimmed over, but then again there is so much crime, murder, corruption, fraud and the like that a true accounting could be almost endless. 4 stars.

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Nothing But the Night : Leopold & Loeb and the Truth Behind the Murder that Rocked 1920s America

Title: Nothing But the Night : Leopold & Loeb and the Truth Behind the Murder that Rocked 1920s America
Author: Greg King and Penny Wilson
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: September 20, 2022
Page Count: 352
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

My grandfather was fascinated by this case and after reading this new account, I can understand why the murder of Bobby Franks by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb on May 21, 1924 has remained in the public mind for almost 100 years. 

These two rich, very intelligent teenagers lived lives beyond most American's wildest dreams. Richard's father had made a fortune as vice president of Sears, Roebuck and the family had a vacation home on the shores of Lake Michigan; Richard was the youngest man ever to graduate from the University of Michigan at age 18. Nathan, the son of a millionaire, had also graduated at age 18, from the University of Chicago, with plans to enter Harvard Law school that fall.

Despite their obvious intelligence, their crime was quickly solved and the two confessed to murder. Their attorney, famed lawyer Clarence Darrow, pled them guilty, but NOT by reason of insanity. Darrow walked a very thin line between claiming that the two "boys" were not insane, but because of a number of factors - bad endocrine glands, too much money (an early version of the "affluenza" defense), bad parenting, Nietzsche, their homosexuality - they were the "real victims" in this horrendous crime. It spared them from hanging, and they were sentenced to life in prison. 

The authors deftly destroy the myth of Darrow's legendary closing argument. It was disjointed, rambling, wildly offensive and lasted three days. After the trial, Darrow borrowed the transcript so he could publish the argument, and streamlined the rambling, edited and revised and polished it into the "masterpiece" some claim it was. 

The authors also present solid information that it was Nathan, and not Richard, who killed Bobby Franks, and Nathan had the upper hand in their relationship. Unfortunately for Richard, who died in prison in 1930, history is written by the victors, and Nathan spent the next 30 years claiming that it was all Richard's fault. Richard was not innocent in the whole matter, but as the authors state: "Richard wanted a crime partner; what he got was a sociopath." 

Where this book really shines is in the details of the crime, the in-depth discussion of Leopold and Loeb's relationship and Darrow's attempt to save his clients from the death penalty. The last phrase of their lives - prison, Richard's death and Nathan's eventual parole - is quickly summarized in the final 10% of the book (the book essential ends at 71% and the rest is the bibliography and notes). Because of the careful and detailed analysis that goes before, this final stage appears rushed and more of a summary and personally I would have willingly read another 100 pages to bring the story to its conclusion! 4.5 stars. 

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A Taste for Poison : Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them

Title: A Taste for Poison : Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them
Author: Neil Bradbury
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: February 1, 2022
Page Count: 304
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Bradbury blends solid scientific details with violent murders by poison, and the result is a fascinating book.  Bradbury gives us detailed information about the history of a poison, explains how this poison works, and then ties it all together with a historic case using the poison, as well as a modern-day poisoning. 

I went into the book looking forward to the true-crime elements and was surprised to find myself actually understanding Bradbury's explanations of the nature of the poison and how it works to destroy human cells.  For example, here's his explanation of how cyanide kills:

"Once in the body, cyanide can stick to hemoglobin in red blood cells and hitch a ride, to be rapidly distributed by the blood. However, cyanide binds quite poorly to hemoglobin, and causes its devastating effects not by affecting the blood but by hopping off hemoglobin and entering the cells.  Once inside the cells of the body, cyanide disrupts their ability to generate the energy needed to live.  Located deep within each of our cells are mitochondria, small rod-shaped structures that act as tiny power plants to generate the chemical energy adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which keeps us alive."

Cyanide kills by stopping the production of ATP in the central nervous system, brain and heart. And don't get me started on how the heart's intricate system of sodium and potassium channels and pumps regulate the heart in 1/5th of a second and does so over 3 billion times in an average life span! He also explains how a substance can be used as a poison and alternately as an effective treatment. " .... such toxins are inherently neither good or evil; it is the purpose to which they are put that makes them poisons."

I found Bradbury's book absolutely fascinating and would highly recommend to anyone interested in true-crime, as well as someone (I'm raising my hand here) who enjoys learning more about the amazing human body and how all its intricate systems are designed to work together.  5 stars.

