Police procedurals are generally the least dramatic take on crime, they focus more on details. And this book does details well.

Starting with the crime - this is a clever mystery, with the finger pointing at multiple suspects as events unravel. But that doesn't make it hard to follow, it's not full of convoluted twists to try and make it more cryptic, and it doesn't signal excessively at anyone, it just lets your mind run with a thread and see where you take yourself. I enjoy when a book lets the reader's imagination kick in, when the author isn't afraid to deliver subtle nudges and has confidence in the reader to fill in the gaps. It can be tricky to get right, but when it is I find it draws me in far more.

But, although this is a solid crime story, that's not the most notable quality of the book. This is a superb piece of multi-cultural writing... says this straight white guy... Yeah, I come from a tough position to praise such a feat I know. I'm unqualified to comment on the authenticity of most perspectives in the book, I can't pretend otherwise, but I can say that it feels natural. The perspectives feel close to those I've encountered from people who are parts of the communities in the book. They feel well researched, and that Newham cared about the details. However, it's the breadth of writing in this area that is most impressive. This is a book that does cross-cultural very well - the characters come from a wide range of religious and ethnic backgrounds, class too. It relies on the fundamental logic that there are far more similarities than differences. But it doesn't ignore that there are differences, it just frames them in a measured approach.

That captures the running strength of the writing in this book. Measured. It eschews drama for a more deliberate story. The details are nuanced rather than in your face. The characters don't become caricatures. The plot doesn't twist into a rollercoaster. It delivers a steady, engaging story that drew me in. It was no surprise to read in the notes at the back that the author has an inspiration in Scandinavian writing, for while it may not have the darkness commonly associated with that writing it has a similar confident pace and willingness to embrace the subtleties of life, and death.

All in all an engaging read that offers up East London in a mature way. It doesn't hide from the complexities of a multi-cultural society. It's well written in many aspects and well worth picking up.

A remarkable first novel! A young Bangladeshi Detective Inspector finds herself investigating a murder at an East End school that she herself had attended soon after coming to live in England, Intertwined with her story we follow Steve, an Australian teacher just joining the school, trying to get to know pupils from different nationalities as well as unfamiliar staff. DI Maya finds herself pulled towards the recent suicide of a teenage girl and feels there must be a connection somewhere - is it religion, family feuding, violence or what.? This is a "can't put down" novel and a 'must read'.

If you could imagine a novel written by a Guardian reader, totally committed to diversity and multiculturalism, this is it. Although the plot is quite well conceived it is not well written and struggles to keep your attention. Not a new star to look out for

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a well written book but one i just couldnt get into...though i did finish it to see who the killer was, it just wasnt for me

a murder happens in a school, found by a new teacher and what follows introduces you to a mix match of people who were in the school before the pupils arrive...some are nice and are not...just everyday life but what follows introduces topical themes of arranged marriages and muslims and a host of other issues that are happening in real day life...

again this book was well written and paced but it never really grabbed me apart from wanting to find out who the murderer was and why...

In Turn A Blind Eye, we meet DI Maya Rahman who having just returned from burying her brother who had committed suicide, finds herself with a murder case and the victim is the head from Maya’s old school.
Based in and around the east end of London, it is a bog-standard murder mystery at first but then it begins to explore the melting pot of most large modern British cities with the religious, racial and cultural differences of the people who live there although we learn through flashback from when Maya was young that these tensions are anything but new.
We are taken through the story from different viewpoints and we can hear the murderers thoughts.
I was disappointed with the twist at the end, but as a first book in a new series, I was pleasantly surprised and will certainly look out for more by this author.

I am always on the look out for new crime series to start reading, So when I came across Turn a Blind Eye by Vicky Newham on Netgalley I was really interested in reading the book.



Coming back to the UK after her brother suicide, DI Maya Rahman is drawn into a murder investigation at her old school. The day before the school open back up to students after the Christmas break, the Headmistress is found strangled in her office. The only real clue is a piece of card with a Buddhist precept: I Shall abstain from taking the ungiven.

At first it seems like an isolated case, but when another body turns up Maya will have to dig up what is truly going on this school. Maya must find out the secrets is this school and the community, and why it connects to the suicide of a young girl before someone else ends up dead.



