My thanks to NetGalley and publisher HQ for the electronic copy.

This is a really good legal thriller/courtroom drama; so well-written, I really couldn't put this down.

Leila Syed has always looked out for her younger sister Yasmin and when Yasmin and Andrew moved house closer to them with their three year old son Max, Leila will do anything to help, at any time. She is temporarily separated from Will and has no children of her own. She's strong and focussed and runs a successful architects business with partner Robert.
On a hot July day in London Andrew asks Leila to drop Max off at his nursery on her way to work as he'd been called into work unexpectedly. Of course, as always, she obliges. She becomes distracted by a problem at her office when she gets a phone call - asking where Max is.

Disaster has struck.

The court proceedings and dialogue are absolutely riveting. So well-written.
Gradually the narrative reveals the horrifying and devastating truth amid heartbreak, betrayal and lies.
There are twists that you definitely don't see coming - very clever plotting.

Excellent!

Years ago I can remember starting to read The Slap, being all excited, thinking 'this'll be such a good book, what a dilemma for all the characters!' It didn't go the way I thought it would and in the end I was hugely disappointed. Turns out I should've just bided my time and read this instead. This is full of drama and had me gripped from the start.

I'm not usually a fan of courtroom dramas but when I read the description of Next of Kin I couldn't resist it. This one tells the story of Leila who is meant to take her nephew Max to nursery but forgot and instead left him in her car and tragedy strikes.
It was a very emotional and sometimes difficult storyline to read but an important one as things like this do happen.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my ARC.

Next of Kin is a tragic story of a lapse of judgment which results in Leilas nephew being left in her car on a very hot day & he dies, Leila's seeming perfect life implodes, But was it an accident or not? This could of been a great book but I didn't warm too any of the characters as they seemed shallow and two dimensional so I have to admit I glossed over some of it, I did read it to the end but I wasn't shocked by the outcome.

I’ve read and loved Kia Abdullah’s first two books so I definitely wanted to read this next one.

This book is another courtroom drama with a gripping heartbreaking complex plot. Kia has again told a difficult story sensitively and leaves you completely unaware where the story is going until you arrive there. A definite 5🌟 read!

Ms Abdullah is fast becoming my favourite author with her courtroom dramas and twisty plots about contemporary issues. Her latest book keeps up the great work with another storyline that really makes you think about siblings, families and what you would do to protect your own.
Thank you to netgalley and HQ books for an advance copy of this book

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
This is another 5 star courtroom drama from Kia Abdullah, with some very clever twists
An intense first chapter will hook the reader. Leila is a successful career woman, her brother-in-law asks her to take her nephew to Max, whom she loves and adores, to nursery a morning on her way to work, This simple request will dramatically change the lives of Leila & her husband Will and the lives of her sister Jasmine & her husband Andrew.
Leila is distracted by a phone call from her assistant in the car, she decides to go straight to her office, totally forgetting about the silent sleeping Max who is in a rear facing car seat in the back of her car.
It is over 3 hours later when she gets a worried call from Andrew to ask why Max isn’t in nursery. Panic grips Leila, she knows it’s a hot day, a nightmare begins unfold which leads to her being charged with manslaughter.
A compelling, emotional, suspenseful, fast paced read which I highly recommend.

When Leila agrees to help her brother-in-law and drop her beloved nephew off at nursery, her mind is on other things. Getting called into work on the way she races in to deal with an emergency. Hours later, her brother in law calls to ask why Max wasn't dropped off that morning. In a panic she runs back to her car but it's too late. How can her sister ever forgive her. The court case follows with the investigating police officer suspicious of events as they are laid out but what can he prove and what really happened to little Max.

As usual this is a gripping plot from this author. The characters spring off the page and the descriptive talents create a picture in your mind. I found myself desperate to know what had happened. I thought I had worked out the mystery only to find another massive twist thrown in at the end. I really enjoyed this book and will be keeping an eye on this author. I think they are destined for great things and are definitely one to watch. Thank you to NetGalleyUK and HQ for allowing me to preview this title. It was a pleasure to read and review

Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah is a thrilling drama of a domestic nightmare.

