Unforgiven: Face to Face with my Father’s Killer

'This is a shocking story told by a searingly honest writer ready to look her country - and herself - squarely in the eye. It offers no false cheer, but something far more valuable and compelling: the often painful truth.' JONATHAN FREEDLAND, Author, The Escape Artist 'A heart-wrenching and illuminating memoir of a daughter's quest for answers and the ever-elusive "closure"' KERRY DAYNES, Author, The Dark Side of the Mind and What Lies Buried A searing, intimate memoir tracing the author's attempt to find out the truth about her father's murder. Robin McGregor, an older man who has recently moved into a small town outside Cape Town, is brutally murdered in his home. Cecil Thomas is convicted for the crime, but his trial leaves more questions than answers. As much as his daughter Liz McGregor tries to move beyond her grief - she finds new work, she even discovers love - she still wants answers. What drove Thomas to torture and kill a complete stranger? The author meets the murderer's family and discovers that he comes from a loving, comfortable home. He is educated and skilled, there is no apparent reason for his descent into delinquency. After protracted obstruction from the prison authorities, she finally gets to confront him but not without putting herself in danger. She finds answers, but not the answers she is looking for. Unforgiven tells a story seldom told: what happens to a family when one of their own is murdered? In a country where, year upon year, tens of thousands of people lose a loved one to violence. Where restorative justice is preached but not practiced. Where prisons are universities of crime. What would it take to achieve redemption? For the victim, the perpetrator and the country?

About the Author :
LIZ MCGREGOR has written and edited several books including Load-shedding, At Risk, Touch Pause Engage, the Springbok Factory and Khabzela. She has worked as a journalist in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Seoul and London, including several years as deputy editor of the op-ed section of The Guardian. She currently lives in Cape Town and London.

Review :
This is a shocking story told by a searingly honest writer ready to look her country - and herself - squarely in the eye. It offers no false cheer, but something far more valuable and compelling: the often painful truth. Liz McGregor has always been a great journalist but only South Africa could have wrung out of her this single-minded account of the murder of her beloved father. The book is an indescribable duty, exquisitely done. Unforgiven is a deeply personal memoir, anchored in a specific place and time. Yet in its searing, unflinching honesty it transcends that place and time. An enthralling account of the journey by a daughter to meet with those convicted of her father's murder. Unforgiven is a heart-wrenching and illuminating memoir of a daughter's quest for answers and the ever-elusive 'closure'. Liz McGregor beautifully excavates both the too-frequently untold journey taken by a family after a brutal murder and the dehumanisation at the core of South Africa's social and justice systems.