I was fascinated in the community and the cultural in this book, it's a true mixture with different religions and ethnicity.  I was interesting to read about a lead character that has to deal with being female and ethnic in the police force and a community that isn't happy if you are too british or to ethnicity and trying to get the right balance for her.

The story is compelling and fast paced, the story deals with murder, suicide and forced marriage with keeps the book very interesting. I was really interested in the forced marriage part of the story, and what the school and police dealt with this, and how people of different cultures see the definition arrange marriage differently.  There are a lot of characters in the book, so I had to double-check parts of the story just to make sure I was remember correctly what connected to which character.

I admired Maya as a character, she works hard and wants to do the best for the people of the community, which is a stark contrast to ber boss DCI Briscall who is very old school in his thinking and behaviour.  I am looking forward to find out more about Maya in the next books.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5.

Maya Rahman is a great addition to UK fictional detectives.

Thank you Netgalley and HQ for the e-book copy of this books, so I could give a fair and honest review.

Most of this book is a gripping story. Maya, the lead detective, is a credible, though flawed, character, and we get to learn more about her background as the story progresses. The setting in Tower Hamlets is thoroughly researched, and gives the book a solid sense of place. Dan, the Australian number two, is also a likeable character.
The opening of the book is unfortunately not its best at all. The gruesome descriptions nearly made me stop before I'd got going. Likewise, the clunky passage where the first body is discovered does not seem true at all.
Overall though, it is a good read, and I would read other books if this becomes a series.

I really enjoyed this book, DI Maya Rahman is a very different character, and I will definitely be reading more from this author.

DI Maya Rahman is a Bangladeshi police officer who is involved with the murder of head teacher Linda Gibson at Mile End High School.. What starts as a single murder turns out to be more complex than initially thought with references to precepts of Buddhism. As more teachers are murdered it is down to Maya and her team to find the killer before the fifth and final precept is used.
The book is very slow paced with little activity with the characters. The chapters are split between Maya, her colleague Dan and new teacher Steve. Interspersed are flash backs to Maya's childhood which have no relevance to the story line at all so unsure why they have been included.

Situated in London’s traditional East End, the Borough of Tower Hamlets has one of the highest ethnic minority populations in the city – in particular, a well established British Bengali community – known locally as ‘Londonis’.

This racially diverse zone is DI Maya Rahman’s patch, and the place she grew up after leaving Sylhet with her parents and siblings at the age of four. When the popular headmistress at her old school is found brutally and ritualistically murdered, she is left working against the clock to determine why an ancient Buddhist precept: “I shall abstain from taking the ungiven,” has been written on a piece of card and left at the scene.

Rahman is a flawed but empathetic individual with a complex backstory. She is single-minded and driven, but also cares a about the people she encounters, especially when they are victims of racially motivated crimes. Her sidekick, the Australian detective sergeant Dan Maguire, is an intriguing character who enables the author to indulge her interest in Aboriginal culture by having him compare ethnic tensions in Sydney and London.

This is Vicky Newham’s debut novel, and the first to feature DI Maya Rahman. She now lives and writes in the pretty harbour town of Whitstable, but for many years was a psychologist, and became a secondary school teacher in East London. In a Q&A session with her at the back of the novel, she talks about her connection to the area, revealing that many of her pupils were Bangladeshi, and in order to help them “gain as much as possible from their education”, she endeavoured to “learn about their lives.” She is, apparently, still in touch with many people there, which she found “useful for the books.”

I found the topic of ethnic diversity to be one of the most compelling aspects of the novel – and it certainly drove the plot of this contemporary police procedural – although I didn’t know whodunnit until all was revealed at the end. There is also an intriguing Rahman family mystery weaving itself through the storyline, but it’s left unresolved, meaning it will undoubtedly reappear at a later date.

I had slight reservations about the constant switch from first to third person narrative, which was sometimes distracting and made the quality of writing seem patchy. However, one expects a few minor flaws of this sort in a first novel.

'Turn a Blind Eye' is the first book in a forthcoming series to feature Maya Rahman, and has already been optioned for TV by Playground Entertainment. The second, 'Out of the Ashes', is due for publication on 4th April 2019.

