I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Excellent novel and great story line and excellent characters. I am looking forward to seeing the new book from the author

This was my first introduction to both this author and a book of this nature.

I really enjoyed the book. At timed it did fall on some stereotypes, but I believe they were necessary to get the framework of the story.

I thought the format of the story was extremely interesting. We only hear the defendants view of the story, although we are made aware of the evidence against him. The entire story is his closing speech, however at no point was I fed up or bored. I was gripped the entire time.

I found the ending a little frustrating, however, I understand why the author did what they did.

Definitely a book worth reading, really opened my eyes and gave me a look at someone else’s walk of life.

Wow! I have never read a book like this before but it was brilliant ...couldn't help reading it in a south London accent all the way through lol
Absolutely gripping ..fantastic from start to finish a big fat 5 stars..

A very interesting and absorbing novel. It will make you think and to re-evaluate your preconceptions - and its a good read too.

You Don’t Know Me was a great narrative told in the first person of a young lad who is on trial for murder.
A great book, well written that had me hooked from the opening pages.

I so badly wanted to love this one, but the writing style just isn't for me.
Thank you for the advanced reading opportunity!

This is an unusual book - we hear from the protagonist of the crime as a summing up of his case. This works well, better than i imagined it would.
The main character occupies a world of gangs, and his world view is sometimes uncomfortable. This is not an easy, cosy read. But it works. I found it very thought provoking and a little different from the normal run-of-the-mill crime books.

A legal thriller with a difference, an in-depth examination of the man in the dock - is he guilty or is he the victim of circumstances? Good but not quite there.

Di he do it? Didn't he do it? The whole book is about a defendants closing speech. It was certainly different from other court room dramas.

The whole book is the story of a defendant's closing speech in a murder trial. Very different from other books and was certainly original and thought provoking. Recommended.

What if a defendant could submit his own closing speech?

Imran Mahmood is a barrister with more than 25 years’ experience and he has produced a very thoughtful and provocative novel. As he mentions in his Author’s Notes, “young disadvantaged males from difficult social and personal backgrounds are not usually tried by people like them”.

So what if the defendant did his own closing speech? What if he were completely upfront with the jury and let them into his own world, a world where many young males inevitably end up?

The book makes stark reading in places and the reader soon realises that for some, there is no future apart from being a gang member, starting young as a ‘Tiny’, a scout on a bicycle.

I really enjoyed reading this book, but I do have certain reservations. Firstly, whether a judge would allow a defendant to give his own Closing Speech. Secondly, whether the defendant would get away with so many expletives within his speech, and thirdly, whether the judge would allow him to ramble on for day after day without some form of intervention and advice.

However, this is a book well worth reading and I found that I was questioning the state of our justice system, which was probably Imran Mahmood’s intention.

Thank you, Imran for your insightful and thought-provoking book.

Sméagol

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

Wow - what a book! So descriptively written that I could envisage, smell and see the characters. This book was so different to my ‘nirmal’ Read but - please please please - read it NOW!

I love that this book is set out as a court defence speech where the defendant has dismissed his QC and has decided to tell the truth, or at least his version of the truth. The reader becomes a member of the jury and you have to decide for yourself whether he’s guilty or not at the end of the story. The plot is amazing too. It’s imaginative, perhaps too imaginative if you’re on a jury listening to it as a closing defence speech, and it’s full of plot twists. It’s so different to anything I’ve read before and I loved it. The ending is so frustrating though. I genuinely wanted to scream when I got to the end.

There’s also some humour in the book which is dark but almost appropriate. It’s almost like gallows humour. The unnamed narrator is trying to get the jury on side but he’s nervous too and both of these things show in his ‘jokes’. I laughed in very inappropriate places, like when the main character meets an Imam in a mosque and is disappointed that he doesn’t have a hook for a hand (stereotypes play a huge role in this book), but the narrator’s humour is almost a relief in such a disturbing story.

The characters are incredible. The main character, the unnamed defendant, is an amalgamation of several stereotypes of a black boy living on a council estate in London but he’s not a gang member. He’s likeable and normal, despite the fact that he’s being tried for murder, and the fact that he’s unnamed makes you realise that this could be any black boy who lives on a council estate in London because he falls into a group of people who are heavily stereotyped by society and are often viewed with an unwarranted wariness. He’s also a very unreliable narrator and that makes you question everything you think about this book.

I understand that the author is trying to accurately represent the slang that the black community use in London but it just felt a bit forced for me. Perhaps that’s because the opening of the defendant’s speech isn’t in the same tone or even in the same voice as the rest of the book. I’d love to know how a black writer would have written this. Would they have used the slang? Would it have flowed better? I can’t answer that question but while I do like the fact that the author tried I just felt like it was forced in some places.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it's very different to other thriller books that I've read. I think I need to read more legal thrillers because this one was incredibly engaging and an enlightening read.

I will be buying this book in the future, once the paperback is released in April 2018, and I'd recommend it too because it's a fantastic read.

A very powerful story that creates so many questions, all through the book I really couldn't settle on an answer, did he, or didn't he? very well written and I would highly recommend.

I was really excited when I started reading this as it seemed to be a really novel approach and the writing is good throughout. But it was just too long and too detailed and by the end I just wanted it to stop. A shorter book would have been able to say the same things and have much more impact.

This was an interesting read because at no stage does the author reveal the main character's identity. This lends some mystery to the book, and keeps the reader hooked until the end. Worth the effort.

A new author to me this book intrigued me. A crime/court procedural is right up my street but this was just a little different.
A young man in the dock for the murder of a gang member, sacks his lawyer and takes up his position in front of the jury to give the final speech himself, in his own words...
Thought provoking, this book made me really think about how we all live alongside each other without really knowing how the other is coping...what influences us, how one thing can change your life for the good or indeed bad.
I loved the no nonsense style, brutal at times but perfect

This was an unusual read, one I've never read before. It starts at the end of a court case. A young unnamed man is charged with the shooting of another young man. As the story starts he has just sacked his QC to do his own closing speech. He talks you through everything that's happened, telling you his side of the story. At the end you have to make up your own mind as to whether you think he is guilty or not. This is a very thought provoking read that I really enjoyed, it made a change from the normal type of story.

I have elected not to review this book on my blog as it wasn't one for me. However, I have seen many positive reviews so I know it is finding an audience.

I listened to the audiobook last week, reading the digital version when away from my media player. As the narrative progressed I became frustrated over the seeming leeway being afforded to tell a rambling story in a court of law. With the story drifting (and me checking when the end of the book may arrive) I was drawn back into it as the big endgame set piece unfolded.

Then the verdict - good for bookgroups...not for me. I was not happy.

Sorry. Not my favourite

This was a book that I have enjoyed reading so much (and intend to buy copies for my father-in-law, partner and best friend), I loved it. I think I love that it was set local to me, I loved the difference in class and speech pattern of the barristers versus the defendant (I even loved that the defendant was unnamed).

Unreliable narrators are one of my favourite plot devices and this character lead me to really think about what I was reading in a critical way. I drew my own conclusions -- I FELT like a juror. It's such an original writing style and among a lot of crime books that feel like they're just trying to recreate Gillian Flynn's success, it felt new. I will 100% be looking out for the next book by Imran Mahmood. I'll read whatever he wants me to next.