Book review: Behind the Door: The Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp Story, by Mandy Wiener and Barry Bateman

by Mandy Wiener and Barry Bateman
Macmillan

Everyone has an opinion on Oscar Pistorius, even those who had no clue as to who he was before that tragic day in 2013 when he shot dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. "He's a maniac," stated a friend. "He's just an a**hole," said another. "It was roid-rage," a wag confirmed on my favourite internet chatroom. A gentleman, said another friend. A true hero.

Everyone seemed to know exactly what happened on that fateful night. But only one man knows that, and what he told the police - and the story he has maintained from minutes after the tragedy - was that it was a terrible accident.

As a South African, I was riveted by the trial. The double amputee had become a world hero when he competed in the Paralympics, first in Beijing, and then in London where he also competed against able-bodied athletes in the Olympics. And then, just as he seemed to have it all, and for no apparent reason, Pistorius shot Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day, 2013.

The news was as divisive as it was devastating as South Africans tried to make sense of what they were hearing about the golden boy. Pistorius admitted shooting Steenkamp, but claimed he had mistaken her for a intruder. He shot her four times through a locked bathroom door. Everyone was sad for him, horrified for Steenkamp's family. But then the state charged him with murder.

The news exploded across world news media like the firing of a starter's pistol. And it just kept going. It was a made-for-movie story of a glamorous couple that ended in utter heartbreak. Now the books have fired up the printing presses.