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Without Honour: The True Story of the Shafia Family and the Kingston Canal Murders
Four bodies in the water. A father, mother and son convicted of murder. The shocking truth about the “ honourless crime” that stunned a nation.
On the morning of June 30, 2009, police in a small eastern Ontario city made a ghastly discovery: four females dead in a car submerged in a shallow canal. Sisters Zainab Shafia, 19, Sahar Shafia, 17, Geeti Shafia, 13, and Rona Mohammad Amir, 50, floated serenely inside the car, seemingly the victims of a terrible accident. That morning, Mohammad Shafia, his wife Tooba and their son, Hamed, arrived at the Kingston police station to report the four missing. In a sweeping covert investigation that spanned three continents, police uncovered layers of lies in the Shafias’ story and they developed a horrifying theory: Zainab, Sahar, Geeti and Rona had been the victims of a meticulously plotted family murder � Canada’ s first mass honour killing.
In Without Honour, award-winning journalist Rob Tripp draws on three years of exhaustive research and exclusive interviews to make sense of a senseless crime in a way no other writer could. His unprecedented access tells a story beyond anything the jury heard: a story about a patriarch who fled war and strife in Afghanistan but who did not leave behind his devotion to repressive tradition. Tripp was the first journalist on the scene as the news broke and the only reporter to attend every day of court sessions, through to the convictions of Shafia, Tooba and Hamed on four counts each of first-degree murder, fuelled by what Ontario Superior Court Judge Robert Maranger called a “ twisted notion of honour.” In this gripping and compassionate account, Tripp reveals the heartbreaking and stunning truth about the desperate lives of four women who died in the pursuit of freedom.
On the morning of June 30, 2009, police in a small eastern Ontario city made a ghastly discovery: four females dead in a car submerged in a shallow canal. Sisters Zainab Shafia, 19, Sahar Shafia, 17, Geeti Shafia, 13, and Rona Mohammad Amir, 50, floated serenely inside the car, seemingly the victims of a terrible accident. That morning, Mohammad Shafia, his wife Tooba and their son, Hamed, arrived at the Kingston police station to report the four missing. In a sweeping covert investigation that spanned three continents, police uncovered layers of lies in the Shafias’ story and they developed a horrifying theory: Zainab, Sahar, Geeti and Rona had been the victims of a meticulously plotted family murder � Canada’ s first mass honour killing.
In Without Honour, award-winning journalist Rob Tripp draws on three years of exhaustive research and exclusive interviews to make sense of a senseless crime in a way no other writer could. His unprecedented access tells a story beyond anything the jury heard: a story about a patriarch who fled war and strife in Afghanistan but who did not leave behind his devotion to repressive tradition. Tripp was the first journalist on the scene as the news broke and the only reporter to attend every day of court sessions, through to the convictions of Shafia, Tooba and Hamed on four counts each of first-degree murder, fuelled by what Ontario Superior Court Judge Robert Maranger called a “ twisted notion of honour.” In this gripping and compassionate account, Tripp reveals the heartbreaking and stunning truth about the desperate lives of four women who died in the pursuit of freedom.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
9 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Rob Tripp
1 book8 followersI've been writing about rapists, murderers and thieves for more than 25 years. For most of that time, I was based in Kingston, Ontario, the penitentiary capital of Canada, home to seven federal prisons. I've written for many newspapers, including the Toronto Star, National Post, Montreal Gazette and the Kingston Whig-Standard, Canada's oldest continuously published daily newspaper. I've won a few awards along the way, including Canada's most coveted prize in daily newspaper journalism, a National Newspaper Award (and have five additional nominations.) My book on the Shafia family murders, Without Honour, was long-listed for the Taylor Prize for literary non-fiction. In January 2011, I left the Whig-Standard to work as a full-time, freelance investigative crime writer. I now live in Calgary, Alberta with my family.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 10, 2014
This is an extremely sad account of the murder on June 30, 2009 of three sisters (Zainab, age 19; Sahar, age 17; and Geeti, age 13) by their father,mother and brother. Also murdered was Rona Amir, the first wife of Mohammad Shafia, (father to the murdered children).
