The Griekwastad Murders: The Crime that Shook South Africa

After dusk on April 6 2012, a Good Friday, in Griekwastad in the Northern Cape, a youth arrived at the local police station, covered in blood shouting: 'You must come. They've been shot. They are all dead.' So begins the strange and sinister story documented by Jacques Steenkamp. Don Steenkamp (no relation to the author) - a 15-year-old national tent-pegging champion, a scholar at Grey College in Bloemfontein and a regular churchgoer - said his parents and his sister had been shot during an invasion of their Naauwhoek farm while he was in the barn. Four months later, the evidence pointed to an even more disturbing possibility - the boy did it. A story unfolded of murder, deception and lies in an isolated town in a forlorn landscape. An unimaginable horror had managed to take root, culminating in the massacre of a wealthy and respected family. After the boy was granted bail, he stayed with friends, took part in national gymkhana tournaments, rode his dead sister's horse and maintained a cool, calm exterior. In court, the boy was assertive and confident, almost emotionless. He never stammered nor tripped over his words, even when the prosecution caught him in a lie. Northern Cape Judge President Frans Kgomo ruled that the boy had killed his entire family to cover up his sexual abuse of his sister. While the book makes for a compelling and frightening read, it does seem driven by the desire to be the first book on the shelves. - Lin Sampson