KIA ABDULLAH is an author and travel writer. She has contributed to The Guardian, BBC, and Channel 4 News, and most recently The New York Times commenting on a variety of issues affecting the Muslim community. Kia currently travels the world as one half of the travel blog Atlas & Boots, which receives over 200,000 views per month. kiaabdullah.com
Take It Back
Kia Abdullah
ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019
Copyright © Kia Abdullah 2019
Kia Abdullah asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © August 2019 ISBN: 9780008314699
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Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008314682
‘With razor-sharp insight into the lives of her characters, Kia Abdullah gives readers much more than a courtroom thriller. A timely reminder that the tentacles of scandal are long – and they touch everyone’
Christina Dalcher, Sunday Times bestselling author of VOX
‘Intense, shocking and so real you can literally feel its heartbeat … the best book I’ve read this year’
Lisa Hall, author of Between You and Me and The Party
‘Kia’s novel is an excellent addition to the court-based criminal dramas we’ve come to love. It’s made even more shocking by its basing itself in one of the most challenging environments; rape and diversity. It’s a great read and draws you in with fast pacing and real characters’
Nazir Afzal OBE, Former Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS
‘I was blown away by Take It Back. From the explosive premise to the shockingly perfect ending, I loved every word’
Roz Watkins, author of The Devil’s Dice
‘Brave and shocking, a real welcome addition to the crime thriller genre. Kia’s is a fresh voice and a thrilling novel’
Alex Khan, author of Bollywood Wives
For Peter
Contents
She watched her reflection in the empty glass bottle as the truth crept in with the wine in her veins. It curled around her stomach and squeezed tight, whispering words that paused before they stung, like a paper cut cutting deep: colourless at first and then vibrant with blood. You are such a fucking cliché, it whispered – an accusation,