An intense legal drama that explores ethical and moral issues. When a young disabled girl accuses four young boys of rape. Contemporary issues of race, religion, prejudice and social divisiveness are all in evidence in this authentically plotted crime fiction novel.

The first half of the story begins with the rape accusation and the police procedural that follows on from this. Jodie makes her accusation at a rape crisis centre, which brings her into contact to Zara, an ex-barrister, now reinvented as a rape crisis caseworker. Jodie accuses four boys at her school, she is white and suffers from a disfiguring disability to her face, which has laid her open to bullying throughout her young life. The boys are all Muslim, Zara is also Muslim, and so from the outset, there is inevitable tension, between individuals, families and the community.

There is a strong element of family drama in this first part of the story, as we learn more about the victim, her advocate and the four accused boys. The family reactions and the power of social media are all well documented here. Trial by the press and social media are recurrent themes, and everyone is tainted by them.

The second part of the story is the trial. The courtroom drama is portrayed believably. The drama outside the courtroom is disturbing and powerful. The penultimate twist is harrowing, but don't breathe out too soon, there is more, and this is what makes this story resonate.

Complex, contemporary characters, realistic social issues, and a good understanding of the communities and the issues that they face, make this story read like 'true crime' rather than fiction. It is worth reading, even though, sometimes, it's painful to do so.

I received a copy of this book from HQ via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A most enjoyable read, which raised interesting moral and ethical questions and made you think about how our own lives and innate prejudices can influence our decisions and affect our judgement of others. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes crime fiction and courtroom drama.

A very controversial story about 4 teenage Muslim boys who are accused of raping a disabled white girl. A muslim woman is also representing the young girl.
The storyline is a tough one and had me feeling very uncomfortable. The Author made it feel authentic be it with Muslim culture, the law and society in general. A community divided who to believe. I liked the story and found myself feeling sorry for everyone involved. The characters were that believable. Great read thank you Netgalley for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is different from my usual kind of book but I found it to be gripping from the start. I couldn't put it down .
Highly recommended

Zara works for a rape crisis centre. An ex lawyer who has turned her back on her Muslim upbringing and wants the nice things in life. Jodie, a 16 year old accuses four Muslim teenagers of rape: is she telling the truth?

It’s not often I finish a book with wow but this floored me! The pain that all parties are going through and the ferocity of the opposing sides was amazing. What a read. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Jodie, a white schoolgirl accuses 4 of her Muslim classmates but who is telling the truth is something Zara (ex barrister, now a counsellor), a Muslim herself has to decide, before involving the police etc. It’s hard to know what to say about this book with the various subjects which arise, which are dark and unsettling. I didn’t like the start of this at all and found it a struggle, then it improved when the main characters appeared. Not easy to feel sympathy for anyone involved in this drama which really is a must in a book such as this plus Zara is particularly hard to like. It was interesting to see things from another perspective though.

A shocking legal thriller pulling together many strings in a un put down able novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was a really good read. It was disturbing and made me uncomfortable at times. 16 year old Jodie Wolfe appears at the Rape counselling centre and former barrister Zara Kaleel is assigned her case where she accuses 4 muslim boys of raping her. Zara believes Jodie, who is a sad girl, with a horrible home life and a facial deformity that has made her life a misery. Zara, herself muslim, and who has been estranged from her family for walking away from an arranged marriage finds herself at the centre of the news surrounding the case. she is targetted by her own community, and we gradually learn what has brought her to where she is today. The story shows the effect of a serious crime on everyone affected - the victim, the accused, the professionals who are involved like it or not. There were many twists and when it came to the verdict I wasn't sure what I believed. The final twist was explosive!

This has to be one of my favourite if not THE favourite book of the year! I was looking for something different to read and WOW did I find it in this book. Take It Back is so much more than a gripping legal thriller. I was hooked from the first to the last page. I could not decide who was telling the truth and who wasn't. A disfigured white teenager accuses four Muslim teenage boys of rape. It's simply a compelling, outstanding read. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would!

