Set in London's East End, with a likeable female detective, 'Turn a Blind Eye', is a police procedural mystery that explores the positives, pressures and problems of contemporary East End society.
Focusing on a murder that takes place at a local school,  DI Maya Rahman investigates who killed the headteacher through her understanding of the fears, loyalties and secrets of this multi-racial culture, while coming to terms with her devastating, personal tragedy.
Maya is a sympathetic character, she is committed to making a difference and her keen observation skills and knowledge of the local culture, make her an excellent detective character. Dan, her number two, an Australian fast track officer brings a different perspective to the case and complements Maya's skills. They make an unusual but exciting detective team.
The well- written thought-provoking plot has many poignant moments and is compelling and realistic. It keeps its secrets until the final scenes and has a credible ending.  The pacing is slow at times, but this reflects the police procedure.
I received a copy of this book from HQ via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

When headteacher Linda Gibson is found strangled in her East London school, her death appears to be a brutal ritualistic killing. When a second body is found, DI Maya Rahman realises this is not an isolated case and the killer is likely to strike again.
Can Maya untangle the complex web of potential suspects before the body count rises?
In a genre awash with detective novels, Turn a Blind Eye manages to bring something fresh to the table, as well as being a remarkably accomplished debut novel.
The plot is convoluted with some great twists and turns, demonstrating that investigating crime is far from straightforward and often hard to get right because of the potential avenues the many available leads might take them.
Vicky Newham has written a narrative which not only provides an engaging whodunit but also tackles the issues of racism and prejudice head on, with sensitivity and a sense of someone who is relating this from first-hand experience.
Where the novel really scores in terms of developing the readership is the characterisation of DI Maya Rahman. Making a connection with the main protagonist or protagonists is an essential part of a crime novel. On the surface Maya appears to be a very normal person. She might have a well-established and stable relationship with her Glaswegian boyfriend and a loving and close one with her married sister and fun-loving niece. But this belies a tragic backstory of personal loss. As a result, Maya is a three-dimensional character with room to grow in what should hopefully be a series in which we experience the world of criminal investigation through someone making her way in a highly competitive and challenging work life.

Murder is murder in all walks of life.

A headmistress of a multi-cultural school is brutally murdered. DI Maya Rahman is called in to solve this brutal and ritualistic killing. Soon the body count rises and so does the community, frightened by the lack of progress of the investigation.

The only clues are pieces of card inscribed with some Buddhist precepts left by each body. What has a teen suicide, these precepts and deleted e-mails to do with these murders?

This is a good book but with a few too many characters, so I had to keep going back to refresh my memory. I also suspected just about everyone!!

The multi-cultural element is handled very well as the racial stories could have been a minefield if not properly written. The reference to the many different races living in London was totally factual and at no time did I feel it was suggested that the minorities were treated badly.

Although the story was a little sketchy and not always clear, this is a very good book and the characters were believable. I especially liked DI Rahman and her Aussie sidekick.

I look forward to more books featuring DI Rahman

Chester.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I read through this pretty quickly. The story held my interest throughout. The main character, Maya Rahman comes from a Bangladeshi background which adds an interesting dimension to the story. The book deals with some complicated social issues in a multi cultural setting with a load of murder thrown in!

Stunning debut police procedural set in multi racial London. Fascinating characters, especially D I Maya Rahman, who leaps fully formed from the page. Well plotted and, for me, a surprise murderer. I’m hoping this will be the first of many.

Sorry I just couldn't get on with it. Some books it happens

I am always interested in reading books by new authors. So, Turn a Blind Eye by Vicky Newham was a great find.
DI Maya Rahman is just back from burying her brother in Bangladesh and has to cut short her compassionate leave, as
she is called in to investigate the murder of Linda Gibson, a headteacher of Maya's old school, called Mile End High School. Linda was was found strangled in her office, bound and displayed, a Buddhist precept, "I shall abstain from taking the ungiven" printed on a card and left by her body. Then, the second body is found.
DI Maya Rahman and her team must work quickly to untangle the cryptic messages left on the crime scenes before the murder or murderers strike again
I enjoyed this book and looking forward to read more Vicky Newham's books especially DI Maya Rahman series.

Big Thank you to HQ, and NetGalley who gave me a copy of their book for an honest review.

4 stars for this book x

This is a well crafted and researched story. It stands up well against the serialised police dramas on the television. Kept me guessing right to the end. A great read.