Leila, a hard working business woman at the head of an architecture company who has acted as a mother to her younger sister Yasmin has been asked at short notice, to take Max, Yasmin's 3 year old son to nursery. Andrew, Max's father had a work emergency and Leila agreed to help out. Unfortunately, this simple favour didn't go to plan, Leila was distracted and Max was left in the car. Everyone's worse nightmare spirals out in court as Leila is accused of intentionally leaving him, manslaughter.

A gripping tale of family destruction. The characters are very well written, Leila, the strong business woman has had to become this woman due to circumstance but she is still capable of hurt, and is a dire position of causing her sister pain too. Yasmin, the young beautiful sister who has it all, distraught at her loss obviously struggles to accept her sister did this. Andrew, struggling to cope with his grief and to stay strong for Yasmin is a great portrayal of a fathers position in this situation.

The plot is very simple, the court case of this event is worked through chronologically, yet the characters stories are multi layered and develop as recollections of past events. This works well and doesn't seem too jumpy.

A well written drama which keeps you engaged, I really liked Leila especially as her character developed. A must for the domestic noir readers. 5*
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the ARC

Leila and Yasmin are sisters . Leila has always looked out for Yasmin since they were kids -she would do anything for her . One day Andrew -Yasmin's husband -calls Leila and asks her to drop their son Max -who is 3- off at nursery on her way to work. It is the hottest day of the year -Max is asleep in his car seat in the back of the car -and Leila receives a work call which distracts her . So when she arrives at work -she forgets all about Max - leaving him in the car to die in the sweltering heat . Leila gets charged with manslaughter and faces prison time. Meanwhile the detective in charge of the case feels something isn't quite right ...
Great read -great twist at the end.

Thankyou NetGallet for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Kia Abdullah’s last novel, the terrific “Truth Be Told” (2020) made it onto my End Of Year Top 10 and was my favourite new novel of the year slipping in just ahead of Kiley Reid’s “Such A Fun Age”. I pledged to read this author’s debut and I do have it waiting for me on Kindle but she is ahead of me and exactly one year later her third novel is ready for publication.
On the evidence of these two novels she has a format. After getting to know the characters a shocking event takes place which leads to a court case and its aftermath. It’s an effective format and she handles it superbly. She drip feeds us information, taking us on wrong turnings and just like last time when you think it you have it sorted we’re off in a different direction. This author is so good at manipulating her readers and I for one, love it. Also like last time I found myself covering the bottom half of pages as I didn’t want to know of various outcomes until the exact moment Abdullah intended me to.
Plot-wise I’m giving nothing away, but once again it is disturbing and thought-provoking and so set in the everyday that it would make most readers blood run cold. I’ll just introduce to the characters- Leila Syed is a successful businesswoman who has achieved much having escaped poverty when her mother died when she was 18 leaving her to bring up her 11 year old sister Yasmin. Both are now married, Leila to Will, a journalist and Yasmin to Andrew who works in IT. Three year old Max completes the younger sister’s family and that is all you are getting from me.
At times sympathies towards these characters will be strained but there will be much empathy. There are moments which are difficult to read because of the misery heaped onto these people (and because of this I might just give the slightly more restrained “Truth Be Told” the edge) but the events and the plot will drive the reader on. With two out of two five star novels, this is a writer I am thrilled to have discovered.
Next Of Kin is published by HQ on 2nd September 2021. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

Couldn't get in to this book it was very strange. The ending was even stranger and felt somehow contrived.

It wasn't long into this book when I started to think that I had already read it. So I went back to my records and, no, I hadn't. Hmmm... so why so familiar - and I mean VERY familiar... It wasn't til about half way through that I realised that it was a CSI episode I was remembering. I googled to confirm. But that's OK cos surely the end will differ...? Sadly not... apart from some relatively minor differences, the plot was pretty much identical. The courtroom part was novel but given the rest of it being so familiar, that really didn't make me want to go any higher than the three stars.
So I was a bit disappointed... Shame cos I have a really good track record with this author.
I think though, being honest, if I hadn't already been familiar with the plot, it would be a 5 star read.

Oh wow! My first time reading this author and I loved every minute of it!
I won't give away the synopsis because the less you know the better but I will say I enjoy legal/courtroom to thriller and a large portion of the story was just that.

Upon reading the beginning, I didn't see where the mystery aspect came in but then one liners were delivered that planted a seed here and a seed there and then one reveal after another started to take place towards the end of the story and I was hooked.

