This is a pacy psychological thriller. Mahmood is interested in truth, taking as his starting point the oath read out in court by witnesses before exploring the individual truth of the central character. The idea that people have their own truths links with the way in which they remember them, recalling Mahmood’s last book, I Know What I Saw.

Mahmood tells the story through a narrator who seems unreliable from the start. Layla is struggling to make sense of her memories when the novel begins. She is a lawyer and a murder suspect; and she is involved in a kind of verbal fencing match with the police who interview her. She is frightened of something that somehow eludes her. The reader has to decide how far to trust her.

The chapters alternate between Now and Then as Layla navigates a police interview and recalls the events that have led her here. She has became ‘entangled’ with Michael Cruz, a meeting she can only explain as fate. He tries to explain their entanglement through mathematics and warns her that she is heading towards a catastrophe. He advises her of a problem with her husband but now seems to have become untraceable.

Mahmood presents Layla as almost entirely unreliable as far as the police are concerned: she has no credible explanations at all and seems at a loss. However, there is a consistency in her thinking and she gives every impression of telling the truth as she sees it.

This is a very original take on a police investigation because it assumes that the suspect does not necessarily know the truth herself - or at least not a truth likely to be accepted in a court of law.

Layla’s own truth unfolds as the novel develops. Her past meetings with Michael; her relationships with her husband, her mother and her father; and her situation at work. All these things undermine her credibility as a witness. But Layla is following a different script. Do the detectives believe in freedom of choice? she asks more than once.

I am least sure about the ending. It ties up too many loose ends for my liking. It is neat but doesn’t really do justice to the issues raised earlier.

Overall, the novel is a compelling read. It is by turns investigative and philosophical. The crime at the centre of the novel is the mystery we follow but in many ways it is one of the smaller truths. Mahmood is a talented writer.

This is my second book by Imran Mahmood after reading, and enjoying, I Know What I Saw.

The premise for this book really enticed me in. Amy Blahn is found dead atop a London building, victim of a stabbing. She is the arms of Layla who tells the Police that it is Michael they need to find however Layla knows very little about Michael and struggles to convince the Police to look anywhere else but in her direction....

The story is told over two timelines, the present day in the Police station where Layla is being interrogated by detectives who clearly believe they need look no further than Layla. We are also taken back in time to the events leading up to the murder, where we are slowly brought towards the present day as events unfold.

The dual timeline really works here to a great effect as we hear Layla's present day attempts to explain the events on the roof whilst simultaneously finding out what really happened up there.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ), Raven Books (UK) for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

All I Said Was True is the first book written by Imran Mahmood that I have read and it won’t be the last!

Told by alternate “Now” and “Then” chapters there are numerous twists and turns until an ending that I didn’t guess or work out.

The pacing was excellent and kept me hooked throughout.

Highly recommended

Well, this is another cracker of a read from the king of the unreliable narrator.

Whilst on occasion, I felt I had to extend my believability radar just a tad too far, I still found myself rushing through the pages.
With the narratives cleverly split between then and now, I was hooked and wasn't entirely sure which of the narratives to believe. With the main character 's increasingly erratic behaviour drawing me further into her world, I was really confused as to what parts of her stroy were true and which were not.
All I Said Was True is so cleverly plotted, it kept me questioning my theories, revising them and then questioning them again.
I love these sort of thrillers, wher you know things aren't clear cut, yet you're not entirely sure why or indeed which characters should be belived.
Highly recommended

Another good thriller from this author
well written, fast paced then and now storyline
good characters, with plenty of twists and turns

Thank you netgalley, Imran Mahmood and Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Perfectly Crafted…
Lawyer, Layla Mahoney is in trouble. When Amy Blahn was murdered on a London roof top, Layla was there. Layla, ultimately arrested, can only tell the police to find Michael. But who is Michael? There’s no evidence that he even exists. Layla knows that she’s running out of time with the police but how much is she really prepared to tell them? Pacy and exhilarating suspense, once again with a perfectly crafted complex plotline and wholly credible, multi layered characters. Superb.

This book completely hooks you from the very beginning, so much is thrown at this book, with plenty of twist and turns to keep you on your toes. Really well written and enjoyable.

Another twisty as heck read from this author that made my brain hurt for all the right reasons.

Moving between the aftermath of a murder and the weeks leading up to the event, the truth slowly comes to light through the eyes of our unreliable narrator. There is a disjointed, disturbing feel to proceedings and the plot is cleverly managed to keep things unpredictable.

Overall another fantastic read from Imram Mahmood. Long may it continue.

'Find Michael, and you'll find out everything you need to know' - When Layla is arrested for the murder of Amy Blahn, this is what she tells the police, but Layla was found on a roof top, holding Amy's body when the emergency services arrive. Who is Michael, and why can't the police find any trace of him if he committed this murder? Everything Laya says, comes out wrong, the more she says, the more she incriminates herself. Layla says she didn't kill Amy and that she's telling the truth. Layla knows as a lawyer that police only have 48 hours to question or charge her, so will they believe that Michael was responsible?

This book was fantastically written, I couldn't stop reading! When I thought I figured out what was going on, another twist comes along!
I really felt like I was routing for Layla, and the characters were relatable and you could feel her emotions!

Thank you Imran for letting me pre-read this, I loved it!

I know of a lot of readers rave about this author's books, I didn't entirely get on with his previous book I Know What I Saw, and still have You Don't Know Me waiting on the pile

All I Said Was True opens with Layla being interviewed by the Police in connection with a fatal stabbing, facing a possible murder charge. This forms the Now, the Then starts five weeks ago and leads up to the stabbing.

Honestly, I found it too fragmented to build up a good momentum and flow. There are key details scattered through the Now and Then, and while there is a detailed narrative and clever plot to be pieced together I felt like I was searching for puzzle pieces without a clue as to what the finished picture looks like.

Once we learn the truth about the fatal stabbing later in the book it really picked up for me, but I didn't feel like I was enjoying the story until it was too late.

Sorry, not really one for me, but I'm sure others will love it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

3.5 stars
I was baffled a lot reading this book.
The what (then) and why (now) just made no logical sense to me.
I don't mean this in a bad way, I mean I had no idea where it was going.
Where it went was entertaining, and I hope I'm never asked to explain it in detail to anyone!!!
This has cemented Mahmood as an autobuy author for me.

I loved Imran Mahmood first book "You don't know me" which I thought was original and so authentic in its tone and his second was just as good.

This, his third, is also original in its plot which twists and turns as chapters are set alternately in the Then and the Now.

What was Layla doing on that rooftop, is her husband having an affair, why was Amy stabbed and who is the mysterious Michael who materialises at every opportunity.

I won't provide spoilers but this is a dense and complex book, beautifully plotted and written and well worth the time and thought required to both read and savour it.