Preview
  • Swamp Kings

  • The Story of the Murdaugh Family of South Carolina & a Century of Backwoods Power
  • By: Jason Ryan
  • Narrated by: Joe Hempel
  • Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (67 ratings)

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Swamp Kings

By: Jason Ryan
Narrated by: Joe Hempel
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Publisher's summary

The stranger-than-fiction story of the now-notorious low country clan, in all its Southern Gothic intensity—by an author with unparalleled access to and knowledge of the players, the history, and the place.

The most famous man in South Carolina lives jailed in the state capital. He stands accused of a staggering amount of wrongdoing—ninety-nine crimes and counting. Once a high-flying, smooth-talking, pedigreed Southern lawyer, Alex Murdaugh is now disbarred and disgraced. For more than a decade, prosecutors claim, Alex was secretly a fraud, a thief, a drug dealer and an all-around phony. On the night of June 7, 2021, they claim, he also became a killer.

The many alleged crimes of Alex Murdaugh, revealed piecemeal over the last two years, have appalled the general public. Yet his implosion—the spectacular manner in which he has turned his vaunted family name to mud—has also proved mesmerizing. With every revelation, Murdaugh is further shown to be a man without bottom. Every new disclosure eclipses and redefines what’s already known, making this a gothic crime story for the ages.

Yet even more remarkable is the fact that none of this bad behavior is unprecedented. In Swamp Kings, Jason Ryan reveals it is only the tip of the iceberg, and that when it comes to this family, history has a way of repeating itself. For every alleged, headline-grabbing crime associated with Alex Murdaugh, mirror-image incidents have played out within his family’s past, including parallel instances of fraud, theft, trafficking, calamitous late-night boat crashes, and even murder.

Spanning a century of misdeeds and set amongst the swamps, pines, and poverty, Swamp Kings weaves together the jaw-dropping narratives of generations of Murdaughs, culminating in the trial that transfixed the nation and shining a bright light on the swamp kings of Hampton County—and their numerous victims—at last.

©2024 Jason Ryan (P)2024 Spotify Audiobooks
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What listeners say about Swamp Kings

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A long legacy of a crocked family.

I liked the whole story from the start of the family to now. This helps knowing where they all came from and how they were raised. I didnt like the strong emphasis on the dislike of hunting and guns. I can tell the author doesn't like guns or hunting. That's fine each man enjoys different things and it's definitely not a bad comment about the author. He wrote a great book and his details were very eye opening. I really commend this author for his dedication to research and interviews he has done. I have sent this to all of my family to listen/read for themselves. I have read many of new books about the murdaugh family and this one was the best.. Thank you.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

OMG!

I've lived my entire life in the Lowcountry, and even I was saying, oh my gosh, I can't believe he included That!

ALL the dirt is out on the table.

my only complaint about the performance was the mispronouncing of certain names...Edisto, Combahee and McCloskey.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Context!!

For those like me who followed the Alex Murdaugh trial, this excellent book offers context. Context to help explain the Murdaugh mindset. A mindset and sense of entitlement perpetuated for generations. Highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best Book Yet on the Murdaugh Murders


Although hardly a new literary device, author Jason Ryan's practice of going back and forth in time to tell the story of the powerful Murdaugh Family's history and present day crimes is very effective. Unlike some other works that portrayed the family as powerhouses but generally for good, this book lays the foundation for Alec Murdaugh's behavior as almost the inevitable next step in his family's evolution, albeit a horribly brutal one.

I learned more about the Murdaugh family than I cared to, but that is okay. The author was thorough and his research shows. I am happy to recommend this book to true crime fans, people interested in dynastic families and those with a desire to learn more about what life was like in the Low Country of South Carolina.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Stranger than fiction

If this wasn't a true story, you wouldn't believe it. This book peers into a slice of life in a small, low-country community that is so outlandish, so beyond "normal," so surreal that you would criticize a fiction author for laying it on too thick, were this a work of fiction. The most shocking part of the book's narrative is that it is non-fiction. The story's non-linear timeline is sometimes tedious. The author dives into several generations of the Murdaugh family in order to set the table for the final scene, which is smart and makes for a satisfying end. However, the story is not always easy to follow when it skips around while describing a multitude of characters spanning the last 100 years or so. I found myself constantly asking "who is the narrator talking about," and "when did this happen?" Also, some of the narrator's voices were a little hokey. Overall, it was an entertaining book and well worth a listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A tale of multigenerational privilege and corruption culminating in exposure

This account tracks in detail the accomplishments and predations of the men of the Murdaugh family, who for 100 years held sway in the Low Country of South Carolina as powerful and accomplished prosecutors and plaintiffs’ attorneys. Sometimes the details can become a bit overwhelming, leading to temporary confusion about the exact timeline. Also, the family’s prediction for certain names and nicknames, particularly Randolph and Buster, occasionally left this listener puzzled as to who was being discussed.

However, the excellent performance and the dramatic way in which the themes are clarified balance out these flaws.

This is a book for afficianados of the crimes of Alec Murdaugh who want to know more about the legacy that produced a man of such confident corruption and power, a true example of truth eclipsing fiction.

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Amazing research spanning many decades

Most of us know some, or a lot, about the Murdaugh story. What amazed me was the corruption of the family that went back at least four generations.
Completely engrossing, I learned so much about the family’s entitlement. I highly recommend this book.

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SC murder

I loved all the detail and the historical detail. Rounded out all the episodes of dateline and other crime dramas and podcasts to fill in blanks.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lacking

No info about the trial(s) at all. I enjoyed the background information but the end needed to be more robust.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Mesmerizing....BUT

There were more than a few digressions into social commentary and unrelated matters that dangerously skirted the precipice of a politically correct scold. It seemed like the author wanted to blame the area, the people and the history for the acts of a singular monster. Almost one of those anti-southern tropes modern journalists and authors, inflict upon the reader to demonstrate how "enlightened" they are. But that said, I thought it was extremely well researched, and, well the Gothic evil of it all renders the tale completely gripping. Ignore the virtue signaling and just be amazed by narcissism, greed, wickedness and corruption run amok. The curse of money and vanity.

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