The Shafia’s were originally from Afghanistan. They lived for a time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the children attended school. This was very regimented, with uniforms (like wearing of hijabs by girls) and sex segregation. The family immigrated to Montreal, Canada in 2007. Mohammad Shafia successfully concealed from Canadian immigration authorities that he had two wives – Rona Amir being the first one, was referred to as a cousin. The children were all biologically from his second wife, Tooba.
School in Montreal was entirely different from Dubai. There was fraternization between the sexes and the daughters of Mohammad Shafia were at “that age” – teenage girls meeting for the first time teenage boys. Both Zainab and Sahar started to have flirtations – which they desperately attempted to hide from their parents. But the father found out and berated his daughters. He forbade them to have any contact and tried to prevent them from leaving the house except for school. The girls found ways around this – or simply disobeyed. They faced more and more psychological and physical abuse from their father, mother and elder brother, who was actually younger than Zainab. School teachers, counsellors and juvenile aid agencies became involved in the growing tensions. Zainab stayed at a women’s shelter for over a month. Shortly after she returned home the family went on a trip to Niagara Falls, Ontario. On returning the four victims were drowned when their car was pushed, at 2 AM, into a canal that is part of the St. Lawrence Seaway system near Kingston, Ontario.
This was followed by an intense police investigation during which it was found out that father and son had visited the crime scene location before. During police interviews and the subsequent trial - father, mother and son lied and obfuscated constantly. They were all given life sentences without the possibility of parole for twenty-five years.
This is astounding book on a horrendous crime. We are provided with details of the crime scene, the cars vehicles involved (which proved that the family members had to be involved), and the build-up to the arrests. We are also given the background of how the Shafia family coped upon arrival in Canada – particularly the children – from their teachers, counsellors, and their boyfriends.
It raises the question of immigration – and more importantly Western liberal values. Mohammad Shafia attempts’, at total control of his daughters’ lives, is repugnant. As the Supreme Court Judge Robert Maranger said at the trials end:
Page 344 my book
“four completely innocent victims offended your twisted notion of honour, a notion of honour that is founded upon the domination and control of women, a sick notion of honour that has no place in any civilized society.”
Did this man, Mohammad Shafia, not realize that as your children grow older you have to let go? Did he not realize that he was in a different country and should adapt? The vast majority of immigrants do. The books climax is when a relative of Mohammad Shafia testified against him at the trial. He knew what this family was capable of.
Page 346
The feeling had gnawed at Jake since the catastrophic outcome of his peck on Sahar’s cheek in the corridor of St. Ex [school] in the fall of 2007. He had not forgotten the sight of the sad girl standing in the hall, tears trickling down her cheeks, as she explained that her dad got really mad and slapped her. [her younger sister saw the peck on the cheek and told her father]
It was just one harmless kiss.
She had never said that she was afraid of her father, but he believed that she was. If he’d slap her over a kiss in the cheek, what would be his reaction if he caught her doing something really bad? Jake has mostly stayed away from Sahar after that.
The Shafia’s were originally from Afghanistan. They lived for a time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the children attended school. This was very regimented, with uniforms (like wearing of hijabs by girls) and sex segregation. The family immigrated to Montreal, Canada in 2007. Mohammad Shafia successfully concealed from Canadian immigration authorities that he had two wives – Rona Amir being the first one, was referred to as a cousin. The children were all biologically from his second wife, Tooba.
School in Montreal was entirely different from Dubai. There was fraternization between the sexes and the daughters of Mohammad Shafia were at “that age” – teenage girls meeting for the first time teenage boys. Both Zainab and Sahar started to have flirtations – which they desperately attempted to hide from their parents. But the father found out and berated his daughters. He forbade them to have any contact and tried to prevent them from leaving the house except for school. The girls found ways around this – or simply disobeyed. They faced more and more psychological and physical abuse from their father, mother and elder brother, who was actually younger than Zainab. School teachers, counsellors and juvenile aid agencies became involved in the growing tensions. Zainab stayed at a women’s shelter for over a month. Shortly after she returned home the family went on a trip to Niagara Falls, Ontario. On returning the four victims were drowned when their car was pushed, at 2 AM, into a canal that is part of the St. Lawrence Seaway system near Kingston, Ontario.
