The Unforgiven

The Untold Story of One Woman's Search for Love and Justice

By: Edith Brady-Lunny, Steve Vogel

Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright

It's a case reminiscent of the explosive story of Susan Smith, convicted in the drownings of her two young sons in South Carolina. But in The Unforgiven, three young children are in the back seat of a car driven by Amanda Hamm's boyfriend as it slips into an Illinois lake. Amanda and her boyfriend survive. Her three children do not.

The question of whether it was a horrible accident or a murderous plot divided family and friends and traumatized the entire community. The brief but intense police investigation included seven interviews Hamm voluntarily gave police without the benefit of counsel. The outcome remains controversial to this day and comes full circle with state child welfare workers' concern about children born to Hamm since the fateful day at Clinton Lake.

The Unforgiven coauthor and journalist Edith Brady-Lunny covered the case from start-to-finish, beginning the night of the drownings. Her coauthor Steve Vogel lives nearby. His Reasonable Doubt, considered a true crime classic, was a New York Times bestseller. Together, they have extensive first-hand knowledge of the case and access to nearly every record related to the court proceedings.

©2019 Edith Brady-Lunny and Steve Vogel (P)2019 Tantor

Heart Breaking!

The story itself was good. it was heartbreaking, I don't understand how a mother could even let this happen. However ,the narrator in the story made it very difficult to get through the book. I almost turned it off two or three times. if you can get past the very monotone almost AI sounding voice it's not a bad listen

Was Justice Served?

I love true crime and this book did not disappoint. In fact, those who saw me listening while I walked through my town certainly heard me GASP on more than one occasion.

Innocent victims, shock that divided a small town, intrigue, the search for justice (and its possible miscarriage), racial tensions -- it's all here. The Unforgiven tells the story of Amanda Hamm and her three young children. One night Hamm's boyfriend, Maurice LaGrone Jr., drove the group to a lake near home. As the five got ready to depart, instead of putting the car in reverse, LaGrone drove the car into the lake, where the children drowned. Was it a horrible accident or premeditated murder???

Authors Edith Brady-Lunny and Steve Vogel are former journalists who sifted through countless interviews and trial transcripts to put together a vivid, but factual telling of Hamm's story. The narrative is captivating and the heartbreak is real.

Give this a listen!

,tense

I enjoyed this book so much! the detail was Very good. the narrator did a marvelous job