My only qualm is the ending. It was abrupt, out-of-nowhere and left the story incomplete. I wanted to see the fallout and the whole family dynamic after secrets are revealed but alas we are left with an open ending. I feel this aspect could have been explored if the middle section was cut down a little as it was a little long and did start to drag a little.

I don't like open endings but each to their own in this case.

This is a very well-written, taut and terrible tale about a woman who leaves her sister's son in the car one day, on one of the hottest days of the year. The consequences, of course, are awful.

It's a harrowing subject to cover, but an important one. These deaths really do happen through accidentally forgetting. I read a long article about it when I first had a small child and I was always glad to have that forewarning so that I was less likely to forget myself.

The subject matter makes for an intense read and I powered through it over the course of an evening. My only issue is that it does get a bit twisty-turny at the end and while it makes complete sense, after getting to know the characters so well (again, great writing), for me it just slightly cheapened the importance of the topic. But I think this book will do well and be great for debates at book clubs etc.

I’d like to thank H.Q. and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Next Of Kin’ by Kia Abdullah in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Leila Syed gets a phone call asking if she can take Max, the three-year-old son of her sister Yasmin and her husband Andrew, to his nursery. Leila is happy to help but on the way her office rings saying they need her urgently and she drives straight there. When, some hours later, she remembers Max she goes back to her car and despite calling for an ambulance he dies and Leila is charged with manslaughter.

‘Next Of Kin’ is an exciting legal thriller with drama and suspense as we follow the trial of Leila Syed at the Inner London Crown Court and hear what happened on that fateful morning. DS Chris Shepherd is gathering evidence and despite having the best criminal solicitor working on her behalf Leila is positive the jury is going to find her guilty as she blames herself for forgetting the little boy. As the trial continues it appears that there’s more to this incident than meets the eye, while DS Shepherd keeps digging even as the trial draws to a close. This is an exceptionally well-written heart-stopping courtroom drama that’s tense and gripping with a plethora of twists and turns, the last quarter of the book having so many twists I had to go back and read sections again to make sure I hadn’t got it wrong. This is the first novel I’ve read by this author but it won’t be the last as I’ve been gripped from the first page and unable to stop reading until I reached the final shocking sentence.

Wow , great book . Plenty of twists and turns with this families dynamics . Loved the main female characters , the men not so much . It was definitely a page Turner and I couldn’t read it quickly enough . Can’t wait for the next book from this author

WOW! This was one of the most shocking opening chapters that I’ve ever read - more so because I'd completely forgotten what the book was about by the time I started reading. As the blurb warns career-focused Leila forgets she's meant to be dropping her nephew off at nursery when she rushes into work. It may be a difficult read for some but it's brilliantly written, so whilst hard-hitting and emotional, the taboo storyline is sensitively portrayed. You feel every emotion of the main characters and I liked that there were no 'good' or 'bad guys', just ordinary people pushed to the edge by unthinkable circumstances. Early on the author hints that that things are not what they seem but I could never have predicted the twists and turns - which I can't talk about for fear of spoiling it but suffice to say I absolutely loved. Its definitely one of those (original) stories that will get under your skin and stay in your mind for a long time.

WOW!! This book is astonishingly brilliant!

Trigger warning it does deal with the death of a child. The opening is so hard to read but so well written.

It is hard to write much without giving away the many twists that will leave you feeling like the ground has been pulled from under you!

The story follows the aftermath of the death of Max, a 3 year old boy. There are so many unanswered questions about his death, was it a tragic accident or was it an intentional act?

The 4 main characters are brilliantly written and my feelings for them changed throughout as we learnt more about their past and present.

An absolute masterpiece, I cannot rate this highly enough.

Leila Syed receives a call that leaves her life in two. Her brother-in-law's voice is filled with panic. His son's nursery has called to ask where little Max is. Leila was supposed to drop Max off that morning. But she forgot. Racing to the carpark, she grasps the horror of what she has done.
What follows is an explosive, high-profile trial that will tear the family apart. But as the case progresses it becomes clear there's more to this incident than meets the eye...
A gripping, brave and tense courtroom drama, Next of Kin will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final, heart-stopping page.
Could not put this down read it in 2 days.