Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah was a fantastic read. It takes us on a very uncomfortable journey where we watch a tragedy unfold in the lives of two sisters and their families. Their everyday lives are well depicted, their jobs, social interaction, and financial situations. All the while peppered with sibling love and rivalry in equal measure. The story has quite a few twists and turns, with shocking revelations and outcomes alongside extraordinary heartache and misperceptions. The concluding reveal brings yet a further tragic twist. Brilliant characterisation. I could almost see the two sisters in all of their stark differences and shared their frustrations with Andrew’s apparent weakness and need for both financial and emotional support. Kia, through Leila’s prosecution, very ably opens the shutters on perceptions of women in positions of power and authority in their careers being cold and selfish. We see the demands and expectations put on Leila by her colleagues and her family and also the bias displayed by the prosecuting solicitor. The author uses Leila’s self awareness to skilfully tell her personal story, which is heartbreaking and let’s us see the complexity of her character and what has motivated her.
The legal narrative is expertly done and Kia paints a credible picture of an intuitive policeman who seems to spend his life atoning for a previous error of judgement - but will this be to the detriment of justice for Leila?
Great pacing and flow throughout. Five stars from me

What a fabulous read this is!! If you like a courtroom drama then this is the book for you.
The first part of the book tells the story of what happens which leads on to the court case, then the court case itself just has you questioning what happened and if indeed everything is as innocent as it seems.
This is a gripping story which kept me intrigued throughout the book and had some very unexpected twists!!
I will definitely be reading other books by this author as she really knows how to capture the attention of her readers.

What an absolute gem, kept me at the edge of my seat for hours. Minuscule hints throughout kept the denouement rivetingly unpredictable so that it came as a massive shock. Highly recommended. Thank you net galley and HQ for letting me read an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a very well written thriller with twists and turns that just keep in coming and by the end I was feeling a whole raft of emotions. Leila is a very successful businesswoman who is very protective of her younger sister Yasmin, she lives close to her and the two families get on well and she babysits Yasmin’s som Max regularly. One hot morning she’s asked to take Max to school at the last minute, on the way she gets distracted by an urgent work call and unthinkingly goes straight to work forgetting Max is still in the car, she only remembers hours later by which time it’s tragically too late. This devastated the family and Leila is charged with manslaughter, for me it was so hard to say whether I wanted her to be found innocent or guilty as it’s just such an horrific situation. Kia Abdullah does a fantastic job of showing the different perspectives of all those involved as well writing about the trial and making you think how evidence and testimony can be drawn out and perceived. The ending was a total double whammy, I felt such sadness for her situation but it was horrifying too, 9/10

Kia Abdullah has a great way of writing
She looks at the crime, alleged crime, incident or accident from the view of all of those involved
In this case a woman answers a call from her brother-in-law. He asks her if she could drop his son of at day care. She says yes but then her busy lifestyle gets in the way. She forgets she has the toddler strapped into a child seat in the car, and rushes into her office to firefight a problem.
It’s the hottest day of the year and before she realises the toddlers still in the car it’s to late.
What follows is an exploration of guilt, blame, sympathy and tenacious policing.
Murder, manslaughter, or just an accident

This was a gripping, emotional read that provoked every possible feeling from me. I was compelled, sad, FURIOUS for much of it and that is testament to the power of the writing. I can't say too much more without giving a lot of the story away so I'll just say highly recommended for anyone who can get past the very difficult subject matter (death of a child).

Leila Syed is a partner in a successful architecture firm. This success has been hard won as her parents died when she was a teenager, resulting in both 17 year old Leila and her 9 year old sister, Yasmin, going into care. As soon as she was old enough, Leila took on various jobs to be able to afford a flat and take guardianship of her sister, whilst studying.
She continues to provide financial help to Leila, her husband Andrew and 3 year old son, Max, who live nearby.
Claiming that he has an emergency at work, Andrew asks Leila to take Max to nursery.
Max is asleep in his chair and very hot when Andrew puts his child seat into the back of Leila’s car.
En route, Leila receives call from her work telling her that important documents are missing and they needed by her business partner, Robert Gardner, to give a presentation to a new client before 9am. She stops at the office to give Robert her copy of the presentation.
Andrew phones Leila around 11.30am to ask about Max as the nursery has reported he has not been dropped off. Leila goes to her car and finds Max, overheated and very unwell. Max is rushed to hospital but they are unable to save him.

