The Unforgiven

by Edith Brady-Lunny and Steve Vogel

A True Story of Love, Justice, and Unimaginable Tragedy

“Save my babies! Oh my God!” Amanda Hamm’s screams echoed across Clinton Lake in rural Illinois. What began as a desperate cry for help would soon unravel into one of the most controversial criminal cases in Illinois history.

In the late summer of 2003, three young children drowned in the back seat of their mother’s car. Amanda Hamm and her boyfriend, Maurice LaGrone, survived. The question that tore through the heart of a community: Was it a tragic accident, or something far more sinister?

The Unforgiven: The Untold Story of One Woman’s Search for Love and Justice is a meticulously reported account by award-winning journalists Edith Brady-Lunny and Steve Vogel. Drawing on firsthand coverage and access to nearly every record in the case, the authors take readers inside the investigation, the courtroom drama, and the community’s struggle to make sense of the unthinkable.

Inside the book
- An anatomy of a case that divided family and friends, and traumatized an entire community.
- The seven interviews Amanda Hamm gave police—without legal counsel—during their intense investigation.
- The controversial outcomes of two separate murder trials, leaving lingering questions about justice and accountability.
- The far-reaching consequences, stretching from Clinton Lake to a Chicago courtroom more than a decade later, as the state’s child welfare system intervenes in Amanda’s life once again.

The Unforgiven is a true-life drama of an extraordinary, unspeakable event—told with insight and detail by two journalists who witnessed it unfold. This is a story that can never be undone or forgotten.

Buy the paperback at BookBaby

Buy the paperback, Kindle or audiobook at Amazon

Download audiobook at Tantor Media

Publisher

BookBaby

Available in

Paperback, Kindle and Audio

ISBN

978-1543962000

Published

May 3, 2019

Praise forThe Unforgiven

A remarkable tale of the tragic deaths of three children that forever changed a central Illinois community and raised deeply troubling questions about the criminal justice system.

Maurice Possley

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author

A harrowing journey into a tangled web of love, infidelity, suspicion, and tragedy.

Dave Kindred

award-winning columnist and author