Take It Back

A Novel

By: Kia Abdullah

Narrated by: Sartaj Garewal, Sophie Bentinck, Tania Rodrigues

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

From author Kia Abdullah, Take It Back is a harrowing and twisting courtroom thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end.

One victim.

Four accused.

Who is telling the truth?

Zara Kaleel, one of London's brightest legal minds, shattered the expectations placed on her by her family and forged a brilliant legal career. But her decisions came at a high cost, and now, battling her own demons, she has exchanged her high profile career for a job at a sexual assault center, helping victims who need her the most. Victims like Jodie Wolfe.

When Jodie, a 16-year-old girl with facial deformities, accuses four boys in her class of an unthinkable crime, the community is torn apart. After all, these four teenage defendants are from hard-working immigrant families and they all have proven alibis. Even Jodie's best friend doesn't believe her.

But Zara does - and she is determined to fight for Jodie - to find the truth in the face of public outcry. And as issues of sex, race, and social justice collide, the most explosive criminal trial of the year builds to a shocking conclusion.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

“[A] riveting, thought-provoking legal thriller.... Abdullah is definitely a writer to watch.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"Completely original...a shocking legal thriller that goes where few legal thrillers have gone before...stunning" (New York Times Book Review)

©2020 Kia Abdullah (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Intense

This was a great book. The narration was spectacular, with the characters being brought to life. I really, intensely disliked Zara, but the way she was written, as a complete, complex, fallible human being, kept me invested in her journey. I kept hoping for a different outcome, and the ending was not wrapped up satisfactorily, which is why I did not give a 5 star rating. I also wish the author had explored Zara's unconscious bias, which for me as a woman of color, lept off the page. It was clear that while she was motivated by seeking justice for a SA victim, she was also heavily influenced in her attitude towards the accused by her own cultural/familial trauma. I would have loved to have read the author's perspective on that. I wonder if she is even aware of how it comes across.

Great!

Great writing great story and kept my attention! No slow parts - exciting and thought provoking

great story

honestly it wasn't a huge surprise for me at the end but it was very well written and kept my attention, and I think that's a great thing

Loved it!

Great story and excellent narration! Had me hooked until the end. 5 stars all around!

Graphic and intense

First let me say that the story was extremely long to get to the interesting part. Second, once I hit about the halfway mark, boy did it get interesting. And . . .Third, this is an extremely graphic and intense book about a young deformed (think Elephant Man) girl who is gang raped by four immigrant Muslim boys in the United Kingdom. The whole trial is a he said/she said mess until it isn’t.

Excellent!!

Probably the BEST audiobook I've heard thus far.
Actually. Best story as well! Bravo! Bravo!

Excellent

Excellent book and excellent audible. I love books that incite emotion, this book did so! I was moved by this story and couldn’t stop listening. The narrator was perfect as well.

You Won't Be Disappointed!

Great listen! Well narrated and very captivating to the end. I was intrigued and did not have it all figured out!

Top notch mystery, thriller, suspense!

Because I just can't give a better brief summary, here’s a short synopsis from the publisher:
One victim.
Four accused.
Who is telling the truth?

Zara Kaleel, one of London's brightest legal minds, shattered the expectations placed on her by her family and forged a brilliant legal career. But her decisions came at a high cost, and now, battling her own demons, she has exchanged her high-profile career for a job at a sexual assault center, helping victims who need her the most. Victims like Jodie Wolfe.

When Jodie, a sixteen-year-old girl with facial deformities, accuses four boys in her class of an unthinkable crime, the community is torn apart. After all, these four teenage defendants are from hard-working immigrant families and they all have proven alibis. Even Jodie's best friend doesn't believe her.

But Zara does—and she is determined to fight for Jodie—to find the truth in the face of public outcry. And as issues of sex, race and social justice collide, the most explosive criminal trial of the year builds to a shocking conclusion.

This is the first book I’ve read by Kia Abdallah and I can’t wait to read more books published by this author! Good solid writing with great character development. I can’t say I liked all the characters, but I loved the main character Zara. She is tough, smart and is a fighter for the women she advocates for. Zara acts tough on the outside, but she is also human, vulnerable and has issues like everybody. She feels she must prove to others and her family that she is tough despite her strong family’s Muslim traditions. Living in a rural farm in Midwest Minnesota, I forget what it must be like for other religions/race and the racial issues they face. It opened my eyes and pulled at my heart.
The pace of the writing/story was good. The build-up of the story had me on the edge of my seat; I didn’t want to stop reading! Fabulous narration by Sartaj Garewal, Sophie Bentinck, Tania Rodrigues. The ending pretty much blew me away!
Honestly, the only thing I didn’t like about this book was the profanity/cursing, and there is a lot of it. This book is definitely one credit worthy.
I highly recommend this mystery, thriller and suspense novel with courtroom drama to everyone that enjoys the genre!

Interesting read

Well written book and intriguing story. Keeps one guessing till the end. Narrators do a good job