Kia Abdullah’s articles, interviews, and opinion pieces have appeared in several well-known newspapers, but her previous two novels had passed me by. I am so glad I did not let the same happen with ‘Next of Kin’, for this courtroom family drama is a gripping read. In the distressing opening chapter, busy London architect Leila Syed is just about to finish work on the hottest day of the year when she takes a call from her sister’s husband Andrew. That morning, Leila had agreed to drop off their little boy Max at his nursery. Andrew is calling from the nursery, but Max is not there. How could Leila accidentally have forgotten about little Max and left him in a boiling car for over six hours? Will she ever be able to forgive herself for the tragic death of her innocent and much-loved nephew? And how will she manage the ensuing trial that will bitterly divide her from Andrew and her sister?

Fast-paced, intense and emotionally harrowing, this is a psychological courtroom drama that deserves as wide an audience as possible. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers HarperCollins for the ARC I was granted in exchange for posting this honest and unbiased review.

This has to be one of my favourite books this year. Totally engrossing, gripand intriguing right to the very last page. You know there's something missing but cant quite put your finger on it. Having a love for courtroom dramas this one did not disappoint.. Incredibly well thought out and clever. Highly recommend.

Wonderfully written book, loved it!! So many twists and turns you don't know what to expect next.
Leila is a successful businesswoman who revives a phone call from her brother in law to see if she can take Max to nursery as he h as an emergency at work. Leila is always around to help out with Max for Yasmin (her sister) and so she says she will. What happens then changes all of their lives forever!! She gets a phone call from Andrew asking where Max is, he wasn't dropped off at nursery that morning!? Leila world comes crashing down around her when she realises she has gone to work and left Max in the car. Is it an accident or deliberate?

This would be an excellent adaptation for a film/ tv series. Many thanks NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this and I will be looking out for more from Kia in the future. Definitely be recommending to friends and family.

What a wonderful book. It drew me in from the beginning. So many twists and turns which only just made you question the obvious - a book with a totally unexpected ending. I will definitely read more by this author

My thoughts about Kia Abdullah's brilliantly written nail-biting courtroom thriller Next Of Kin,was eye-catching and breathtaking Next Of Kin catches your every attention,when you read the very first page that grips you with its powerful story,and the twists and turns you don't see coming is going to leave you speechless.Author Kia Abdullah does it again with her writing that is unique and powerful, the way Kia Abdullah has written the story is fascinating. Next Of Kin is a fast tensed courtroom drama that has full twists and turns and suspense that leaves you wondering wow what has just happened. The story of Next Of Kin tells the story of Leila Syed a successful business women who gets charged for her nephew's Max's death who she leaves accidentally in the car for 3 hours.Leila Syed then receives a call that cleaves her life in two.Her brother-in-law’s voice is filled with panic. His son’s nursery have called to ask where little Max is.Leila was supposed to drop Max off that morning. But she forgot.Racing to the carpark, she grasps the horror of what she has done.What follows is an explosive, high-profile trial that will tear the family apart. But as the case progresses it becomes clear there’s more to this incident than meets the eye. Next Of Kin is also about two sisters relationship develops between Leila Syed and Yasmin,Max's mother,and how they are in there relationship that is brilliantly written and portrayed. Next Of Kin manages to throw some few surprises, that give readers the taste of tensions, between the two sisters is brilliantly presented. Kia Abdullah wins every praise with this brilliantly written and well crafted thriller that deserves every success and happiness.Next Of Kin is highly recommend to all crime thriller fans. I would like to say thank you to Author Kia Abdullah for kindly sending me a gifted copy of this unique thriller, for me to read and review and also to publishers HQ Stories for always publishing such amazing thrillers. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

As I started this book I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was going in blind other than seeing the cover and tag lines. I used to read John Grisham in my teens so thought this would be a great reintroduction to a courtroom legal thriller.

Kia Abdullah is a new author to me so was taking a leap of faith into the unknown but once I’d read those first few chapters I was hooked and knew I’d found another great author to add to my ridiculously high list of favourites.

I then read the blurb, something I rarely do immediately before or during reading but that just got me even more engrossed into the story.

The beginning chapter, I have to say is pretty harrowing and did shock me. There’s not much that evokes this emotion in me from a book, it was really tough to read. The images and thoughts related to this which it conjures up are pretty awful.

As the story progressed you’re thrown into the courtroom and a trial underway for a murder. The evidence and progression of scenes felt very real, well researched and sounded authentic but again, scenes were hard to read.

The story overall was tragic, it evoked emotions in me that I’d never want to visit in my own life but oh my word, was the writing bloody amazing!

If you’re made of pretty tough stuff and decide to read this, you need to know it’s a hard read but a very worthwhile one of family tragedy and sadness. A really well thought out story, full of courtroom drama which ends with a shocking finale.

I am very impressed by this book, the storyline is excellent and its quick pace meant that I finished it within three days.

'Next of Kin' tells the story of Leila Syed, a highly successful businesswoman who is charged with the death of her nephew Max after she leaves him (accidentally?) in her car for over three hours, causing him to die of vehicular hyperthermia. The real question is whether Leila intentionally left Max, or whether his death was a tragic accident.

The book is split into three parts which adds to the smooth flow of the plot. The first part builds up to the trial of Leila, the second focuses on the trial and the third part deals with the aftermath of the verdict.