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Doomsday Mother: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and the End of an American Family

Title: The Doomsday Mother: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and the End of an American Family
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: January 18, 2022
Page Count: 304
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

If you thought, as I did, that you knew a great deal about this convoluted case involving the disappearance and murder of two children, the murder of two husbands and one wife, and the disturbing doomsday cult that drew Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell together, this revelatory book is a must-read.

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell's first meeting was like gasoline and fire, a perfect storm of religious fervor and the belief that they were destined to be together and deliver the select 144,000 after the apocalyptic end of the world in July of 2020.  Author John Glatt provides details I have not read elsewhere. He met and interviewed numerous people from both Lori and Chad's life (and he names names) as well as law enforcement officers. Also, his interviews with family members and family background provides a solid foundation for understanding just how Lori and Chad ended up believing their hybrid religious fantasy. 

The book is very enlightening and I appreciated Glatt's solid research and careful analysis of this case.  4.5 stars and I highly recommend this book.

I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Golden Boy : A Murder Among the Manhattan Elite

Title: Golden Boy
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: July 20, 2021
Page Count: 320
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Buckley, Deerfield, Princeton, Maidstone, East Hampton. Tommy Gilbert, Jr. had it all - model good looks, a great education, a loving family - and yet he is now serving 30 years to life for murdering his father by firing a bullet through his brain.

Tommy had been blessed with both hands, yet it was this very thing that prevented him getting any sort of real help.  As a few friends said:

Nobody thought this handsome, well-educated, privileged Princeton man was capable of violence [...] if Tommy looked like me, people would have thought he was an insane person fairly quickly.

I must admit that I really struggled with this book because while I feel that Tommy's mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia) was absolutely the major factor in the murder, time and again Tommy was given a second, third, fourth, ad nauseum chances at redemption solely because of his looks and his background.  

And in a sense, this is the same struggle that the court faced with this case. It took four years to bring the case to trial because of the difficulty in determining if Tommy was sane enough to stand trial. He refused to speak with medical personnel tasked with determining his mental state, he refused to take any medication, he refused to participate in his defense.  Yet he also carefully planned to murder his father - purchasing the Glock he used, sending his mother out of the townhouse on an errand, carefully walking away from the scene, etc. 

The author had access to Tommy's mother, Sheila Gilbert, and others close to him, including his attorney Arnold Levine. There's plenty here showing that Tommy's parents were in denial about his mental illness - "They appeared more concerned about their reputation than their son's highly dangerous mental state" -  and that their status and wealth had protected him in the past from consequences.  And Sheila strongly advocated for her son getting "as light a sentence as possible" while, IMHO, failing to advocate for her murdered husband. But again, this entire case is a horrific Sophie's choice that far too many families are dealing with every day. 

At times, the narrative dragged with far too many parties and events described in great detail, but overall Glatt clearly lays out a dilemma to which there is no clear answer. 4 stars. 

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

At Any Cost : A Father's Betrayal, a Wife's Murder, and a Ten-Year War for Justice

Title: At Any Cost
Author: Rebecca Rosenberg and Selim Algar
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Page Count: 304
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Please note that "At Any Cost" does not provide much in the way of an in-depth discussion of Rod Covlin and Shele Danishefsky or their respective backgrounds or personalities but rather focuses primarily on the long years it took to bring this case to trial and the subsequent courtroom drama. 

I mention this only because my initial perception of the book was that it was more of a "true crime" work and I had hoped to learn more about the respective personalities in this case. But, what the authors give us is an absolutely heartbreaking story of a woman murdered by her faithless ex-husband, who killed her to get her estate (valued at almost $6M) and the subsequent alienation (and essentially brainwashing) of their two young children. 

Because Rod Covlin is simply such a horrible person, I would have liked to learn more about his upbringing, his school friends, his relationship with his incredibly supportive parents, etc. Rod was incredibly lucky in that a seriously incompetent investigation by New York's "finest" compromised evidence, as well as no initial autopsy due to Shele's strong Jewish faith. And finally, the NYC DA wasn't terribly interested at first in bringing the case to trial. 

But despite this perfect storm of incompetence, the case was finally brought to trial, almost 10 years after Shele's murder, and where this work really shines is in detailing how the case was presented to the court, how the attorneys presented their case, and how all the circumstantial evidence was woven into a strong net to finally catch Rod Covlin. 

The heartbreaking remainder of this case is what has happened to Shele's beloved children, Anna and Myles, who were manipulated and gaslighted by Rod, and continue to believe in his innocence. The crime has been solved, but what lingers is still so sad and unsettled. 3.5 stars for "At Any Cost." 