Excellent unusual police procedural set in Londons East End around a Bangladeshi detective and her investigation into a school murder which develops into a fascinating tale of serial killing with mixed religions creating a mood of distrust. Beautifully described and well paced this grabs the attention all the way through and I hope for more soon!

A good steady paced crime novel. The first in the series for DI Maya Rahman who is a strong Bangladeshi character. Maya has her own problems with the death of her brother however this doesn't stop her throwing herself into her work and investigating the death of head teacher in a multi ethnic school.
I really enjoyed this book and found the multi cultural plot unique and well researched, the references to the Buddhist precept were so well used to make for a more interesting read.
One character I would like to know more about is Dan, he came to the UK while leaving his family in Australia, I can see Dan being a strong partner to Maya and look forward to the character developing in the coming books.
I will be watching out for the next book!

I really enjoyed this book. I definitely got into the story and wanted to read till the end. The setting in East London definitely felt authentic. It was very interesting with all the different cultures. It tells the story of a murdered head mistress at a school in East London. DI Maya is in charge of the investigation. I wouldn't say it was the best in this genre but it definitely was gripping. I think there maybe could have been more of a twist at the end.. It is definitely worth a read though.

This is a murder mystery which turns into much more as it explores cultural, racial and religious issues that create a tangled web of intrigue, based around an East London school. I felt the Aboriginal connections could have been left for another novel although I understood it was illustrating another dimension of the impact of racial tensions. Good characterisation and a strong female lead added to the realism of the police investigation.

This was a fascinatingly insightful story, clearly written by someone who is absolutely confident and experienced in her subject matter. A series of murders painstakingly investigated with cultural clashes and traditions clouding the way. Excellent debut.

Loved this thrilling story that had me hooked from beginning to end.

My thanks to the publisher HQ and Netgalley for an opportunity to offer my free unbiased review. I don't do spoilers or repeating details about the tale - for this read the blurb or other reviews. My interests lie in the author's technique and prose style.
Any new author, or should I say any newly published author, must have a daunting time, first the excitement of having their work taken up but also a degree of concern when it comes to reviews. Vicky Newman should have little to worry her in respect of the reviews she is set for success. Like a lot of first books there is a degree of over writing, which I am sure a good editor, in future, will advise her to trim back the unnecessary descriptive prose and stick with the characterisation, storyline and plot. "Turn a Blind Eye" is a good refreshing line of writing much needed in our world of too many biased ir agenda based views about our mixed cultures. It is a brave venture and I hope will be well supported by the Bangladeshi community and well received by indigenous readers. I found it fascinating and it also helped me understand a little of what a culture clash new citizens must feel when coming to the west. 5 Stars all the way - I look forward to the next volume.

Turn A Blind Eye by Vicky Newman is a fabulous debut novel from what promises to be a very talented author. It is the first in a series centred on D.I. Maya Rahman and I cannot wait for more.
Set in London's East End, the reader finds themselves caught up in suicide, murder and Buddhism. What are the links, if any? And why does the epicentre focus on a multicultural high school? Scandal sits side by side with everyday life, as the reader moves from classroom to murder scene. It's a real page turner that consumed me as I could not put it down. It will make a fabulous ITV series.
The action is written from several different viewpoints, in both the first and third person. The reader 'hears' the murderer's voice and tries desperately hard to work out who it is.
With a marvellous cast of cosmopolitan characters, the reader is treated to the sights, sounds and tensions of modern Britain. Flashbacks to D.I. Rahman's youth shows these tensions are not new.
I really enjoyed this action packed novel. It is always exciting to find a new author and to read a debut novel, is just the icing on the cake.
A compulsive, realistic nail biting read.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

This is a little tricky to review if I'm honest. I found it refreshing reading a book containing many ethnic minority characters and a story based in East London. I also loved Maya as a character who posesses such admirable strength given she is getting through her brother's suicide. Another thing I enjoyed was the inclusion of forced marriages and the power a school has in ensuring their children feel supported. It flits between the past and present which helps in understanding Maya.

Given the recent fast paced psychological thrillers I have been loving, this was quite slow for me and just not exciting. However the writing was very good, I would recommend Turn a Blind Eye to any psychological thriller and crime genre fans in general.

This is my honest opinion of the book in exchange for a review copy through NetGalley, thanks to the publisher.