This was followed by an intense police investigation during which it was found out that father and son had visited the crime scene location before. During police interviews and the subsequent trial - father, mother and son lied and obfuscated constantly. They were all given life sentences without the possibility of parole for twenty-five years.
This is astounding book on a horrendous crime. We are provided with details of the crime scene, the cars vehicles involved (which proved that the family members had to be involved), and the build-up to the arrests. We are also given the background of how the Shafia family coped upon arrival in Canada – particularly the children – from their teachers, counsellors, and their boyfriends.
It raises the question of immigration – and more importantly Western liberal values. Mohammad Shafia attempts’, at total control of his daughters’ lives, is repugnant. As the Supreme Court Judge Robert Maranger said at the trials end:
Page 344 my book
“four completely innocent victims offended your twisted notion of honour, a notion of honour that is founded upon the domination and control of women, a sick notion of honour that has no place in any civilized society.”
Did this man, Mohammad Shafia, not realize that as your children grow older you have to let go? Did he not realize that he was in a different country and should adapt? The vast majority of immigrants do. The books climax is when a relative of Mohammad Shafia testified against him at the trial. He knew what this family was capable of.
Page 346
The feeling had gnawed at Jake since the catastrophic outcome of his peck on Sahar’s cheek in the corridor of St. Ex [school] in the fall of 2007. He had not forgotten the sight of the sad girl standing in the hall, tears trickling down her cheeks, as she explained that her dad got really mad and slapped her. [her younger sister saw the peck on the cheek and told her father]
It was just one harmless kiss.
She had never said that she was afraid of her father, but he believed that she was. If he’d slap her over a kiss in the cheek, what would be his reaction if he caught her doing something really bad? Jake has mostly stayed away from Sahar after that.
June 11, 2017
I passed by this book on the library bookshelf on four different trips before I decided to read it. I have a limit to how much horror I can handle.
But as a Canadian who has heard of attempts to bring Sharia law into the educational and legal system in Canada, I wanted to see how the legal system handled the matter of honor killing.
The book revealed to me a legal system determined to prosecute any form of honor killing.
Unfortunately, the legal system greatly failed the family, first by allowing the family to immigrate as a polygamous family. If the identification and applications had been checked more thoroughly, it would have been revealed that this man had two wives, one of whom he tried to identify as a cousin. This still does happen, however; in arranged marriages, cousins (including first and second cousins) often do marry. So possibly a wife can also be a cousin. But the marriage licence should still be the deciding factor in determining whether to allow a family to immigrate to Canada. In this case, the first wife was not a cousin.
Second, the educational/child protection/legal services failed these children. I don't think that most Canadian schools would allow students to be taken out of school for weeks at a time because the father was punishing the daughters for socializing with boys or for the way that they dressed. Our children needed notes for every absence and doctor's notes for prolonged absences. I also do not think that most schools would allow brothers to follow and harass and spy on their sisters in the school building. The children told their teachers of the father's abuse but the situation was not taken seriously.
What these agencies need to realize is that, after a person complains of abuse, she must be immediately removed from the abuser. The girls recanted their testimony because of fear of what would happen when they returned home. In the same way, the first wife had her passport and identification hidden by her husband. She did not have the permanent resident status that her husband had "bought" for their family with a $400,000 deposit to the Quebec government because she was not identified as a legal wife. Instead she had a temporary visa and would have been deported to Afghanistan. Going to the police for protection was not an option. She told friends and family of her fears but unfortunately people did not believe that Shafia would dare to commit murder in Canada where the laws are so different.
The legal system also failed Canadians. The cost of this investigation and trial was huge and taxpayers footed the bill for an expense that would not have happened if immigration applications had been thoroughly checked.
Now 3 illegal immigrants are in jail for 25 years at taxpayers' expense. When they are paroled, they will be deported, again at taxpayer's expense.
However, as a Canadian, I think that these millions of dollars must be spent in order to send a message to future immigrants that Canada is not a place where honor killing can occur. If the 3 Shafias were deported right now, future applicants might think that they can also live according to their laws and customs with little consequence.
If they do not accept that students will not be segregated by gender and that children have freedom to leave home at 18, then they should not come to Canada.