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Trial by Fire

Title: Trial by Fire
Author: Scott James
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: October 27, 2020
Page Count: 320
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

I was only familiar with The Station nightclub fire in a very peripheral way.  But, from the very first page, author Scott James grabs your attention and brings home this tragedy hard.  He makes you understand the horror of the fire - the lives lost, the lives forever changed - in a very relatable way:

It takes ninety seconds to sing "The Star Spangled Banner." Human beings, on average, can hold their breath for up to ninety seconds. A typical person needs ninety seconds to read one page of this book. [...] in ninety seconds nearly everyone inside The Station nightclub was dead or dying. 

Rhode Island - at 37 x 48 miles in size - is the sort of place where everyone has only a few degrees of separation. Scott James, a New England native, knew several of the people involved in the fire, and many people later learned just how many friends and acquaintances were affected by the tragedy. For a country only 500+ days past the horror of 9/11, this tragedy opened fresh wounds and memories. 

The story is meticulously researched, but on the most basic level, James writes of gut-wrenching moments of heroism, cowardice, and courage; of death and loss and heartstopping pain.  I had a hard time reading parts of the book, first because of sorrow and then anger as the blame game starts. The owners are immediately vilified, the soundproofing foam ordered for use in the club was actually another - flammable - foam, Great White's lead singer Jack White acted despicably and in the end there was a resolution, but the devil is in the details.  

The author skillfully details the fire and its aftermath, as well as the personal loss, and I highly recommend this book. 5 stars for "Trial by Fire."

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Deadly American Beauty

Title: Deadly American Beauty
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: March 13, 2004
Page Count: 304
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

A true crime story of Kristin Rossum, a toxicologist with the San Diego ME's office, who murdered her husband Greg DeVillers with fentanyl, and then placed red rose petals on his bed,

Rossum had a lovely childhood and wanted to be a ballerina, but ended up addicted to meth, had an affair with her immediate boss in the toxicology department, lied to almost everyone she met, stole drugs from the ME's office and murdered her husband by drugging him with a massive dose of fentanyl and vainly attempted to cover up her crime.

 In comparing and contrasting John Glatt's Deadly American Beauty and Caitlin Rother's Poisoned Love, I would say Glatt's book is the clear winner. He gives a much clearer overview of the criminal case and the trial and provides more details about Greg's personality and family life. I found his writing interesting and engaging and liked how he had a good balance between providing the overview of the case, and well as providing smaller telling details. 4 stars.

The Perfect Father : The True Story of Chris Watts, His All-American Family, and a Shocking Murder

Title: The Perfect Father: The True Story of Chris Watts, His All-American Family, and a Shocking Murder
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: July 21, 2020
Page Count: 304
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

I was familiar with the Chris and Shanann Watts' murder case prior to reading John Glatt's book "The Perfect Father," and had read another book on the subject. I give Glatt top marks for pulling together all the information into a very readable, cohesive book that does an excellent job of presenting the case without a lot of editorializing.

Some people may have the impression of Shanann as a great mother with a boatload of less-than-desirable traits and qualities, but Glatt gives us a full range of perceptions from family, friends, coworkers and lets us draw our own conclusions. And he gives Chris the same treatment. He also offers up Nichol Kessinger's actions in a similar manner without making any judgment.

Written In Blood

Title: Written in Blood
Author: Diane Fanning
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: February 1, 2005
Page Count: 416
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Having just re-watched "The Staircase" on Netflix and done a bit of reading here and there on various forums about the Michael Peterson case, I was pleasantly surprised by all the additional information I learned from Diane Fanning's book about the Kathleen Peterson murder case.

Although Ms. Fanning is definitely very much on the side of the prosecution and very sympathetic to Kathleen's family, she presents a lot of details I have never read elsewhere. "The Staircase" focuses so much on the blood evidence and the blow poke to the exclusion of anything else. But Fanning gives us details about Michael Peterson's temper (it says somethng about character or lack thereof based on the horrible way he treats his dogs), his stealing and lying about his military service, how he forged documents to give himself the Ratliff estate, and the way he treated the Ratliff girls as cash cows.

I do believe Michael Peterson killed Kathleen, and left her to suffer a painful death. Fanning makes an interesting point that Peterson probably has Narcissistic personality disorder, which Wikipedia describes as a "personality disorder with a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy."

In rewatching "The Staircase," you can't help but see Peterson's disregard for anyone but himself. 4 stars.