WELCOME TO YOUR DREAM HOME…
Salma Khatun is extremely hopeful about Blenheim, the safe suburban development to which she, her husband and their son have just moved. Their family is in desperate need of a fresh start, and Blenheim feels like the place to make that happen.
MEET YOUR NEW NEIGHBOURS…
Not long after they move in, Salma spots her neighbour, Tom Hutton, ripping out the anti-racist banner her son put in their front garden. She chooses not to confront Tom because she wants to fit in. It's a small thing, really. No need to make a fuss. So Salma takes the banner inside and puts it in her window instead. But the next morning she wakes up to find her window smeared with paint.
AND PREPARE FOR THE NIGHTMARE TO BEGIN…
This time she does confront Tom, and the battle lines between the two families are drawn. As things begin to escalate and the stakes become higher, it's clear that a reckoning is coming… And someone is going to get hurt.
If I am not granted approval for any further books on NetGalley this year I won't mind after receiving Kia Abdullah's latest novel. She is in my top 3 favourite authors, One of those I don't even need to read the description as I just love her writing. Always topical with the subject material, there is always a sting in the tail which the reader is unlikely to see coming. This book doesn't let us down.Young family Salma, Bil and Zane are new arrivals in Blenheim, a nice area which is away from the dangers of the previous estate they lived on. The initial welcome from the neighbours is positive with an invitation to a barbecue at the neighbour's house but it's not long before the cracks start to show when the BLM banner which Zane puts up in the garden is knocked down, then an act of vandalism on their property makes it obvious that someone isn't quite as nice as they first appeared.The second part of the book covers the court case which investigates events leading up to the tragedy which befalls one of the residents. Whose actions were the trigger? Who is responsible and were they justified in reacting to provocation or have they misinterpreted the other person's intentions? This is a book which really gets you thinking about the two opposing stand points and what constitutes racism in a civilised society. Something which might initially seem innocent can turn toxic when you switch places with the person on the receiving end. There's plenty to mull over without the book ever being preachy, just thought provoking - but to make the correct assessment of a situation, we need to be in possession of ALL of the facts...
Kia Abdullah is an author from London. Her novel Take It Back was named one of the best thrillers of the year by The Guardian and Telegraph and was selected for an industry-first audio serialisation by HarperCollins and The Pigeonhole. Her follow-up novel, Truth Be Told, is out now (Mar 2021, HarperCollins).
Kia has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The FT, The Telegraph, the BBC and The Times, and is the founder of Asian Booklist, a nonprofit that advocates for diversity in publishing.
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