Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by thecosynook
You Don't Know Me by Imran Mahmood
1.0
I was so excited about this book, usually legal thrillers aren't something I read just because I find them a bit boring or the subject matter not my type. However this book intrigued me because it is something a bit different and I was interested to see how it would go.
In this book we follow a young lad who just before the closing speeches decides that he is going to sack his lawyer and give the closing speech himself - including all the parts his lawyer said it would be best to leave out
Well this book for me was a major disappointment, it started off well but instead of just giving the basic outline of the story the defendant (we never actually find out his name) decides to go off into various substories so that eventually you totally lose any idea of where you were to begin with. I didn't care about why this story was necessary, I just wanted it to be over. There were multiple times when instead of just giving a direct answer the defendant went off on a tangent trying to explain what had happened.
I did like how the main character felt real, his story about growing up in a rough neighbourhood with gangs was incredibly realistic and I could picture just how dangerous life could be if you're stuck in that area. These things do happen and for me it was a new situation that I had never read about before. So I did enjoy reading about a new setting where the stakes were so high.
However for me the story just fell flat, there was far too much swearing for me (something I think never would have been allowed in an actual courtroom), we then have the fact that the closing speech took place over multiple days - why bother having a trial if you're going to break all the rules and drag it out over several more days? Surely that isn't allowed, you get one chance to tell your story, not letting your lawyer do his best then change your mind and start from scratch.
Then we have the finale (spoilers from here on out so don't read this part if you don't want to be spoiled), I think the story was already taking a bit of a nose dive but I felt it still could have been wrapped up nicely. However then we have the twist...what a complete waste of time. You seriously expect MI5 to be the answer? It's ridiculous and completely ruined the story, it didn't make any sense and seemed like the author knew he had to throw something crazy in to try and add a wow factor to the book (which otherwise was a complete trainwreck of multiple stories). Then we have the verdict...or lack thereof. You're telling me I've just sat through over 300 pages of multiple sideline stories only to not even be given an answer at the end!? What an absolute letdown. I felt like the entire book was a complete waste of time which is annoying because it had such a good premise!
Overall I would not recommend this book. The story which could have been summarized in 100 pages or less is dragged on with the defendant giving multiple stories that quickly became dull and meant I no longer cared for him or anyone else in this book. Then to be given an ending like that completely ruined any positives I had for this book, it just seemed like a total waste of time
In this book we follow a young lad who just before the closing speeches decides that he is going to sack his lawyer and give the closing speech himself - including all the parts his lawyer said it would be best to leave out
Well this book for me was a major disappointment, it started off well but instead of just giving the basic outline of the story the defendant (we never actually find out his name) decides to go off into various substories so that eventually you totally lose any idea of where you were to begin with. I didn't care about why this story was necessary, I just wanted it to be over. There were multiple times when instead of just giving a direct answer the defendant went off on a tangent trying to explain what had happened.
I did like how the main character felt real, his story about growing up in a rough neighbourhood with gangs was incredibly realistic and I could picture just how dangerous life could be if you're stuck in that area. These things do happen and for me it was a new situation that I had never read about before. So I did enjoy reading about a new setting where the stakes were so high.
However for me the story just fell flat, there was far too much swearing for me (something I think never would have been allowed in an actual courtroom), we then have the fact that the closing speech took place over multiple days - why bother having a trial if you're going to break all the rules and drag it out over several more days? Surely that isn't allowed, you get one chance to tell your story, not letting your lawyer do his best then change your mind and start from scratch.
Then we have the finale (spoilers from here on out so don't read this part if you don't want to be spoiled), I think the story was already taking a bit of a nose dive but I felt it still could have been wrapped up nicely. However then we have the twist...what a complete waste of time. You seriously expect MI5 to be the answer? It's ridiculous and completely ruined the story, it didn't make any sense and seemed like the author knew he had to throw something crazy in to try and add a wow factor to the book (which otherwise was a complete trainwreck of multiple stories). Then we have the verdict...or lack thereof. You're telling me I've just sat through over 300 pages of multiple sideline stories only to not even be given an answer at the end!? What an absolute letdown. I felt like the entire book was a complete waste of time which is annoying because it had such a good premise!
Overall I would not recommend this book. The story which could have been summarized in 100 pages or less is dragged on with the defendant giving multiple stories that quickly became dull and meant I no longer cared for him or anyone else in this book. Then to be given an ending like that completely ruined any positives I had for this book, it just seemed like a total waste of time