Shortlisted for The Diverse Book Awards 2021

‘Bold and brave, shocking and heartfelt . . . A very special book from a very special author’ Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of Waterstones Thriller of the Month We Begin at the End

‘Abdullah's legal thrillers make John Grisham seem like a maiden aunt’ Sunday Times Crime Club

‘Vividly examines some of the issues that shape (and deform) society . . . A gritty, extremely hard-hitting drama’ Adele Parks, Platinum magazine

‘A masterpiece [and] a triumph . . . When you get to the final chapters, buckle up . . . She writes with such intelligence, research and compassion’ Daily Record

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ARE YOU READY TO START THIS CONVERSATION?

Kamran Hadid feels invincible. He attends Hampton school, an elite all-boys boarding school in London, he comes from a wealthy family, and he has a place at Oxford next year. The world is at his feet. And then a night of revelry leads to a drunken encounter and he must ask himself a horrific question.

With the help of assault counsellor, Zara Kaleel, Kamran reports the incident in the hopes that will be the end of it. But it’s only the beginning…

Powerful, explosive and important, Truth Be Told is a contemporary courtroom drama that vividly captures today’s society. You will not stop thinking about it for a long time to come.

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More praise for Truth Be Told:

‘The court scenes are pacy and atmospheric, and there is more than one unexpected twist’ i

‘Brave, compelling and absolutely riveting’ A A Dhand, bestselling author of Streets of Darkness

‘Tense, harrowing and brilliantly written. A powerful story’ Khurrum Rahman, author of East of Hounslow

‘An excellent and intelligent novel’ The Literary Review

‘A deeply profound and thought-provoking read’ Heat

About the author

Kia Abdullah is a bestselling author and travel writer. Her novels include Take It Back, a Guardian and Telegraph thriller of the year; Truth Be Told, which was shortlisted for the Diverse Book Awards; and Next of Kin, which won the Adult Fiction Diverse Book Award, and was longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Those People Next Door was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month pick, and Kia has also been selected for The Times Crime Club.

Kia has written for The New York Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times, The Times and the BBC, and is the founder of Asian Booklist, a non-profit that advocates for diversity in publishing and helps readers discover new books by British Asian authors.

For more information about Kia and her writing, visit her website at kiaabdullah.com, or follow her at @KiaAbdullah on Instagram and X.