A Devil Went Down to Georgia
details the murder of Black socialite Lita McClinton Sullivan, who was gunned down in broad daylight in Atlanta in 1987.

Deb first covered the story for Atlanta magazine and returns to it in what
Oprah Daily calls one of the
“best true crime books of all time.”

#1 - A Devil Went Down to Georgia

〰️

#1 - A Devil Went Down to Georgia 〰️

“With a journalist's eye, a novelist’s vivid evocation of character, and some chilling interviews with the recently released hitman, Landau brings Lita to life on the page—and calls the people and forces responsible for her death to account.”

  • ★ STARRED REVIEW: “A highly readable account of murder and systemic racism. This title is a compelling example of how to take stories that made headlines and find the deeper, more nuanced narrative strains that rarely come across in the media.”

    Library journal

  • “Journalist Landau probes the killing of Atlanta socialite Lita McClinton in her riveting debut… Displaying a veteran’s knack for pacing, Landau peppers the narrative with cliff-hangers and vertigo-inducing twists. It adds up to a chilling and infuriating work of true crime.”

    Publisher's Weekly

  • “A Devil Went Down to Georgia is a page-turning true crime saga about a calculating white millionaire, the vibrant Black wife he murdered and her family’s long pursuit of justice.”

    BookPage

  • “Some books make you reflect and think about the past. Some make you contemplate the future. A Devil Went Down to Georgia does both and keeps you totally spellbound in the process. In it, the story of Lita McClinton finally receives the light of transparency that it so rightfully deserves. Miller Landau unmasks the complicated role race plays in a heartbreaking case that involves love, family, and deception.”

    — The Honorable Winfield Ward Murray, Professor of Race & Law at Morehouse College and federal immigration judge

  • “This is an important story of race and justice and of a crime still very much unresolved. As a Southerner, I know just how vital-and how delicate-this work can be. Through impeccable research and vibrant writing, Miller Landau has told a story that is both riveting and respectful.”

    — Brooke Baldwin, former CNN anchor and bestselling author of Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power

  • “Deb Miller Landau writes with compassionate eloquence about the murder of Lita Sullivan, one of the most haunting and horrific murders in the history of Atlanta. You’re there with her on the harrowing morning when she meets the hitman in a deserted parking lot, and then as she takes you deep into the winding investigative odyssey that eventually resulted in the conviction of Lita’s husband. This is a deeply researched, smartly written book.”

    — Scott Freeman, Editor-in-chief, Atlanta magazine

  • “Deb Miller Landau’s heartbreaking true crime tale of murder and greed is a meticulously researched portrayal of an accomplished young Black woman’s extraordinary life and cruel death... Landau exposes the legacy of racial inequity in a criminal justice system that took 20 years to take down the victim’s brazen, psychopathic killer. In the end, Lita McClinton’s life mattered.”

    — Deborah Holt Larkin, author of A Lovely Girl: The Tragedy of Olga Duncan and the Trial of One of California’s Most Notorious Killers

Featured on
ABC News 20/20
“A Puzzling Murder”

Now streaming on Hulu