Throughout the novel readers gain an insight into Leila's personal and professional life, centering on her relationship with her sister Yasmin (Max's mother) whom Leila raised from the age of 18 following the death of their mother from suicide. Family secrets are uncovered, and each main character is purposeful and adds to the richness of the plot.

The ending was shocking. It fit perfectly though. Throughout, as the secrets were revealed, I did not see them coming which had the effect of keeping me gripped from start to finish.

Not really sure how I feel about this book. It read like factual documentary write up. It was a truly gripping read that had so many twists and turns I never really knew what was coming. It felt like the story was over about 60% of the way through the book and I couldn’t see how it would be filled but I didn’t feel like any space was wasted. The difficulty I had was that i really didn’t like ANY of the main characters so I didn’t really care if she was guilty or not

A gripping read though- glad I requested it

This is an incredibly well written and wonderfully crafted novel. One of the best I’ve read recently and I’d have no hesitation recommending it. I look forward to what comes next from the author

This is my first book by Kia Abdullah and I was very impressed. A difficult storyline but very well written and I really felt for the characters. Plenty of suspense and twists to keep me gripped. I will definitely look to read more by this author.

Leila and Yasmin are sisters wth all that implies: love, jealousy, rivalry. Leila is highly successful whereas Yasmin is a secretary. Yasmin also owes a lot to Leila as Leila brought her up after their mother died. Leila it seems has everything except the one thing she really wants, a child. She looks after Max, Yasmin's son, a lot but this isn't enough. One fateful morning Yasmin's husband asks Leila to drop Max off at nursery. Some hours later she gets a frantic call from him, Max isn't at nursery. Leila then has to face up to the consequences of her negligence.

I was genuinely shocked by the beginning of the book and found it hard to have sympathy for Leila. At the same time I was baffled by the conclusion the police reached so quickly and found that hard to accept. The courtroom drama that follows is well done with things slowly being revealed so that what seems straightforward is actually much more complicated. The denouement when it comes is devastating, a true tragedy and unexpected. I found this a harrowing read at times but well written. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I wasn't sure about this book to start with but having read other peoples reviews I decided it was worth persevering with it and I was glad I did. I finished it last night although my eyelids were drooping and I just wanted to read it again to catch all the nuances I had missed! well worth five stars.

Really enjoyed this and not at all what I was expecting. A really good story and well written. Perhaps a little predictable at the ending - you could guess what was going to happen, but up to that point, it kept you guessing and threw you off guard.

This is the first book I've read by Kia Abdullah and I will definitely be reading her two previous novels. This is a gripping, tightly plotted thriller with multiple twists towards the end- none of which I saw coming ! Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

This book was just full of surprises. Every time I thought I had solved it there was another twist in the story! It literally kept me guessing right until the end! Superb read!

This is my first book by the author, Kia Abdullah and it was a heart-stopping and thought provoking read.

We follow two sisters, one of which is on the trial for a three year olds death.

In a nutshell the sisters are Leila and Yasmin. Yasmin has a son who is 3 and Leila forgets to drop him at school and instead leaves him in her hot car and unfortunately dies. Yasmin is on trial for the murder of him. Obviously with all this going off family relationships are fraught and ruined.

Wow this book was a good read but very thought provoking and I did find it extremely hard to read at times. I do find myself invested and find it difficult to read about these issues so for this reason I find it hard going.

If reading then you may need to have some tissues to hand as it is tear-jerking and I found that I was invested in these two women's story.

Thanks to the author, publisher and to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

An empathic read with a jaw dropping conclusion. The writing style ensured that I was glued to the pages well into the early hours. The subject matter is emotive and surprisingly not as un common as you would imagine. I can't praise it enough, absolutely brilliant.

How on earth do you do that? How do you take what looks like an almost open and shut (if horrible) case where the outcome can only really go one of two ways and turn it into an absolute roller-coaster of a ride where anything could be going on and anyone could be lying?
This is the third novel by Kia Abdullah that I've read and each one is fantastic.
I missed a whole day's Euro 2020 as I found I just couldn't peel my fingers from my kindle long enough to even check the score.
Absolutely superb novel, right from the first page. (You know that feeling when you just know from the writing style that it's going to be a hit?) and one that left me gasping several times, through the final twists late at night when I put it down in the early hours, utterly satisfied.
Many many thanks. An easy 5 stars from me.

I finished this book a few days ago after racing through it, and have felt like I needed to sit with it for a while before summarising my thoughts as it handled such a huge topic. Overall I found it to be incredibly thought provoking, and as the story progressed I found myself considering deeply how I’d feel as each of the characters, really putting myself into their shoes. Of course it wouldn’t be a thriller without twists and turns, which are done brilliantly in this book - I found myself constantly re-evaluating how I thought I felt as new information came to light. The book does cover some very heavy and difficult subjects, but it does so very sensitively (mostly - some of the courtroom comments stick in my mind as being deliberately provocative and hard to read).

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

My sister recommended this book - and I am so glad she did - as I possibly would not have requested it otherwise!!
Mind blown - that’s all I can say!! Hideously distressing subject matter - with a tragic start to the story!
Love a court room drama - and this was certainly that - but there was so much more - the complexities of the characters and the twists you think you may know - or suspect, that reveal twists you could never have imagined!
Excellent read - and I will seek out more by this fabulous writer!