A complete page turner. I had no idea how fascinating I would find this book when I started it. Lives are interwoven to produce a rich tapestry in a thriller full of twists and turns. Many deaths follow until the final conclusion..I look forward to more books from this author.

An amazing debut book...
I loved the intricately woven story, cleverly written and involving.
DI Rahaman is a great character with a complex life, her back story is very important to how she lives and works.
A new term at Mile End school, it should be a new start but it's the end for Headmistress Linda Gibson.
What follows is the investigation into her death, the reason why and who could be next....
I'm looking forward to the next in this series

Thanks for the arc
Will post review later in April

Turn a Blind Eye is book 1 in the DI Maya Rahman series.

I thought the story was written quite well. I could see how much research was gone into it, with some vivid settings. Also, that fact that East London/Mile End area is practically next to my house helped. The cultural and religious aspect was very touching and heart-breaking. However, sometimes it was confusing when I couldn't tell who said what.

Overall, a good mystery story.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for providing me with this advanced copy.

Another day another new police procedural series to get my teeth into, and a debut to boot - how delicious! I'm always on the lookout for new series, especially in this, my go to, genre. But will it meet my quite high standards? Very nearly...
We start with an incident in a school. First day back after the holidays for the teachers doesn't really go according to plan as, after a series of other incidents, the head teacher is found dead. DI Maya Rahman has just only just returned to the country after a personal tragedy took her back to her birth country but, as the murder occurred in the school she once, mostly, fondly attended she really wants to lead the investigation so returns to work early. Then another, connected, member of staff is also found dead. With the deaths most likely linked, can Maya get to the bottom of things and find the culprit before the death toll rises further?
There are so many series in this genre around these days, with more and more added each week so a new series will need to have a little something to stand out from the crowd and get noticed. Something more than the ubiquitous wounded/addicted cop that is! In this book Ms Newham has managed to create a lead detective who is both interesting and exciting. There is a great ethnic diversity to be found within the book and community it is set in, but it goes hand in hand with a community spirit and cultural awareness so it all feels completely natural and not contrived at all. Even Maya's own backstory moved me as it was drip fed throughout the book and we met some of her family. The way this was done complemented the main story narrative rather than distracting away from it. I also learned a lot about different cultures whilst reading the book - some of which I did find distracting but then that's more due to my lack of knowledge and needing to look certain things up rather than over-inclusion by the author.
If the diversity in the book so far wasn't enough, Maya's trusty cop sidekick and Australian Dan has his own contribution to make with his mixed marriage to an Aboriginal woman. I assume that this will have some bigger part to play in future books in this series rather than just an aside addition into the mix here. Hope so anyway.
The plot itself - the crime, motivation and ultimate reveal and explanation - was expertly done. The ethnic and religious elements were very carefully and respectfully handled and apart from a few times where it got a bit bogged down in school politics, went along at a fair lick, managing to hold my attention nicely throughout. We had all the usual elements you'd expect in this genre of book, namely secrets, lies and duplicitous behaviour, as well as a health dose of direction and misdirection. We also have an unhelpful superior officer and an annoying journalist so I did have a nearly full bingo card by the end of the book!
Whether the picture painted by this book with regard to the diversity and problems faced by mixed communities in this part of the country, especially in the schools, is true is not in my realm of expertise but the way that the author has created it does make it feel real to me and, at the end of the day, that's what matters to me as a reader.
All in all a solid opener to a series which has piqued my interest enough to make me look out for book two. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Turn a Blind Eye by Vicky Newham

It is early January and the start of the spring term at Mile End High School in East London. The school has a lot to deal with. A student has recently committed suicide. The teachers must try and bring the school together in its wake but today further tragedy will strike. Steve, a teacher on his very first day at the school, stumbles across, quite literally, the headteacher Linda Gibson, murdered. And by her side he finds a piece of card and on it is written the Buddhist precept ‘I shall abstain from taking the ungiven’.

DI Maya Rahman is given the case but it doesn’t prove easy. This mixed inner city community, which has the school at its heart, is troubled and divided, and prejudice is rife. Maya, reeling from the recent death of her beloved brother, and DS Dan Maguire, an Australian on a fast track to promotion but far from his family, have much to overcome but it isn’t long before one murder becomes two, accompanied by another Buddhist precept. And meanwhile the community and the media watch and they don’t miss a thing.

