I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I am still torn about it. On the one hand, I mostly enjoyed the story contained within the book, on the other I can't get past all the reservations I have that this would have been allowed to have been played out as described. I simply can't believe that this is his closing speech. I struggle with the attention to detail given and the things the defendant can recall, especially the exact dialogue. I am supposed to believe that all that is in the book has been taken from transcriptions of the defendants own work. nope, sorry I can't. It starts off being credible but as the story develops, it starts to veer from being someone talking and reads like just a normal book. I am also struggling to comprehend what judge would allow a defendant to talk for that long, swearing all the way, and showboating his way through what I would consider to be new evidence and, as I have been informed by a barrister friend, that's not really the done thing in a closing speech.
And then, the ending. I am meant to make a decision. Based on what? The transcripts alone? The written word with no body language, no facial expressions, no tone of voice, and a story that, although was really interesting, was just that, a story? Not evidence as I also don't even think he was still under oath. So the ending was totally flat to me and I didn't finish with a good feeling.
As I said, all this is a shame for me as, on the whole, I enjoyed the actual story being told. Well, apart from the unbelievable cop out curve ball our boy threw in at the end. That kind of ruined it a wee bit for me. But I did find his story, his world, his battles and fights to be fascinating. It's a completely different world to mine and even just this glimpse, this snapshot opened my eyes.
Characters were good too, pacing was interesting as it was determined by the court breaks, some of which were a bit contrived and sometimes a bit off timing wise.
All in all, this was, for me, a good story that fell way short in delivery. I am obviously amongst the minority in this but this is my experience, my truth of reading this book and I am always honest in my reviews so I have to be here.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This is an excellent book for a book club as it raises so many questions and discussions. Is the young man guilty or not? We decide. And I think opinions will be divided on this, hence a perfect debate for a book group.
The concept of this book is what interested me in the first place and it didn't disappoint, I'm glad I read it, and I think I will remember this one for a long time to come, and still be thinkin about it.
I can't wait for it to be officially published, so I can discuss it with people I know.

A young man is accused of murder and this book is his closing speech to the jury. Such an unusual way to tell a story and I loved it! It gives an insight into gangs and how easy it is to judge someone without knowing them. The accused decides to go through the eight pieces of evidence one by one in a bid to prove his innocence.

I would love to read more from this author if this book is anything to go by, because it was such a thought-provoking book and one that I finished in under a day.

5 solid stars from me.

A story of gangs, drugs, murder & ultimately love, covering real social issues.
You Don't Know Me sees an unnamed man in the closing days of his trial for murder.
Over 10 days he tells his truth, from start to finish, nothing is left out. Even incriminating himself in other crimes to prove his innocence in this one.
A brilliantly written, thought-provoking book.. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

A very unusual book but cleverly written. I've never read anything like this before. Well worth reading

The premise is interesting - a convicted murderer fighting for his innocence as he sacks his counsel and gives the closing argument himself. I expected to like it, but having got 20% through (and that took 2 weeks!) I found the narrative annoying (written in the first person by the main protagonist ) and struggled to want to pick it up and carry on. So with regret I've put it down for good (there are simply too many other good books to be read without worrying about finishing something that you're just not enjoying).

Wasn't too sure about this when i started off but quickly got drawn in, although i had figured out the twist in the tale well before the end, interesting concept though...

I just really couldn't get into this book. The idea was great but for me it just didn't work with all the gangster references.

Making the reader part of the jury is an interesting concept for this enjoyable book. The story unfolds from the voice of the accused, standing in the dock and conducting his own defence. The story is filled with other players, some very memorable. The story twists around and gradually the layers are revealed. I really enjoyed this book and would have gone with a not guilty verdict.

To me, the style of this book is very impressive. It's very different from the majority of books I've read before and I like the fact Mahmood gives the narrator his own voice, a voice anybody from London can relate to. I feel the book addresses a very serious problem in society, especially within London and therefore it is a unique and impressive novel. However, I wasn't impressed by the story as such. I failed to connect to any of the characters, the twist (whilst unexpected) wasn't shocking and I just never really got into the story itself - in the end it was quite boring and drawn out. One thing I like is the fact the author leaves the verdict up to you, the reader - a nice touch.

Five stars doesn't do it justice. I can't come up with enough superlatives it's just fantastic!! I was simply hooked from the first word. I was close to tears & then laughing out loud a moment later. Probably my most constant emotion was frustration... with the lives wasted by the situation people find themselves born into. Not without hope though if as I am sure such intelligence gets a voice but please read it and get your friends to read it. I can so see a film being made of it too.