However, current Canadian laws seem to make it difficult for these girls to escape from oppressive families because they can be coerced into a legal arranged marriage at 16 but cannot leave home legally until 18 (unless they go through a legal procedure of emancipation and prove that they have financial resources, an almost impossible situation for these children, who would not be allowed to have a job or would be forced to hand over all their earnings to their father). Yes, they can flee to a women's shelter at the age of 18, but it is the years between 16 and 18 in which these girls really need protection. Refusing to accept an arranged marriage at the age of 16 can have disastrous consequences; so can accepting this marriage.
These girls need special protection or the laws need to be changed to make marriage legal only at 18.
Why can someone not vote or drink alcohol or sign a contract or have a driver's licence with full rights at 16, but be allowed to marry at 16? This law is obsolete. 60 years ago, one of my relatives in a small farm community in Canada (third generation immigrant from Europe) was married at the age of 14 and had a baby at 15. 40 years ago, one of my professional friends returned from a trip to India married to a woman whom he had never met. I left home at 17 and have fully supported myself every day of my life. My brothers left at 16 and younger. But it is rare today for people of this age to be self-supporting at 16, so why can they be married at 16 when marriage requires the couple to be self-supporting. If they are not mature enough emotionally at 16 to make decisions about alcohol or driving, why are they considered emotionally mature enough to make a lifelong decision with consequences for themselves and their children... this is called "babies having babies". If you cannot sign a contract until 18 or have a loan, why can you sign a marriage contract at 16??????
This was the biggest revelation to me in this book. We must change the minimum age of marriage to 18 to protect these women and also young women in polygamous cults in Canada who are forced into early marriages and any other women in similar situations.
I hope that Canadian immigration authorities are now researching applications more carefully.
I hope that lawmakers and educators find a way to protect these young women.
I am hopeful that changes will be made... at one time in Canada, women were legally chattels of their husbands; they could not vote; they were not considered "persons" so they could not hold a Senate seat; they could not borrow money; they could not have medical treatment without their husband's signature, etc... And changes were made to these laws.
This is simply another change in a law that will improve conditions for Canadian women... and their families.
But as a Canadian who has heard of attempts to bring Sharia law into the educational and legal system in Canada, I wanted to see how the legal system handled the matter of honor killing.
The book revealed to me a legal system determined to prosecute any form of honor killing.
Unfortunately, the legal system greatly failed the family, first by allowing the family to immigrate as a polygamous family. If the identification and applications had been checked more thoroughly, it would have been revealed that this man had two wives, one of whom he tried to identify as a cousin. This still does happen, however; in arranged marriages, cousins (including first and second cousins) often do marry. So possibly a wife can also be a cousin. But the marriage licence should still be the deciding factor in determining whether to allow a family to immigrate to Canada. In this case, the first wife was not a cousin.
Second, the educational/child protection/legal services failed these children. I don't think that most Canadian schools would allow students to be taken out of school for weeks at a time because the father was punishing the daughters for socializing with boys or for the way that they dressed. Our children needed notes for every absence and doctor's notes for prolonged absences. I also do not think that most schools would allow brothers to follow and harass and spy on their sisters in the school building. The children told their teachers of the father's abuse but the situation was not taken seriously.
What these agencies need to realize is that, after a person complains of abuse, she must be immediately removed from the abuser. The girls recanted their testimony because of fear of what would happen when they returned home. In the same way, the first wife had her passport and identification hidden by her husband. She did not have the permanent resident status that her husband had "bought" for their family with a $400,000 deposit to the Quebec government because she was not identified as a legal wife. Instead she had a temporary visa and would have been deported to Afghanistan. Going to the police for protection was not an option. She told friends and family of her fears but unfortunately people did not believe that Shafia would dare to commit murder in Canada where the laws are so different.
The legal system also failed Canadians. The cost of this investigation and trial was huge and taxpayers footed the bill for an expense that would not have happened if immigration applications had been thoroughly checked.
Now 3 illegal immigrants are in jail for 25 years at taxpayers' expense. When they are paroled, they will be deported, again at taxpayer's expense.
