Maya arrived in the UK from Bangladesh as a young child and goes on to become a Police Officer in her local community. A murder at her former school unlocks all kinds of racial tensions as well as personality clashes, and leads to Maya examining her past. A gripping read.

What an absorbing and detailed story this was. I was convinced that the author must have been a Bangladeshi herself and was totally surprised that this wasn't the case. The attention to detail was incredible whilst not detracting from a very solid and interesting story line. I look forward to reading more about Maya.

This was thoughtful and well written novel. I was kept hooked by all the interwoven characters and the fast paced story line. I cant wait for the next installment.

A clever and interesting new take on British crime with a relevant mixture of personalities, cultures and the issues raised in a modern city.

This is superb. It has everything needed to keep readers enthralled. Very well written, the story is cleverly crafted and the diverse characters very well drawn. It deals openly and fairly with sensitive and threatening issues. Every time I thought I'd guessed the killer, I was wrong! This book deserves to be an enormous success. Another attribute that is that it recalls to the reader events we have heard about but recall only vaguely or never really understood. Now,that understanding is ensured.

This book was so amazing it had me gripped right from the first page right to the last with so many twists and turns. It grips you and does not let you go until you get to the end.

The book is set around Mile End school in East London, where the head teacher is killed and its down to detective inspector Maya Rahman and her team to find the murderer.
Then other murders happen and all people have a connection to the school and what happened to the girl who committed suicide. DI Maya is put under pressure from her boss to find the killer quickly. You can see that Detective chief inspector Ian Briscall does not like Maya and tries to make her look incompetent every way he can. But Maya is one tough cookie and she stands her ground and gets the results.

Maya thinks it is all related to a girl who was forced in to an arranged marriage against her will.
Maya has to prove that all the murders are related and she and her team take us on a roller coaster ride of emotions.

This book was different because Maya is a bangladeshi detective which is a nice twist and she is really likeable from the first page right to the last.

Another nice thing about this book was that you got to see how much Maya loves her family and you see her growing up in the east end and getting to where she is now.

A brilliant debut novel and I have found another favourite author if I could give it more than 5 stars I would. Please don't make us wait too long for the next DI Maya Rahman novel.

Turn a Blind Eye by Vicky Newman a five-star read that will turn your eye. This is the first book in the DI Maya Rahman novels, it’s a very strong start to what I am imagining will be a very good series, the setting in the Tower Hamlets area of east London is very gritty and real, you could imagine it as its own character with its own set of problems. Having been in the area a few times and dealing with the people who live and work in the area on a daily basis made this a great setting for me, I could visualise the areas she was working in. The other thing was how multi-cultural the story was, just like the area there are heavy multi-cultural influences in the story. I think all of this together glossed over a few little errors along the way, it made a great story overall.
There were twists and turns in this story that will twist your brain as well as your eye, It really does keep you guessing until the end about who the murders was.

This is an interesting story exploring the difficulties of cross cultures living in the UK. It tackles racial crime and issues of the immigrant population - both successful and struggling. The book also manages to convince the reader of its authentic understanding of racial issues. . There is a murder story running alongside these issues which in Agatha Christie style has several possible protagonists. The unravelling of the possibilities is a very good read. I enjoyed and recommend it.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed it. It took a bit of time to read as there was a lot to take in. It was definitely worth reading. Great story a lot of characters. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a good long story. A 5 star book.

The themes in this detective novel are relevant and the setting of East London is recognisable both in its ethnic diversity and in author Vicky Newham’s depiction of the striking contrast between the housing and education opportunities afforded to the rich and poor. At the centre of the story, driving the investigation into the murder of a much-respected local head teacher, is a Bangladeshi DI, Maya Rahman, who is gutsy, empathetic and energetic. So far, so good.
However, ‘Turn a Blind Eye’ suffers badly from the author’s desire to include just about every issue that she can think of. Central to the storyline is the crime of forced marriage: topical, important and relevant to modern Britain. However, other ‘big’ themes come thick and fast – homophobia; racism; failed relationships; dominating men; press intrusiveness; school league tables; economic fraud; blackmail; paedophilia; religious fundamentalism; mental illness, and so it goes on. And that’s a shame because these serious issues are trivialised through the superficial way in which they are developed. Whilst the author’s ideas clearly come thick and fast, perhaps it would be better to remember the adage ‘Less is more’.
I’m sure that we haven’t heard the last of Maya Rahman, the novel’s redeeming feature. I hope that next time she’s on a case the complex society in which she lives can be presented more subtly so that we can believe in the gritty world that Vicky Newham is at pains to present. This first foray into the world of Maya Rahman was too formulaic to capture my interest.

As I started reading this I was a bit confused. I had thought that Maya was a doctor but soon realized that she was a DI. The story had me guessing who was the killer. Very well constructed and will definitely buy the next book.

I enjoyed this book. It's the first in a new series featuring a female, Bangladeshi police officer called Maya Rahman. Most of the story takes place in a multi ethnic comprehensive school in the Tower Hamlets area of London. The head teacher is found murdered in her office on the first day of term. The killer has left a note which is related to Buddhist teachings. It is up to Maya and her team to uncover what has been going on at the school, especially when 2 other members of staff are found murdered. Cultural and ethnic differences lie at the heart of the plot, which makes it different from the usual police procedurals. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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To paraphrase the old football maxim - 'this is a book of 2 halves.
The first and last quarters were excellent, kept me guessing, poignant at times and provided a new insight (for me) into the Muslim culture and to a lesser degree into the Buddhist culture.
I found the middle of the book very slow and I lost my interest. Every chapter seemed to end with another dead end or a new question and it needed something important to happen.
I read the acknowledgement and questions/answers at the end and this helped to clarify how the authoress (still in the dictionary I believe) had written such a very good book.
The murderer was not evident to me until the very end and kept me guessing!

Some good characters but I found the plot disjointed and confusing as it switched between the different characters and time periods. Felt she’d tried too hard to cram lots of different issues in and the murderer’s reasons weren’t credible. Needs stricter editing.