Yesss! This is how to write an amazing thriller/courtroom drama I mean in my humble opinion not that I have any expertise on writing 😂
But this is probably one of my favourite books in 2019! I loved it that much!
When Jodie a teenager who has facial deformities and an abusive home life accuses four Muslim boys from good, hard-working immigrant families of an unthinkable horrific attack the race is on to find out if Jodie is telling the truth or if the boys are innocent!
Zara a Muslim barrister gave up her Career to work with victims of sexual violence at Artemis house takes on Jodie's case but that isn't without repercussions for her.
Let me just say I've not felt so strongly for characters as I did in this book for a while now. I had no idea who was telling the truth and my mind constantly changed.
The humanization of the defendants accused of this heinous crime really added another layer to this story for me it made an impact and made me reserve judgment which is something I didn't expect when I read the synopsis of this.
The author has very cleverly created such an intense compelling read with plenty of twists and turns and I actually read this with my heart in my mouth. It's one of those few books that make you gasp out loud!
It's heartbreaking and upsetting but at the same time it's such an important topic and was dealt with so sensitively this book will stay with me for a long time.

I guess this book is quite apt in the way it is a commentary on recent events that have happened in the UK.
As a Muslim I was hoping to read a book that didn't tar all Muslims with the same brush and mostly the author succeeded yet there were some stereotypes I think she could have researched before hand.

The story was well written and the ending was a surprise.

Our character Zara is a diamond through the deepest of dirts, uncovering the truth behind a sexual assault.

This book follows themes such as religion and culture, all whilst maintaining such incredible pace. The ending was an unexpected addition to an already wild plot. Thank you for letting me read

The blurb sounded good but the book was disappointing. I kept on reading waiting for something to happen. It just did not hold my attention. Saying that I am sure other readers will enjoy it more. Just not for me.

Kia Abdullah has written a superb, powerful and intelligent psychological thriller and courtroom drama as it exposes all the loathsome prejudices and differences in this contemporary world. Encompassing race, class, disabilities, religion, politics and culture, this was a deeply unsettling and uncompromising read, with incredibly well- executed storytelling by the author.

Although I haven’t read any other work by this author, I had no problem getting stuck in to Take It Back and I was really thrilled with the story! It felt all too real and authentic and it could so easily be true.

This superb, multi-layered thriller really packed a punch with its clever, excellent plot, sharp commentary and plenty of suspense and drama to interest the reader. Horrifyingly plausible, it was the kind of story that made me question myself and my own opinions.This made for an uncomfortable and disquieting reading experience at times, but was all the more compelling for it.

I particularly liked Kia Abdullah’s first-rate and skilful character creation, many of whom I was absorbed in, no matter what particular traits they possessed. There was definitely something about the complexity of the characters that completely held my attention as I questioned each one’s variation of the truth.

Emotional and often disturbing, Take It Back kept me on my toes and fully entertained all the way through. I found my thoughts constantly changing, making for a tense and unpredictable read.

If you are a fan of atypical psychological thrillers, challenging story-lines and courtroom dramas, you don't want to miss Take It Back!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from HQ via NetGalley at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

When a young girl from a disadvantaged background and facial deformities accuses four Muslim boys of rape the case spirals into an ugly game of she said/he said – but who is lying and at what cost?

I found Take It Back to be a tricky book to review. On the one hand it’s a compelling courtroom drama that tackles difficult and unusual subjects. It pulls up a lot of interesting points about race, religion, family, drugs, commitment, disability which all come together to make a powerful read. I like how in depth the Muslim community was portrayed (although not always with a positive brush at times). Zara is an interesting main character – a powerful lawyer who gave up her career to help victims of sexual assault, ostracised by her family for refusing to have an arranged marriage and baring the brunt of an entire community for her choices on this particular case. However, I actually found her quite a hard character to sympathise with, she is so distant emotionally and we don’t really get in her head enough to see any of this break down at points except when she makes some unwise decisions. There aren’t really any characters in the book that I liked or sympathised with which made for a tiring read at times.