Turn a Blind Eye is Vicky Newham’s debut novel and her background as a psychologist and teacher in inner city London are used to great effect in this indepth and fascinating portrait of a community in trouble. We’re presented with people from a broad range of cultures, religions and backgrounds and some of them conflict. The school is vital in trying to bring everyone together but nowhere is the crisis more apparent than in the school. But if a murderer’s actions force it to close then it would send a devastating message. It’s imperative that this doesn’t happen.

Maya is a marvellous character, bridging cultures and extremely sensitive to them all. This is a crime novel but the author’s attention first and foremost is on its people, notably its detective, and what an unusual detective Maya is. Throughout the novel we’re given glimpses of Maya’s upbringing and the descriptions of her early years in one of London’s poorest boroughs, so soon after emigrating from Bangladesh, are an eye opener. The issues that Maya and her family faced still continue and Maya is determined to get to the bottom of what exactly is up with this school. Dan is another outsider, an Australian far from home and in the wrong time zone for communicating as regularly as he’d like with the family he loves. The relationship between Maya and Dan is one of the pleasures of the novel.

There are so many big themes and ideas on display in Turn a Blind Eye. It’s a rewarding read. There’s so much to learn about the different communities and with the issues that they face. Everyone in such a diverse part of London could be seen as an outsider of one sort or another but it’s this diversity that is also such a source of richness and local identity. If I have one issue it is that at times it feels as if there is a little too much explanation or background information. But Vicky Newham is an author with a great deal of story to tell and she most certainly knows her stuff.

Turn a Blind Eye is a strong debut, written with such warmth, empathy and care. Maya Rahman is a fantastic creation and I’m so glad to have met her. This is going to be a great series!

A Great Debut Crime Thriller set in a turbulent inner-City London:
"Turn a Blind Eye" is the debut novel of Vicky Newham. Newham draws on her extensive personal experience of inner city social problems in this excellent thriller. The novel opens with the murder of the Head Teacher of Mile End High School in London. The murder is set against a background of cultural and racial tensions within the school and environs. The story-line is gripping, the characters realistic. Vicky Newham relates the narrative through four different characters: Maya (a D.I.), Dan (a D.S.), Steve (a teacher, new to the school) and the murderer. These characters each provide a different perspective as the novel progresses and contribute to a narrative which flows with ease. D.I. Maya's family experiences have a bearing on her outlook on life, and the investigation in particular, and the author provides periodic, relevant flashbacks which add to the depth of the novel.
Most Crime Thrillers these days sport a serial killer at work and "Turn a Blind Eye" is no different. D. I. Maya and D.S. Dan are soon aware that time is running out as they hunt down the killer. Whilst the School is the focal point, they seek to discover the links between the victims, which might reveal the motive and identity of the killer. Meanwhile the investigation is hampered by the unnecessary meddling of D.C.I. Briscall. He is not a nice detective. The reader wants him to get his comeuppance but will that happen? The author provides the reader with many character who might be the perpetrator. Needless to say I guessed wrongly.
2018 has already seen the release of many quality Crime Thrillers and this is without doubt one of them.
The novel presents a realistic picture of the problems faced by teachers, social workers, law enforcement and support agencies within the East End of London. No different from other cities in Western Europe. In many ways the storyline served to make us all aware of the problems faced as we struggle towards the ultimate solution: assimilation.
I would definitely recommend this as a book to read: in my opinion it is a five star read.

The insightful story is of a female Muslim detective DI Rahman’s investigation into the murder of a head teacher of a comprehensive mixed sex school in Tower hamlets. The murdered body is found with its hands tied together and a card left nearby quoting the second Buddhist precept. When a second senior staff member is also murdered likewise with a card left quoting the third Buddhist precept it seems that a serial killer is at large. With a suspicion that they are linked to the recent suicide of a Muslim female student of the school it is a puzzle as to what it means , who is the next, was there a first, how are they linked? How this affects the school and local community and the clash of cultures that may have been affected provides a fascinating insight into the problems of serving a multicultural society when falling into the temptations of being politically correct vs. the responsibilities a fulfilling the law can have tragic consequences.

This book is too graphic in the descriptions of the dead bodies. I couldn't read on past the first few chapters because it didn't hold my attention. Thank you for letting me review the book but I'm afraid this one isn't for me.

I appreciated the opportunity to read this book but, unfortunately, I couldn't get past the first 2 chapters. I'm not a squeamish person but I found the graphic descriptions of a burning body and falling onto a corpse too unpleasant and disturbing to want to continue any further.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable detective thriller with plenty of interesting characters.
Well worth a read.

3.5/4*

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