However, as a Canadian, I think that these millions of dollars must be spent in order to send a message to future immigrants that Canada is not a place where honor killing can occur. If the 3 Shafias were deported right now, future applicants might think that they can also live according to their laws and customs with little consequence.
If they do not accept that students will not be segregated by gender and that children have freedom to leave home at 18, then they should not come to Canada.
However, current Canadian laws seem to make it difficult for these girls to escape from oppressive families because they can be coerced into a legal arranged marriage at 16 but cannot leave home legally until 18 (unless they go through a legal procedure of emancipation and prove that they have financial resources, an almost impossible situation for these children, who would not be allowed to have a job or would be forced to hand over all their earnings to their father). Yes, they can flee to a women's shelter at the age of 18, but it is the years between 16 and 18 in which these girls really need protection. Refusing to accept an arranged marriage at the age of 16 can have disastrous consequences; so can accepting this marriage.
These girls need special protection or the laws need to be changed to make marriage legal only at 18.
Why can someone not vote or drink alcohol or sign a contract or have a driver's licence with full rights at 16, but be allowed to marry at 16? This law is obsolete. 60 years ago, one of my relatives in a small farm community in Canada (third generation immigrant from Europe) was married at the age of 14 and had a baby at 15. 40 years ago, one of my professional friends returned from a trip to India married to a woman whom he had never met. I left home at 17 and have fully supported myself every day of my life. My brothers left at 16 and younger. But it is rare today for people of this age to be self-supporting at 16, so why can they be married at 16 when marriage requires the couple to be self-supporting. If they are not mature enough emotionally at 16 to make decisions about alcohol or driving, why are they considered emotionally mature enough to make a lifelong decision with consequences for themselves and their children... this is called "babies having babies". If you cannot sign a contract until 18 or have a loan, why can you sign a marriage contract at 16??????
This was the biggest revelation to me in this book. We must change the minimum age of marriage to 18 to protect these women and also young women in polygamous cults in Canada who are forced into early marriages and any other women in similar situations.
I hope that Canadian immigration authorities are now researching applications more carefully.
I hope that lawmakers and educators find a way to protect these young women.
I am hopeful that changes will be made... at one time in Canada, women were legally chattels of their husbands; they could not vote; they were not considered "persons" so they could not hold a Senate seat; they could not borrow money; they could not have medical treatment without their husband's signature, etc... And changes were made to these laws.
This is simply another change in a law that will improve conditions for Canadian women... and their families.
February 28, 2017
A real eye opener and it happened in my hometown.......such a sad story!!
February 17, 2018
Tripp writes about the murders of the four Shafia women in a clear and concise way, but it does not erase the emotional pull of the case. Without Honour paints the picture of a dysfunctional family struggling to navigate between old world ways and the vibrant culture of their new home. It is the old ways which dominate the moral code of the father, mother and older brother and it is this thinking which leads to the murder of three daughters and a first wife.
Tripp excellently navigates between the facts and the convoluted lies that the Shafia family told in order to cover up their crime, and while Tripp does his best to answer questions of the reader one can never shake the question of "Why?" The murder of four members of the family is incomprehensible and truly without honour.
Tripp excellently navigates between the facts and the convoluted lies that the Shafia family told in order to cover up their crime, and while Tripp does his best to answer questions of the reader one can never shake the question of "Why?" The murder of four members of the family is incomprehensible and truly without honour.
March 7, 2013
I followed all newspaper articles at the time of this story's development. The book put all into context. Good read.
August 8, 2016
Couldn't put it down. Read it over a weekend. Fascinating.
August 31, 2019
When something piques my interest, I tend to immerse myself in it -- even when the subject matter is not exactly mainstream. This includes true crime cases. I read at least four books on the infamous Bernardo/Homolka murders & trials, and I just finished reading two books about the Shafia murders, back to back, both written by reporters who covered the trial.
The accused were Mohammed Shafia, his wife Tooba Yahya, and their son Hamed, originally from Afghanistan. The victims were the couple's three (mildly) rebellious teenaged daughters and Shafia's first (polygamous) wife, Rona Amir -- who was infertile, prompting Shafia to take a second wife, Tooba (who treated her childless sister-wife like a servant). Rona nevertheless stuck around and helped to raise the seven Shafia children, whom she loved dearly. Their bodies were found in a car that was submerged in a few feet of water at the bottom of the locks on the Rideau Canal near Kingston, Ontario.
