Turn a Blind Eye
""East London is in dangerous hands." "
Synopsis:
A headmistress is found strangled in an East London school, her death the result of a brutal and ritualistic act of violence. Found at the scene is a single piece of card, written upon which is an ancient Buddhist precept: 'I shall abstain from taking the ungiven'.
At first, DI Maya Rahman can't help but hope this is a tragic but isolated murder. Then, the second body is found.
Faced with a community steeped in secrets and prejudice, Maya must untangle the cryptic messages left at the crime scenes to solve the deadly riddle behind the murders – before the killer takes another victim.
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Review:
'Turn a Blind Eye' is a bewitching debut novel. From the very first page I was drawn into the dark and dangerous world of protagonist DI Maya Rahman as we get an instant snapshot of her difficult life. In multi-cultural, 21st century Britain, this is what crime fiction has been waiting for and Vicky Newham has delivered, and immediately cemented her position as a dangerous player on the circuit. Newham has a wonderful style of storytelling. She has a rich and absorbing use of language and a fluid prose which makes the story glide along as a thrilling pace. DI Maya Rahman is a well-rounded and timely creation. She's strong and vulnerable, intelligent and articulate. It won't be long before we're mentioning Maya in the same breadth of some of the great female protagonists like Jane Tennison and Marnie Rome. The plot is multi-layered, strong and engaging from the off and will have you turning the pages at speed to reach the unexpected finale. Often, a writer will put so much work into their main character their subordinates are mere one-dimensional. Vicky Newham is not guilty of that. All her characters are beautifully crafted. Newham has set the bar incredibly high for future books. If anyone can write a suitable chilling follow-up, she can. East London is in dangerous hands.