“Always choose what is right, choose what’s brave and choose what’s difficult it will be worth it”
Review 5.0 out of 5.0
Pages: 261
To say I loved this book just doesn’t seem powerful enough, but I loved this book. I felt like I was right there with the author through everything. So beautifully written. Mandy Matney has a beautiful heart and it comes through every word she writes. When you read this book you will laugh, you will cry , you might even scream at times. But all the emotions will be worth it. We all know how most of the story ends , but that does not take away the fact when in the book they get the part where they finally have Alex Murdaugh and its a guilty verdict you don’t don’t throw a fist up in the air and yell at the top of your lungs “YES”. If you read one book this year I hope it is this book. I love that Mandy explains her mental struggles with the struggle for justice. Not just for Maggie and Paul but her on going struggle and perseverance in trying to get justice for Stephen Smith. I believe as long as Mandy breaths she will continue to fight for him and I will be cheering her on.
So what is this book about now that I have gotten all the feels out of the way.. its about Mandy of course and about how she realized there was a story about a man named Alex Murdaugh and his family and what she under covered became a national news story and she was there the first there at the beginning fighting. Mandy is a journalist so the story starts about her struggles as a journalist how she moved from paper to paper in order to write what she wanted. Its also a story about a girl named Mallory Beach.
Mallory Beach , was possibly the 2nd victim of the Murdaugh family. Mallory was friends with Paul Murdaugh and on February 24th, 2019 died in a boat crash. The boat was driven by Paul Murdaugh who was said to be drunk when he crashed the boat into a bridge throwing Mallory from the boat and leading to her death. This is where the story begins. Mandy realizes that the Murdaugh’s have some weird power over the legal system in the low country of South Carolina. Generations go back to being the being the solicitor of the 14th Judicial Court. So the rules appeared not to apply to Paul when it came to taking the blame for Mallory’s untimely death. During Mandy’s investigative reporting of Malloy’s death she uncovered a death connected to the Murdaugh’s that no one seemed to know about and that was the death of Gloria Satterfield, the housekeeper of the Murdaugh’s. Mandy discusses her anxiety while trying to uncover the truth in Malloy’s death and her expectation of justice being served.
While involved in Mallory’s story, the story of Stephen Smith comes about. Who killed Stephen and left him dead in the middle of a desolate road, and why does the Murdaugh name keep popping up. Through her compassion of others and her people skills she is able to get an interview with Stephen’s mother. His mother tells the heartbreaking story of her son’s death and how everyone seemed to have forgotten about him and could it be because the Murdaugh’s made that happen because maybe one of them in involved in his death. Mandy has grown close to Stephen’s mother and has advocated to get answers and because of her “pesky” personality ( I say that in a sweet endearing way ) they are finally on the way to possible get some answers. The South Caroline Crime Lab and Investigators have reopened the case to try and get Stephen some justice and so he can finally rest in peace like he deserves.
Now we come to the part I am sure we all know about, the brutal death of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh the wife and son of Alex. The book follows the trial and the ups and down of the trial. And Mandy is front and center for it all and she describes her journey through the trial of the year. How she has the attention of Alex’s legal team and how they find her “pesky”. How due to Alex and his families thought of being able to get away with murder she and her husband start a podcast that is #1 in the county. How this has brought her unwanted at times celebrity but how she is using it for good and trying to hold the Murdaugh clan accountable for all their actions and to get justice for those who have waited way too long.
If any of this or all of it and I hope all…peaks your interest I hope you will check out her book. I hope you enjoy it as much as me. But most of all I hope you join me in praying that Stephen Smith gets his justice and his mother and twin sister get answers to what happened.
As always thank you for your time.. your reading .. and your support.
Fight for what you believe in no matter what people think. Good will prevail!