I chose to read You Don’t Know Me because I liked the sound of it when I read the blurb. When I first started reading it I thought I was going to hate it. As I continued to read it though I realised that I was enjoying reading it and that what I was feeling at the beginning was not hate. This book took me right outside of my comfort zone and placed me smack bang in the middle of a world where drugs, prostitution and gang violence are so commonplace that they have become the norm.
Imran Mahmood tells the story of an unnamed defendant up for murder charges after the shooting of a young boy. The night before closing speeches the defendant decides to sack his lawyer and present his own closing speech and his own truth.
He states that the story his lawyer presented was one that based on half-truths and what he considered to be believable, the ‘plausible story.’ The speech he gives is long and rambling and often takes the reader on seemingly unrelated routes but this is one of the strengths of the book. It turns the protagonist from a seemingly hostile stranger to someone you can empathise with.
The defendant explains he had a dilemma. Do I let him speak to you in your language but telling only half the story, or do I do it myself and tell the full story with the risk that you won’t understand none of it?
The evidence against him is strong but he states he can explain it all. He knows that the jury have a certain idea of him right now but that idea probably isn’t accurate. Maybe you need to get to know me first. The real me.
“They want you to think I’m a no brain lazy kid who go into some random street and shoot a next man up for nothing. Don’t be fooled though.”
He claims he is innocent and if they just listen to him maybe he can prove it.
He acknowledges that he knew the deceased boy, Jamil, and what the prosecutor failed to mention is that he was a gang member and a drug dealer.
The defendant, on the other hand, claims to have had legitimate employment in a garage and managed to sidestep the gang life. Not an easy feat.
“If you got some kills and you can handle yourself, like I could, you might be okay. But what if you aint? You got no choices. It’s either take a beating or you join a gang and get paid and get respect. And then it just becomes a part of your life. It becomes a normal thing for a kid to sell drugs in school. It becomes a normal thing for a kid to stab up some next kid for no reason. And once it’s normal for you, you don’t have any reasons to change it. It just becomes life. Your life.”
The defendant brings the reader deep into his world and though the ending left me dissatisfied I can’t say this book wasn’t an enjoyable read.

I really really liked the concept. The idea of a young black man feeling so badly represented by the legal profession that he stood to give his own closing speech at his murder trial.
It gave the book and the narrative a structure.
However without a second voice, or told from third person, or any other transcripts after 400 pages it lost the power of that being the voice to me. It became a 1st person told story and not a terrified young man fighting for his life in front of the jury.

As such for a chunk of the book my interest levels dropped a bit but were restored by the end.

The bit that brought it back was the authors notes at the back.

"A disproportionate number of young, socially disadvantaged, men from BAME backgrounds find themselves caught up in the system"
The same could be said in reverse for the publishing and bookselling industry at times and so I feel really passionately that books like this should be heard and published and sold to as wide an audience as possible.

More authors and subject matters like this please publishers. It's important.

I thoroughly enjoyed the unique way this book was written with just one voice leading the reader through the story. I felt the ending wasn't as strong as I would have anticipated and therefore not a 5 star read but a very clever well crafted book

Different and absorbing. read it in two sittings as I just had to see what the jury decided! Very thought provoking especially as knife crime is on the increase, this shows you how and perhaps why.

You Don't Know Me is a crime novel with a difference, not only is it from the defendant rather than the victim's perspective, but we also never know the name of our perpetrator. On trial for murder he sacks his lawyer just before the closing speeches and decides to deliver his own defence.

In a sense we the reader, are an additional member of the jury, but we hear none of the preceding trial evidence, hear no witness statements, no cross examination. All we have is the defendant's word.

As he talks through the evidence that has been previously presented we are allowed an insight into this young mans life. His upbringing, his family and friends, and the path that led him to be tried for Murder.

Gangs and criminals in London may not be anything new, but to delve into them in the depths that this novel does, from the perspective of this nameless character certainly is. And it works. Sure, it may put us into a world in which we are unfamiliar and uncomfortable, but as the defendant argues, we don't always get to chose what happens to us.

His is a convincing argument, whether it is convincing enough, well sadly the jury is still out on that one. And there lies my one and only frustration with this novel is that we don't learn the outcome of the trial. I understand that this is deliberate, that we are supposed to make our own decisions, but it would have been interesting to get the authors perspective.

You Don't Know Me is a brave and clever debut novel that is sure to have you gripped. The voice of the defendant is raw and gritty as he appeals to the jury to believe his story, but you will want to know who he is and if you can trust him to tell you the truth. Do we know him at all, is he guilt-free? Or is he just another murderer trying to convince himself and the jury of his false innocence?

Guilty or not guilty? That is up to you to decide because in this book you are the jury. You get to listen to what the defendant has to say and based on that you can make your decision.

"That's how I see it. You pay for your own."

I found the premise of this book fascinating. The fact that the author doesn't direct you in anyway to whether he is or isn't guilty you have to make that decision all by yourself.

"She needed her books round her. To her they were like her friends. Or family even. It's weird I know, but book people are weird, trust me."

I hbave rated this book three stars because it is the first of its kind that I have read and I believe that it was executed well. However it only gets three stars because I found it hard going at times and as you can see it's taken me nearly a month to read. This is however not a bad read and I found it interesting.

"Like I always said, you got to pay for your shit one way or another. No one needs to walk away free of charge."

Did he do it? The author has managed to create the courtroom scene bringing the reader into the action as the jury member. A cleverly crafted story where the defendant is our storyteller reliving the scenes that lead to the crime. This was a totally new concept to me but was a most enjoyable read although I found it difficult to warm to the main character but not his friends. Guilty? The jury is still out!!

A good read, interesting characters with a thought provoking climax