Without Honour by Rob Tripp is the longer and more detailed account of the case -- almost too detailed in some parts. I could have done without the word for word retelling of the police and courtroom interrogations.
But Tripp's eye for detail adds much to our knowledge of the family and the case. He brings each of the victims to life, with help from the neighbours, teachers, relatives, girlfriends -- and boyfriends -- who knew them. He also tells us more about the police officers involved and the techniques they used to investigate and crack the case. The book includes photos, not just of the Shafia family members but of the Kingston Mills site where the car was pulled out of the Rideau Canal, which add to our understanding of what happened.
The accused were Mohammed Shafia, his wife Tooba Yahya, and their son Hamed, originally from Afghanistan. The victims were the couple's three (mildly) rebellious teenaged daughters and Shafia's first (polygamous) wife, Rona Amir -- who was infertile, prompting Shafia to take a second wife, Tooba (who treated her childless sister-wife like a servant). Rona nevertheless stuck around and helped to raise the seven Shafia children, whom she loved dearly. Their bodies were found in a car that was submerged in a few feet of water at the bottom of the locks on the Rideau Canal near Kingston, Ontario.
Without Honour by Rob Tripp is the longer and more detailed account of the case -- almost too detailed in some parts. I could have done without the word for word retelling of the police and courtroom interrogations.
But Tripp's eye for detail adds much to our knowledge of the family and the case. He brings each of the victims to life, with help from the neighbours, teachers, relatives, girlfriends -- and boyfriends -- who knew them. He also tells us more about the police officers involved and the techniques they used to investigate and crack the case. The book includes photos, not just of the Shafia family members but of the Kingston Mills site where the car was pulled out of the Rideau Canal, which add to our understanding of what happened.
September 28, 2023
This outdated, ridiculous notion of "honour killings" has got to stop. I remember this case from 2009. I remember hearing on the news how 4 ladies - 3 girls and 1 older - were found drowned, in a car, in a lock in Kingston. At the time it seemed immediately suspicious. How could all four drown in not-very-deep water and not one managed to get out of the car.
As the story unfolded, we learned of this family from Afghanistan who had moved to Montreal two years earlier. The father, mother and eldest brother conspired to kill these women for the "crime" of wanting to dress in western clothing, wear makeup and interact with boys. The younger girls were in high school and just wanted to dress like their peers. They liked some boys that they met at school. They weren't bad kids at all. The older woman was the first wife of the patriarch of the family - a hateful man bogged down in his ancient ways.
Honour killings are not tolerated in the Muslim religion. They are not religious customs or norms. They are part of one's distorted image of their culture.
I firmly believe that immigrants are the reason why Canada continues to grow as a successful nation. Yes, bring your families from other countries, come to Canada and do well. Bring your religion, your food, your celebrations, your culture. Let us all celebrate with you. But leave your hatefulness, prejudices and criminal ways behind. They have no place here.
This book was really well written by a reporter who lived in Kingston at the time. It was very detailed and thoroughly researched and easy to read.
As the story unfolded, we learned of this family from Afghanistan who had moved to Montreal two years earlier. The father, mother and eldest brother conspired to kill these women for the "crime" of wanting to dress in western clothing, wear makeup and interact with boys. The younger girls were in high school and just wanted to dress like their peers. They liked some boys that they met at school. They weren't bad kids at all. The older woman was the first wife of the patriarch of the family - a hateful man bogged down in his ancient ways.
Honour killings are not tolerated in the Muslim religion. They are not religious customs or norms. They are part of one's distorted image of their culture.
I firmly believe that immigrants are the reason why Canada continues to grow as a successful nation. Yes, bring your families from other countries, come to Canada and do well. Bring your religion, your food, your celebrations, your culture. Let us all celebrate with you. But leave your hatefulness, prejudices and criminal ways behind. They have no place here.
This book was really well written by a reporter who lived in Kingston at the time. It was very detailed and thoroughly researched and easy to read.
