I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for stunning psychological thriller I Know What I Saw by Imran Mahmood. Thank you to Tracy Fenton and Raven Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful and thought provoking book.
About the book:
I saw it. He smothered her, pressing his hands on her face. The police don’t believe me, they say it’s impossible – but I know what I saw.
Xander Shute – once a wealthy banker, now living on the streets – shelters for the night in an empty Mayfair flat. When he hears the occupants returning home, he scrambles to hide. Trapped in his hiding place, he hears the couple argue, and he soon finds himself witnessing a vicious murder.
But who was the dead woman, who the police later tell him can’t have been there? And why is the man Xander saw her with evading justice?
As Xander searches for answers, his memory of the crime comes under scrutiny, forcing him to confront his long-buried past and the stories he’s told about himself.
How much he is willing to risk to understand the brutal truth?
About the author:
Imran Mahmood was born in Liverpool in 1969 to first generation Pakistani parents. He has been working on the criminal bar in London for over 20 years and regularly appears in jury trials across the country dealing in serious and complex criminal cases.
My Review:
I Know What I Saw by Imran Mahmood is a complex, cleverly constructed psychological thriller that held me in its thrall from beginning to end. It isn’t a fast paced thriller by any stretch of the imagination, but is one that slowly unravels little by little until the pieces of the puzzle suddenly and shockingly click into place.
Very much a character driven novel, it tells the story of Xander Shute, a once wealthy and well educated banker who is now living on the streets. One night after a fight with another homeless man, Xander seeks shelter for the night in an empty Mayfair flat. But then the occupants arrive home and he finds himself witness to a sickening murder. Unwilling to go to the police Xander flees the scene, but then later decides to tell them exactly what he saw. Only now the police don’t believe him, telling him he must have been mistaken.
Xander decides to find out the truth for himself, but in doing so begins to reflect on his long buried past life and how a man like him came to be living on the streets. The story is cleverly written and Xander himself, as unreliable a narrator as he is, is a character you can’t help but empathise with as he tries to make sense of the world around him and his fractured memories. What really did happen that night? And how can Xander convince the police that what he is telling them is the truth?
As the pieces of the puzzle slowly begin to slip into place, Xander’s fragile emotional state begins to crumble as the memories of his past come flooding back, threatening to overwhelm him. I couldn’t help but root for this lost and lonely man, wanting more than anything for things to turn out well for him in the end.
Imran Mahmood has written a psychological thriller different to anything I’ve ever read before… and I loved it. My heart ached for Xander as he tried to make himself heard, his story keeping me glued to the pages, not wanting to stop reading until the final page had been turned. A stunning, surprising and thought provoking read that I would highly recommend.
Definitely one not to be missed!
I know What I Saw by Imran Mahmood is available to purchase now.
Check out what Hesse other lovely bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 