10/23/2023
Murdaugh Murders podcaster Matney details her experiences covering South Carolina’s infamous Murdaugh family in this propulsive memoir cowritten with New York Magazine editor Murnick. In only her second journalism job, at South Carolina’s Island Packet, Matney was plunged into the Murdaugh story in the wake of Paul Murdaugh’s deadly 2019 boating accident. As she dug into the accident, Matney discovered hints of much deeper, longer-running transgressions, and spent years researching records and cultivating sources to piece together the links between Paul’s father, Alex Murdaugh, and a series of mysterious deaths and financial wrongdoings. Fighting overly cautious editors and online threats, Matney eventually broke from the Packet to tell the story in her podcast. When Paul and his mother were murdered in 2021, making national news, Matney’s reporting on Alex provided the public with crucial context before his 2023 conviction for the killings. Matney and Murnick smartly spread the focus around, giving more weight than readers might expect to Matney’s early reporting in order to establish the Murdaugh family’s m.o., and they write with the unshowy momentum of the best investigative reporting. The result is both an engrossing true crime saga and a galvanizing ode to boots-on-the-ground journalism. Agent: Meredith Miller, UTA. (Nov.)
"Matney is committed to justice in her writing, and her book is an important look at the sacrifices journalists make and the corruption they wade through in pursuit of the truth." — Booklist (starred review)
"[Matney and Murnick] write with the unshowy momentum of the best investigative reporting. The result is both an engrossing true crime saga and a galvanizing ode to boots-on-the-ground journalism." — Publishers Weekly
"[A] personable narrative filled with appealing local color . . . In a sea of Murdaugh-related media, this personal narrative stands out." — Kirkus Reviews
"Well written, full of breathless accounts of secret communications from locals . . . True-crime fans will savor this inside look." — Library Journal
“Beyond the true crime aspect, [Blood on Their Hands] is a compelling read for aspiring journalists . . . [Matney’s] writing is also a testament to dogged persistence . . . The memoir underscores the importance of local journalism in keeping our public systems accountable . . . [H]er narrative points the way for others who might want to challenge power structures and strike their own path in the pursuit of truth.” — Country Living
“Riveting . . . Part memoir, part true crime story, Blood on Their Hands is an up-close-and-personal narrative that will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Fans of Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, as well as Rebecca Makkai’s I Have Some Questions for You, take note.” — BookPage
"[A] terrific new page-turner . . . Matney was dogging this story from the beginning, raising questions about other deaths related to the powerful family. Nobody was in a better position to report on the murders when the occurred." — Atlanta Journal Constitution
11/01/2023
As the host of the Murdaugh Murders Podcast and an award-winning journalist, Matney fights daily to discover the truth, amid corrupt local officials and other hindrances. In this book, she focuses on the family of Alex Murdaugh, a former lawyer sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and one of his sons, Paul. The patriarch also plead guilty to 22 counts of federal fraud and money laundering. Matney doesn't try to make this the definitive story about the crimes; they made national headlines, so many readers already know the details. Instead, she takes readers through the obstacles she's encountered since 2019 in her reporting on the Murdaugh family, their alleged crimes, and the victims and their families; for example, Matney faced institutional sexism and death threats. Her book is well written, full of breathless accounts of secret communications from locals as she and fellow journalist Liz unravel how Paul Murdaugh got off easy for a fatal boating accident. They also reveal more details surrounding the murder of Alex's son and wife. Like her podcast, Matney is blunt in her views. VERDICT True-crime fans will savor this inside look.—Harry Charles
2023-09-28
A journalist’s memoir of covering the infamous Murdaugh family murders in South Carolina.
Writing with Murnick, Matney chronicles how she was a young, hardworking journalist when she moved to the Hilton Head area to work at a small publication called the Island Packet. “I wanted to be a real investigative reporter who had the time and resources to dig into a story and produce work that made a difference,” she writes. Instead, her employer prioritized reporting that would “generate a lot of clicks,” which, in the coastal Southeast, meant stories about sharks, alligators, and hurricanes. Nearly three years into Matney’s tenure at the Packet, she received a tip about a boat crash involving a driver “from a family of powerful lawyers.” The driver turned out to be Paul Murdaugh, whose “daddy had everyone in law enforcement in his pocket.” The boat crash killed one of the teenagers on board; two years later, Paul would also be dead, murdered alongside his mother at the wealthy family’s hunting lodge. In a personable narrative filled with appealing local color, Matney explains how, as she dug deeper into the Murdaugh family history, she became increasingly invested in the outcome of the boat crash case, particularly when her reporting led her to understand just how above the law the family was in the region. She was particularly moved by the story of another murder allegedly associated with the Murdaughs—that of Stephen Smith, a gay nursing student who was found dead on a roadside in 2015. The author takes us from her departure from the Packet to FITSnews, through the launch of her hit podcast, the Murdaugh Murders. She is clear about the toll the work takes on her mental health, noting how “the Murdaughs’ depravity and unhinged online trolls had permeated my every moment.”
In a sea of Murdaugh-related media, this personal narrative stands out.
