The Devil at His Elbow

“When Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood, he had the story of the Clutter slayings all to himself. With The Devil at His Elbow, Valerie Bauerlein has achieved something far more difficult journalistically: Despite wall-to-wall media coverage, she’s managed to produce the definitive account of the Murdaugh murders. Forget the podcasts, the TV specials, and the documentaries—this is the version of the story you’ll want to read. And once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down.”—John Carreyrou, Pulitzer Prize–winner and bestselling author of Bad Blood“It’s all here: the audacity and the deceit, the desperation and the calculation, a family’s unbelievable legacy of utter venality. Valerie Bauerlein’s blistering, unforgettable account of the Murdaugh saga leaves no stone unturned, helping us finally truly understand the man at the center of one of the century’s wildest crime stories.”—Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road and Lost Girls“With The Devil at His Elbow, Valerie Bauerlein delivers a riveting story that explores the abuse of power and the human heart of darkness. This is an electrifying, horrifying tale, expertly reported and written.”—Jonathan Eig, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning King: A Life“Sweeping in scope and brilliantly rendered … No one else could have approached the clarity and confidence with which Bauerlein writes.”—Bronwen Dickey, author of Pit Bull“A compulsively readable, deeply researched epic of deceit, murder, and unchecked power … a master class in crime journalism.”—Christopher Goffard, author of Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders“A haunting journey through time and across generations of Murdaugh men, probing the unresolved deaths that linger in the orbit of Alex Murdaugh’s power.”—Jennifer Berry Hawes, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Grace Will Lead Us Home“Brilliant … If Faulkner and Grisham had collaborated on a true crime story, Bauerlein’s masterpiece would be the result.”—William D. Cohan, author of Power Failure“A page-turner … Bauerlein offers fresh details that expose the dark heart of a psychopath.”—Kathleen Parker, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Save the Males“A memorable—and often chilling—account of tangled webs, addled minds, and the evil that men do … Bauerlein’s gracefully written, thoughtful treatment is by far the best… in the Murdaugh sweepstakes.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Valerie Bauerlein is a national reporter for The Wall Street Journal who writes about small-town America and Southern politics, economics, and culture. She has covered the South her entire career, including nineteen years at the Journal and four years at The State in Columbia, South Carolina. Ms. Bauerlein graduated from Duke University. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband and their two children.