I felt the case itself was very interesting but lacking in depth as well, by the time we got to the actual case the book seemed more focused on what was going on outside the case rather than the information being portrayed. The last chapter of the book however, is a great twist that I did not see coming, although it arrived a little too late to make much of an impact on my reaction to the book as a whole.

Overall Take It Back is a powerful read that covers a variety of subjects, I just felt that it would have been nice to get into the main characters head a little more than we did. Thank you to NetGalley & HQ Stories for a chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book, I could not have guessed how the story unfolded. I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Kia Abdullah for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Sixteen year old Jodie Wolfe had not had an easy upbringing. Jodie had been born with a severe facial deformity. Her father had left when Jodie was two due to the way she looked. Jodie was also a carer for her mum who was an alcoholic.

Jodie had been bullied at school but her friend Nina persuaded her to attend a classmates party. Once there Jodie left the party with Amir who she had a crush on. They went to a warehouse where Amir and his friends raped her.

Shocked Jodie went to ex barrister now rape counsellor Zara Kahell. Zara believed her but knew the trial would be controversial because Jodie was white and Amir and his friends were British Muslims. Zara herself came from a traditional Muslim household which she had always fought against. Zara had left her arranged marriage after two weeks when it wasn't working and left the criminal bar.

Take It Back is set to be my favourite book of 2019. This plot was bigger than a courtroom thriller. It was about rape, racism, religion, sexism and trial by media.

I constantly changed by mind constantly throughout the story. At first I believed Jodie and was angry on her behalf. However I changed my mind when I read about Amir and his friend Hassan, they seemed like a decent kids.

I loved the double bluff at the end, I did not see that coming.

I liked Zara and the mysterious private investigator Erin. I enjoyed reading about Zara and the problems she had fitting in with her conservative Muslim family. I would love her to have her own series.

I would give this book more than five 🌟🌟 🌟🌟🌟 stars if I could.

I was really taken by surprise with this book as it was not at all what I was expecting - in a very good way!
Take it Back follows the story of 16 year old Jodie who has had a difficult start to her young life due to a significant facial deformity and an uncaring alcoholic mother. Jodie has a crush on Amir, a young Muslim boy who also happens to be part of the popular gang at school. One night at a party Amir invites Jodie to 'hang out' and he takes her to a nearby abandoned warehouse where they are soon joined by Amir's 3 friends. What happened next is the basis of the story as Jodie accuses the 4 boys of a terrible crime - but what really happened?
A truly absorbing courtroom drama that addresses some very powerful issues and will stay with you long after the last page.
4 stars and huge thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the ARC.

This is the story of one event that has two perspectives. Jodie is a white 16 year old girl with severe facial deformities. One day she visits a crisis centre and tells Zara Kaleel, a rape counselor and former lawyer, that she was raped by four Muslim boys, What follows is a roller coaster ride of a story. Zara questions Jodie about the events before taking her to the police to report the rape, where she is perplexed to note that Jodie's story now has some inconsistencies. With the boys being arrested and questioned too we see that their stories also have some inconsistencies and it is clear that someone is lying but the reader is never quite sure who.

The story flicks backwards and forwards between characters and we get to see all of the people involved's opinions, including Jodie's mother as well as her best friend Nina. We see how the press hounds Jodie and ultimately drive her away from her home. The press are equally as unkind to Zara, who is accused by her Muslim society of throwing innocent Muslim boys under the bus in the name of being more western.

This novel is part social commentary, part court room drama and you won't be disappointed if you do read it. There are twists and turns and shocking events right up to the very ending page. A real page turner that kept me coming back time and again until I'd finished it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't really know what to say about this book. At the moment my head is just swarming with so many thoughts that I can't pick one out. I jumped from one side to the other side throughout this book, not knowing who to believe. The ending honestly just made me feel sick to my stomach.

This is a GOOD book - but a fair warning, it's really heavy and absolutely not something to take lightly.

I may come back to this in future and edit my feedback to give you a more comprehensive understanding of the book but I just currently am in shock.