December 22, 2018
Wow. I devoured this book in two days. It contains a richness of details that simply doesn’t exist elsewhere. I learned more about the victims here.
The author did a good job of providing context for the actions of the victims and their killers. The girls were sent to public school in a province that encourages their citizens to assimilate. Once exposed to Western culture, they naively sought boys who provided a respite from their suffocating home lives. The friends who encouraged them had no idea of how far their family would go to restore “honour”.
The author did a good job of providing context for the actions of the victims and their killers. The girls were sent to public school in a province that encourages their citizens to assimilate. Once exposed to Western culture, they naively sought boys who provided a respite from their suffocating home lives. The friends who encouraged them had no idea of how far their family would go to restore “honour”.
March 24, 2019
This is an incredibly sad and fascinating account of a murder that took place very close to home. I extremely enjoyed the authors writing style. It read as a fiction book and at times I had to remind myself it actually happened. The end is a little slow because court proceedings can be repetitive, but overall the book was great. Highly recommend. Also, a great lesson about honour killings and our need for more education about them.
March 31, 2021
A really insightful account of the Shafia murders and into the issue of Honour Killings. I believe the author detailed the lives of the four murdered with compassion and respect.
Truly a heartbreaking case.
Truly a heartbreaking case.
March 19, 2020
Excellent book,very well written!
December 1, 2024
Very well written. Gave me chills. The details are horrendous
March 15, 2013
During the ongoing investigation, arrests and trial, I hadn't followed this case very extensively, so I learned a lot from this book. Very eye-opening considering how much these girls/women reached out for help from those around them (child welfare, teachers, family, etc.).
I had an "interesting" conversation with a woman last week about forced marriage and honour killings... She was very convinced that Muslims promote honour killings and subjugating women to violence... I replied saying that she was making quite broad generalizations. I wish I had read this book before speaking with her because I found it very interesting that while the Shafia family considered themselves Muslim, they didn't necessarily attend Mosque or (from what I could tell from the book) affiliate themselves with the Muslim religious community. The parents' and brother's notion of honour in the family and how the females should conduct themselves obviously stems from a very fundamental form of "Islam."
The only thing I found difficult about this book is reading the narratives of translated interviews, testimonies, etc. The translation from Dari/Farsi to English is very awkward to read (i.e. awkward sentence structures) and took some time to really understand and comprehend.
I had an "interesting" conversation with a woman last week about forced marriage and honour killings... She was very convinced that Muslims promote honour killings and subjugating women to violence... I replied saying that she was making quite broad generalizations. I wish I had read this book before speaking with her because I found it very interesting that while the Shafia family considered themselves Muslim, they didn't necessarily attend Mosque or (from what I could tell from the book) affiliate themselves with the Muslim religious community. The parents' and brother's notion of honour in the family and how the females should conduct themselves obviously stems from a very fundamental form of "Islam."
The only thing I found difficult about this book is reading the narratives of translated interviews, testimonies, etc. The translation from Dari/Farsi to English is very awkward to read (i.e. awkward sentence structures) and took some time to really understand and comprehend.
March 10, 2013
Excellent account of the horrible 'honor killing' murders of three sisters and their step-mother in Kingston, Ontario. The clash of cultures between a father with strict Afghani patriarchal society values and three young girls who just wanted to be normal Canadian teenagers. Tragic indeed, but that's what makes it a riveting read.
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June 21, 2013On June 30, 2009, four members of the Shafia family were found dead in their car in a Kingston, Ontario canal. Were the deaths an honour killing? In Without Honour, award-winning journalist Rob Tripp delves into what happened before and after the four women died. Library user Peter found the book intriguing.
May 21, 2013
Well researched and written although there was detail about private aspects of the victims' lives and some pictures that should have been omitted to protect their privacy. It felt a little voyeuristic at times and I ended up skimming pages.
September 2, 2013
Horrible tale, fascinating back-story, great journalism.
February 12, 2015
Interesting read. I would find myself getting so into the book that I'd think it was a novel - but this really happened. Rob Tripp is a great writer.
February 27, 2013
A well-written documentation of the Shafia murder trial and the family background that resulted in the deaths of the three daughters and the first wife.
November 17, 2014
what an eye opening story!!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews