All I Said Was True

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Wow. All I Said Was True is fantastic. Imran Mahmood writes with such skill and dexterity that he draws his reader in to a swirling vortex of intrigue, mystery and possibility. My brain was reeling because the first person account from Layla feeds information to the reader and yet tells them nothing at all. All I Said Was True feels almost audacious at the same time as being completely compelling. This book was hard to read, not because it's highly complex, but because reading it feels like going around in frustrating circles with very little new information given out each time. The narrator, Layla, is really annoying - she comes across as strangely fearful of everything, fragile/brittle, and hyper-reactive. I kept hoping there would be context for this, but there wasn't - I think she was written this way to amp up the tension, but it just made me dislike her. As the story evolves, it's implied that she has the answers and is perhaps taking control of the situation, but that's only ever an implication - we never really see any turning point or change in behaviour to give us more faith in her as a protagonist. Our main character, Layla, is found on the rooftop of the building where her husband works. She is cradling the dead body of Amy Blahn, our victim. Her call to the police tells us little.

This is a dual timeline story, split between Then, which is six weeks before the live police interview, and Now. Layla is the most unreliable of narrators, pointing the police to a mysterious man whose name she barely knows ; offering them only the suggestion that if they find Michael, they’ll find out everything they need to know.At the start of the book, Layla Mahoney is being read her rights; she isn't an immediately sympathetic character and her cool, rather abrasive demeanour meant I wondered whether I would be able to relate to her as a protagonist. It's undeniably true that her actions throughout the novel ensure she isn't the easiest person to warm to; I was confused and frustrated by her behaviour but she is such a compelling character. I begrudged the times when I had to stop reading because I was so desperate to know the truth – about Amy Blahn's murder, the secrets Layla's husband, Russell was keeping, whether Layla was of sound mind and who the mysterious, apparently ever-present Michael really was. A suspenseful and intriguing thriller, layered with authenticity and told with real poise." - Victoria Selman Every one of the billions of stars and planets - every single one is just cause and effect. They exist in their current states because of the things that happened beforehand. Do you think you’re immune from cause and effect, but whole galaxies aren’t?’ Layla Mahoney is in custody for the murder of a woman she says she doesn’t know. The evidence appears incontrovertible;- while she says she didn’t commit the act, her explanation of who did isn’t convincing anyone, including her lawyer. So who did kill Amy Blahn? And why isn’t Layla helping herself to reveal the facts of what happened?

This is the third book I have read by author Imran Mahmood and I have to say I have really enjoyed all three. The author has worked on the criminal bar in London for over 20 years and together with his skills as a writer he produces legal thrillers that have more than a touch of realism. With so many questions needing to be answered, All I Said Was True could have felt bloated by the serpentine nature of its plot but while it is undoubtedly a complex read, it never feels as if a single word is wasted. The writing is, quite simply, outstanding, with prose that is so vividly descriptive, I felt as if I was alongside Layla. Few of the characters are particularly likeable although her straight-talking lawyer, Peter comes across well and yet I became completely invested in what was currently happening and what occurred in the 'Then' chapters that led to Layla's current and clearly worsening predicament. That is all the clue Layla gave away in the book throughout my entire reading. I had heard great things about Imran Mahmood's writings, and he is known as the King of Unreliable Narrators. I can now confirm that it's true - he is able to write legal thriller books that mess with your head. A twisting path to the moment of murder via a police interview where the truth meets its match. A relentless, absorbing thriller of the darkest paranoid noir." - Janice Hallett

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At the start of the story Layla Mahoney is on her husband’s office rooftop cradling a dead woman. There are no other witnesses or suspects and she won’t tell the police what happened. All she says is that “It was Michael”, but who is Michael and why won’t she tell the police the truth? I Know What I Saw". Bloomsbury.com. 2020 . Retrieved 22 November 2020. This is Xander Shute: once a wealthy banker, now living on the streets. As he shelters for the night in an empty Mayfair flat, he hears its occupants returning home, and scrambles to hide as the couple argue. Trapped in his hiding place, he soon finds himself witnessing a vicious murder.Published: 10-06-2021 AllISaidWasTrue is the first book of Imran Mahmood’s I’ve read. If you’re a fan of the unreliable narrator, this novel will be absolutely to your taste. It’s a solid read which utilises timeline shifts to uncover reality, against the almost unbearably tense real time narrative of the police interview. It’s a risky strategy for a woman being questioned under caution for murder and Layla’s story is, to say the least, a bit fantastical. How much, if any, is true, is difficult to determine and what it all adds up to is really fuzzy. Imran Mahmood is an expert at building up those really knotty string puzzles where it’s almost impossible to find the one string that offers the clue to unravelling the whole and you end up down many wrong turnings before you are even close to unravelling the whole. Layla is a lawyer so is fully aware of the predicament the police face and knows that they only have forty eight hours in which to charge her or let her go. Layla pleads with the police to find Michael but as the interviews progress more facts come to light that threaten to expose Layla.

The problem is these two narratives don't align. Layla insists someone called Michael is the one who committed the murder but the police cannot find any trace of him. Imran Mahmoud’s third novel, ALL I SAID WAS TRUE, is narrated by Layla Mahoney, a personal injury lawyer, being questioned by police in connection with the murder of Amy Blahn. Layla’s story unfolds NOW, as she is interrogated by detectives who have 48 hours in which to decide whether to charge her, and THEN, as we find out how she came to on the roof of her husband’s workplace cradling the dead body of a woman whom she claims not to know, and, in particular, her strange relationship with a man called Michael, a man she claims is really responsible.Forshaw, Barry (7 June 2021). "James Ellroy's cop confessional a return to form". Financial Times . Retrieved 6 December 2021. The violent narrative inexorably grips the attention, and the dialogue is always vividly idiomatic (Mahmood channelling his legal clients?), but it's the examination of the mental state of his intelligent protagonist caught in a downward spiral that affirms his talent. You have to be a very good writer to keep your reader on tenterhooks, wondering what on earth is going on and what the point of this story is for several chapters. Fortunately Imran Mahmood is just that and he really pulls it off in this book which will keep you guessing all the way. Layla knows she only has forty-eight hours to convince the police that bringing in the man she knows only as 'Michael' will clear her name and reveal a dangerous game affecting not just Amy and Layla, but her husband Russell and countless others. Mahmood perfectly executes the killer combination of beautiful prose and a bloody great story. I will read anything he writes." - Ayisha Malik Imran Mahmood". Darley Anderson. 2020 . Retrieved 25 November 2020. 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. He now lives in South East London with his wife and is currently plotting a second novel.

White, Peter (9 November 2020). "BBC To Adapt Crime Novel 'You Don't Know Me' With 'The Crown' Writer Tom Edge & 'Mrs Wilson' Producer Snowed-In". Deadline . Retrieved 21 November 2020. The BBC is adapting crime novel You Don't Know Me with The Crown writer Tom Edge and Mrs Wilson producer Snowed-In Productions. Deadline understands that the British public broadcaster is remaking Imran Mahmood's novel as a four-part drama. You Don't Know Me , the BBC adaptation of Imran Mahmood's brilliant debut thriller, is currently one of the most streamed programmes on Netflix!* Leyla has been arrested after she is found on a rooftop, holding a dead woman in her arms, a knife belonging to her husband in her chest.But as the detectives begin to uncover the whole truth about what happened to Amy, Layla will soon have to decide: how much of that truth can she really risk being exposed? Illingworth, Harry (31 August 2018). "The Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Shortlist". Goldsboro Books . Retrieved 22 November 2020. Goldsboro Books today announced the six titles shortlisted for the 2018 Glass Bell Award, the prize introduced last year to celebrate the best storytelling across all genres of contemporary fiction...[including] Imran Mahmood for You Don't Know Me, which was longlisted for both a CWA Gold Dagger and the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year Amy Blahn was murdered and her body discovered on a London office rooftop. Layla Mahoney held Amy as died in her arms. The police arrest Amy who offers little defence other than saying ‘It was Michael. Find Michael and you’ll find out everything you need to know.’ I must admit that I never got to grips with Layla and her mindset. By the end of the novel I had a better understanding of why she acted as she did in custody, but I couldn’t identify with the why of it. I think that she’s a bit obsessive. A tantalising thriller that bleeds with authenticity. Taut, twisty and fiendishly clever, it will surely confound you until the gripping finale." - Kia Abdullah