Kia has created the characters, gradually showing their faults as the relationships are revealed.
The storyline pulls the reader in, twisting and turning in totally unexpected ways.
It was a treat to be able to read Next of Kin and I will definitely be following Kia's books.

This book should be made into a film! It hooked me straight in and then took me on a roller coaster ride, twisting and turning and leaving me gasping!

I read the first section and was so stunned that I had to share it with my partner (something I very rarely do) - I then went for a swim and thought of nothing else but the book the whole forty minutes! I don’t want to say much about the plot because I think the less you know starting the book the better the surprise element. My emotions were in turmoil throughout the book, sympathy, anger, shock, sadness and my support swapped from one person to another!

I saw none of the twists coming and I was left at the end of the book, once again, needing to share with my partner the whole tale! His words - that’s a film waiting to be made!

I cannot commend the author, Kia Abdullah, highly enough - brilliant plot line, great twists!

Don’t miss this book! It will be up in my top five favourite books of this year (so far) and I’ve read about 45!

My thanks to the author, the publishers and to NetGalley for an advanced e-reader copy in return for an honest review!

Really well written book. The subject matter - the death of a small child, was a bit hard going. However, the story was well put together with an unexpected ending.
A lot of the story was about family dynamics and how this impacts on people’s behaviours. This aspect was interesting.
An involving read.

I absolutely adored this authors previous books ‘Take it back’ and ‘Truth be told’, so I may have had high expectations for this book, luckily it did not disappoint.

Leila is a successful businesswoman, who is very involved in supporting her sister and husband with babysitting her 3 year old nephew Max. One morning she agreed to drop Max off at nursery but forgot and left him in the car. When she remembered hours later it was too late. We follow the trial as everyone tries to find out the truth of what happened hat day. Of course in true Kia Abdullah style there are twists and turns along the way.

Like all of her books this one is an emotional ride from start to finish. As an emotionally invested Auntie with no children I couldn’t help but see myself in Leila at times which I believe may have intensified some of the emotional scenes. The sibling relationship between Leila and her sister is a complex one that can leave you changing your mind about who you are supporting. Each character is complex, well fleshed out and often brings a different mystery to the plot.

All in all this was another amazing criminal mystery read by the author and I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see what she publishes next.

Review will be added to Instagram on publication day.

Ahh Kia Abdullah, the queen of the courtroom drama! I was surprised to see the previous lead character in Abdullah's last two novels, Zara Kaleel, wasn't it this one but actually I think it gave it a fresh feel and boy I loved this storyline!

It starts off with a pretty shocking event and it's not for the faint of heart. It was one of those books where I tell my other half what's going on and he says "Why do you read stuff like that?" ERM, because it's good mate!

Anyway, this book follows the court case after the event and the impact it has on the complex sibling relationship between Leila and Yasmin.

I do love a courtroom drama and Abdullah just writes them so well! I love all the witnesses and investigation going on, Detective Shepard really just can't let anything go!

I thought I knew what was coming at the end but I should have known better because there were a few surprises in store and I wished I'd had the physical book to flick back and look for signs of the reveals!

Anyway, whether you've read Kia Abdullah's other books or not I highly recommend this one! So interesting, so gripping, so good!

Another tense and gripping book from Kia. I was blown away by her previous novels and this is no exception. A nightmare scenario for Lelia turns into an explosive trial that threatens to tear a family apart. bold and brave, yet shocking and heartfelt but there is more to this incident that meets the eye. Simply brilliant and is another book by Kia that will stay with me long after I read the final page. With thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an advance copy.

