Reviews

Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah

juliamcantu's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

***Spoilers***
I loved this book so much. It was so tense the entire read and once the trial had started, it kept you guessing the whole way through. I had no idea what was going to happen with the verdict. The twists after she was found not guilty were insane. I was starting to get suspicious of Andrew and it seemed that there was more to his conversations with Leila than we were let on. I was still shocked to find out that Leila and Andrew had planned it as a "mercy killing" of sorts because they thought he had EB, the same disease that his first child Toby had. They agreed Yasmin couldn't go through that again so they decided to spare Max and Yasmin the pain. We find out earlier in the book that Yasmin and Andrew's first child, Toby, was born with a horrible disease called EB and that Andrew is the carrier of the gene. Turns out, Max isn't really Andrew's child and Yasmin had cheated on him with WILL, her sisters husband! So the mercy killing wasn't really a mercy killing because it would've been impossible for Max to be born with EB. The twists were fantastic and kept me on my toes. I really wasn't expecting the twists to be so good, especially after the trial drama. The only hang up I have is with the ending. Leila goes in to confess, but after everything it seems silly that she would go back and take blame. Other than that, perfect book!

pattitude47's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

charlotte_elizabeth_reads's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

This book annoyed me. I just couldn’t stand any of the characters. I did enjoy it but it annoyed me so much that I can’t rate it any higher

hannahs1993's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

hballew22's review against another edition

3.0

What the heck was that ending

ahsatan82's review against another edition

4.0

I listened to this via audio and it kept me engaged from start to finish. But I was not expecting so many twists and turns in the last 2 hours of the book! I had an inkling of one but got like 5! My feelings changed on just about every character from intro to outro. I'd be interested in a follow up, because what's done in the dark needs to come to light and I want a front row seat. This was my first book by Kia Abdullah and it won't be my last.

smt109's review against another edition

4.5

Plot twist that I did not see coming!

tee_tee_tee's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Started: 09/12/24
Finished: 09/14/24
Format: audiobook
Genre: Thriller
5.0⭐️

My anxiety was on 10!!
The twist & the turns omg 
The way I was invested in this story was not even funny. 
One of my favorite thrillers so far this year. 

Can’t wait to read more by this author 

sith_barbie1013's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

staylorbaptiste's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5