A review by jonjas
The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty by Valerie Bauerlein

5.0

Audiobook-

Seriously gripping, “In Cold Blood” for the modern age, unfortunately. Greed- greed kills. Ego kills. Legacy kills.

Alex is just such a scary nightmare of a human being- he’ll make you feel good, will seem confident and in control- and it’s all a weird game to him. Whatever Alex wants, that’s the end goal.

He’s an overgrown child, is the impression I get. His social skills and cunning are superb, but his basic morality- there isn’t any. It’s all self-serving short-term thinking, like he’s never faced consequences or been told no. Like he can’t be embarrassed, can’t lose, those just aren’t things that have happened, for him. He grew up a large fish in a small pond, and somehow unconsciously realized how much power that gave him.

The Capri Sun angle kinda encapsulates what I mean- he sipped a fuckin kid’s drink before offing his wife and son? Seriously? It’s like a comfort food for him, I suppose, but the fact that it’s just a known thing he loves capri suns, and no one in the office gave him shit for it- it’s weird, man. This family’s whole privileged existence is just weird, it shouldn’t exist. And it was shocking how easily a lawyer steals from clients, like wtf? This system broken. Book ain’t though, 5 stars.