This was so good……..I just had to read it in one sitting. I loved Kia Abdullah’s previous two novels. They were excellent reads but this one, if anything, is even better.
The theme is a difficult one that many will not want to contemplate, the death of a child but it is the aftermath of this dreadful event which is so well portrayed and yes there is definitely a courtroom drama as in this author’s other books.
Leila is called early one morning by her brother in law, Andrew, and asked to take her 3 year old nephew to nursery as he has to rush into work for an emergency and his wife, Yasmine, Leila’s sister, is already at the office.
Leila agrees and therein lies the story. Something awful happens and the fallout affects the whole family. Things can never be the same again.
This is an extremely well plotted book and even I thought that there was only one fact to establish…… oh how wrong I was. There are many twists and the end left me absolutely reeling! I don’t want to reveal any more of the story as it will spoil it but suffice it to say- this is a fabulous read.
I really liked the characters of Leila and Yasmine- their sisterly dynamic was already tainted by hidden jealousies, made even more difficult by the fact that Leila had brought Leila up from the age of 11 after they were left orphaned by a mother who committed suicide.
This is a hold your breath sort of read. I powered through it in 24 hours- I just had to know the outcome and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
This is a five star book that comes highly recommended. If you’ve read Kia Abdullah’s other books you’ll love this and if you haven’t, you’ve got a real treat in store. They’re all brilliant.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Leila Syed agrees to help out her brother in law by dropping her young nephew off at nursery. However, a crisis at work and the fact that he is asleep means that she dashes to her office and forgets she has him in the car on the hottest day of the summer. What follows is a court case that threatens to tear the family apart. A gripping read with some massive twists you won't see coming!
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

Omg what a book. Fantastic read. Well written and drew me in right from the start. I assumed there would be some underlying story twist but I didn't expect anything that actually happened. It blew me away. Would love to read more from this author based on reading this book.
Characters relatable and you could see all points of views

This is not the sort of book I usually read but the synopsis intrigued me and I was fortunate to be allowed to read it courtesy of Netgalley (thank you) one of my favourites books starts and ends with the words “this is all a lie” I think this book gives the deception and deceit in that book a run for its money, no spoilers just read the book for yourself

Chilling story with an unexpected twist. Would you? Could you? Great characters with an thrilling storyline

My first reaction when I started reading this book was – I’m not finishing this I don’t like baby deaths but the reviews on Goodreads encouraged me to continue, especially I had liked the authors previous novels.

It soon becomes obvious that no-one is telling the complete truth. The twists and turns of the plot as pertinent facts are revealed kept me turning the pages.
It’s quite worrying how a remark made in innocence is reflected back to look very damning in the court when taken out of context. It all added to drama of the courtroom. I never saw all the revelations coming.

An entertaining read.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my free e copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a pacey thriller largely set within a courtroom. The story follows a shocking and tragic family accident.

I found the book written very well. I genuinely wanted to read on and try and discover what really happened.

I was changing my opinion a lot as each new piece of evidence and story comes to light.

It also made me really think about how so unaware of the consequences we sometimes are when a snap decision made in the past can come back and be disastrous later on in life.

This book does deal heavily with the loss of a child and some parts were harrowing and I could really feel their grief ,which a shows just how well the author was able to express in words and really made you feel for the characters.

I will be recommending this book and also looking for other books from this author

I thought this book started well although the subject matter was very distressing and unusual. I’m not sure that anyone would forget about a much loved nephew in the back of their car on a scorching hot day. Childless herself, and not by choice, this was a boy she doted on. I’m afraid when I had read about half of the book I couldn’t continue as the storyline became more upsetting. It’s a strange one, As an author I couldn’t imagine submitting the synopsis of a story where a four year old dies of heatstroke in the back of a car where he had been abandoned, alone for several hours. The editor must have seen something more. Sorry but I didn’t find it entertaining reading for all these reasons.