Social media is ablaze as TV presenter Lily Astor has shown up for work with a black eye. Journalist Safa Saleem is asked by her boss to investigate, as Lily and Safa are friends from childhood, although their friendship has cooled over recent years. Safa reaches out but Lily reassures her that it’s nothing more than clumsiness. This is just the start as things spiral downwards and conclude with a showdown after Lily and her husband Richard host a party. Can Safa use all her investigative powers and her friendship with Lily to get to the truth?

Kia Abdullah has done it again for me. She pulls me into the compelling and absorbing plot and I find the book is hard to set aside. It’s hard hitting, raw, painful as well as being very moving at times. The author seems to be able to get right to the heart of a story and she can really make you think.

At the heart of this story are the two central protagonists. I like Safa and she has a very good backstory, part of which is with Lily and this helps to explain aspects of her personality and some of her actions. She’s fierce, honest, moral, brave and can be guarded. At times my heart breaks for her, because she’s been carrying a huge load for a very long time. Her friendship and more with police officer Imran gives me hope for her! Lily is one enigmatic tough cookie. She’s intelligent, capable and very resilient but she’s had to be in a number of ways. She too has a good but challenging backstory and as the present day narrative dramatically unfolds, I swing from sympathy to puzzlement and wondering wherein lies the truth. This conundrum dominates the second half of the book as it seems that things are not as straightforward as they first appear.

It’s a gritty storyline and so tense in places that I find myself holding my breath as eggshells are trodden on. It’s emotional, suspenseful, chilling but at the same time it’s authentic and real. It’s written with compassion as well as understanding. It has a fast paced swiftly moving plot which is also clever as it asks big questions about things such as victim blaming and miscarriages of justice. The courtroom scenes are excellent, they’re stressful in many respects as inconsistencies are uncovered and revealed and the suspense and pain is palpable There are plenty of twists and turns with surprising and unexpected plot directions and cliffhanger chapter endings. It’s nicely set up for number two which continues a plot thread and I look forward to seeing how that plays out. The ‘game’ is on.

Highly recommended. This is another belter of a read from a very talented author.

With thanks to netGalley and especially to HQ for the EPUB in return for an honest review.

Kia Abdullah is one of a handful of authors that I read without even checking the blurb. Having read all her previous books, I know that I am guaranteed an intelligent, topical, thought-provoking legal thriller which tackles uncomfortable subjects with sensitivity.

What Happens in the Dark is the latest standalone thriller featuring a strong female cast. Safa and Lily were best friends growing up on a council estate in London. Both are from single parent families, Safa's family were originally from Bangladesh and she lives with her widowed father. Lily's mother was an alcoholic, unable to care or feed her children adequately.

Now in their adulthood, Safa is a journalist who has suffered a huge career setback and is now working on a local newspaper, barely surviving financially and lives in a tiny flat. Lily is now a famous and beloved daytime TV presenter, living in luxury with her teenage son and husband.

When Lily appears on tv with a black eye and then bruises on her arm Safa tries to reach out as both a friend and journalist. However within days Lily is involved in a crime and now Safa is determined to uncover the truth and save her friend from life behind bars.

Having looked at Kia's back catalogue of books - Take It Back, Truth Be Told, Next of Kin and Perfectly Nice Neighbours, it's clear that this author is not afraid to tackle subjects which some may consider triggering or taboo. However, you can be 100% guaranteed that whether it's racial tension, domestic abuse, rape, religion or the death of a child this author ALWAYS delivers a unique, clever, and thought provoking story that will leave the reader either breathless, heartbroken, shocked or shaken and more importantly desperate to read her next book!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have loved all of Kia’s books and this one was no exception. I loved the characters and hope for a sequel

TV presenter Lily and journalist Safa were childhood friends. When Lily is arrested for the murder of her husband, Safa is determined to uncover the truth. I loved the believable characters and the London setting. The issues raised were thought-provoking and the twist at the end was chilling. This is a compelling read by a very talented writer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve really enjoyed Kia Abdullah’s novels and I think this is her best yet.
Safa and Lily were best friends growing up but their relationship now is distant. After working for a national newspaper, Safa is back in East London working for a local paper, spending time with her dad and having an on/ off relationship with a detective. Lily is a presenter on a national morning TV show and from the outside has a ‘perfect’ life with her husband and son. A horrific incident brings the women back into each others lives.
I absolutely loved this and raced through it over the course of 24 hours. Safa is a brilliant and likeable character, driven by her morals and determined to do the right thing. I love how the author portrays Lily as a much less likeable character and this constantly led me to doubt her story. I knew there would be a twist but it was shocking and unexpected. Throughout reading What Happens in the Dark I was hoping that Safa would return as a character and there are definite hints that there will be a sequel.
An excellent read that I’d highly recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
4.5 stars

This is a really thought provoking read about the secrets people keep and how well you really know your friends. Safa is a journalist, her longtime friend Lily is a much loved tv presenter. When reports emerge of bruising on Lily Safa is concerned about her but Lily insists she’s fine yet shortly after Lily is arrested for the murder of her husband. This does a fabulous job of revealing enough about Lily to leave you wondering if she’s manipulated the whole situation and it does portray her as a damaged individual who could well have acted with ulterior motives. Safa herself is a another great character, also damaged from her childhood but she wants to highlight injustice and give a voice to those who wouldn’t always have one. This has a startling twist and Safa is faced with the dilemma of betraying her friend and in doing so promoting her own career. This ends on a very interesting note which definitely hints at a sequel with a very strong and emotive storyline and a definite hint of danger for Safa.

I couldn’t get into this one like her previous books. Lily and Safa were friends growing up that lost touch. Fast forward and they are reconnected over a quote in a newspaper article. Lily then finds herself being charged with her husbands murder. Safa isn’t sure what to believe. The truth is shocking, but overall it was hard for me to get into.

Back in 2020 a chance charity shop find got me reading Kia Abdullah’s debut Take It Back, I loved it, and the sequel Truth Be Told. I loved these character-driven legal thrillers and have been hoping Kia would return to this genre again some day.

What Happens In The Dark is the book I’ve been waiting for.

Safa is a British-Bangladeshi journalist in East London, her career’s had more snakes than ladders. Her once close friend Lily escaped a childhood in poverty to become a popular TV presenter, but with bruises showing through the makeup, Lily’s about to become headline news for all the wrong reasons.

A court case, Safa is convinced of her friend’s innocence while being closest to the story to break the news.

Kia Abdullah creates involved stories covering complex underexposed issues with nuanced, flawed and believable characters. Safa and Lily are real gems. This book keeps on twisting right to the end and I can’t wait for the sequel.

Definitely recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