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It’s 2024, and I already have a 5-star book to share with you!
I’m talking about “Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story” by Max Marshall.
Initially, I saw an article on Instagram regarding the crime this book is based on: a group of eight fraternity members from the College of Charleston for various drug charges, including intent to sell/distribute.
For whatever reason, I’ve always been a fan of drug-related stories and I’ve read dozens of drug and rehab memoirs.
So, this crime story immediately hooked me with the drug charges AND the fact that it was fraternity members, as I was in a sorority in college and serve as an alumni advisor for one now.
Once I knew I wanted to read this book, I checked the library and put my name on the list for it (this was in November; if you read my 2024 goals, I am not reading library books this year).
I read this book in three sittings; it was fast-paced, and the reporting was very detailed. I saw some reviews that said the author didn’t go into narrative enough or point out how wrong fraternity culture is (blatant racism, sexual assault allegations, etc.) but I appreciated that it was left to the reader to make those judgments.
Marshall, who is a reporter, was simply giving us the facts, and we can do with it what we will.
What I took from this book was one, an insider’s look at the investigations and trial surrounding this crime (and related charges), and two, a deeper view of fraternity culture and its related subcultures, such as Xanax and drug trends, white male supremacy, partying, hazing, and life in the South.
All of it intersects in a way that seems obvious to me but has never been presented in the way this book shows it.
I will say this book freaked me out in a strange way. It was a similar feeling I had after listening to the “Scamanda” podcast; HOW can people do this stuff?? It’s amazing what humans are capable of.
My final thought for this book is that I’ll be REALLY disappointed if it’s not optioned for a series because it’s so visual — there are millions of pills in this book (it opens with a person having just been shot, laying among thousands of white pills — and the juxtaposition of beautiful, lush Charleston and a seedy storage unit covered in pill powder?
It doesn’t get better than that.
So, I’ll leave you with my favorite quote from the book:
“While the officers smashed into his living room and approached the stairs, Ben grabbed a plastic sandwich bag of pills and took it up to the roof. Stepping into the 90 degree heat, he wound up and threw the Xanax bag into the sunshine, and only as the projectile left his hand did he realize he’d never sealed it. The plastic bag exploded in the air like a skeet, and before he went downstairs to get tackled and cuffed, he watched the GG249 pills rain back down onto the street.”
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The Bitter Lemon 
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