About the Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022
LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER 2022
An impossible crime. A witness no-one wants to believe.
'Unforgettable ... A searing take-down of privilege, our unequal society and indeed of traditional crime whodunnits' GILLIAN MCALLISTER
'Highly original and deftly plotted, delivering a gut-punch of an ending' SUNDAY EXPRESS
'A mesmerising thriller - don't miss this one' T. M. LOGAN
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A woman strangled in a Mayfair flat. A man fleeing the scene. Xander Shute saw it all – but the police won't believe someone who lives on the streets. Determined to find justice for the murdered woman, Xander searches for answers. But as his recollection of the crime comes under increasing scrutiny, he is forced to confront other memories, including those from his long-buried, troubled, wealthy past.
How much will he risk to understand the brutal truth?
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'Intelligent, imaginative and meticulously plotted, this is an author at the top of his game - simply sensational' M. W. CRAVEN
'A deftly written and nerve-jangling thriller' HERALD
'Clever, mercilessly addictive and deeply thought-provoking, I Know What I Saw blends a dynamite plot with heartfelt characterisation' CHRIS WHITAKER
'A white-knuckle ride through the tortuous labyrinth of human memory' CHRIS BROOKMYRE
'Mahmood gets deep into the psychology of a damaged man in this unusual novel, and the ending is like a blow to the gut' SUNDAY TIMES
'Heart-wrenching and jaw-dropping, I held my breath until the final word' HOLLY SEDDON
'Mahmood, following his innovative, breakout hit, You Don't Know Me, once again delivers a twisting narrative full of surprises and blind alleys' VASEEM KHAN
'Every bit as fantastic as everyone says. Utterly gripping' THE SECRET BARRISTER
'Smart, atmospheric, poignant, and will keep you hooked' SAIMA MIR
'A tense literary thriller about the lies we persist in telling ourselves and our inability to escape our damaged pasts - packed with moments of pathos and unexpected humour' SARAH VAUGHAN
'Intelligent and thought-provoking, it marks a welcome return for a supremely talented writer' ABIR MUKHERJEE
'What an astonishing voice Imran has created for Xander, at once intelligent, resourceful and yet also deeply flawed. I thought the complex plot was handled masterfully, and that double punch at the end was superb' JAMES OSWALD
READERS LOVE I KNOW WHAT I SAW:
'I was absolutely gripped from start to finish' 5***** review
'A fantastic rollercoaster of a read' 5***** review
'I absolutely LOVED this book ... I could not put it down, and read it all in one delicious day-long gulp! A must-read for sure' 5***** review
About the Author :
Imran Mahmood is a practicing barrister with almost 30 years' experience fighting cases in court. He hails from Liverpool but now lives in London with his wife and daughters. His debut novel You Don't Know Me was chosen by Simon Mayo as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice for 2017 and longlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and for the CWA Gold Dagger, and was made into a hugely successful BBC1 adaptation in association with Netflix. When not in court or writing novels he can sometimes be found on the Red Hot Chilli Writers' podcast as one of the regular contributors.
@imranmahmood777
Review :
A mesmerising thriller - wonderful writing and a brilliantly gritty, street-level perspective. Don't miss this one
Every bit as fantastic as everyone says. Utterly gripping
Mahmood gets deep into the psychology of a damaged man in this unusual novel, and the ending is like a blow to the gut
With pace and fineness, I Know What I Saw brings together an impossible crime, a witness no one wants to believe and an unflinching study of life on the streets. Intelligent, imaginative and meticulously plotted, this is an author at the top of his game - simply sensational
It's a truly Hitchcockian thriller ride, a white-knuckle ride through the tortuous labyrinth of human memory
Mahmood, following his innovative, breakout hit, You Don't Know Me, once again delivers a twisting narrative full of surprises and blind alleys
Mahmood has a rare gift for combining hypnotic prose with a page-turning pace. A gripping and beautiful read
Spectacular – an absolute treat
I stayed up way past lights out last night to finish what was in short a quite phenomenal novel. Having absolutely loved You Don't Know Me, I was fairly certain this one would be good too, but it was far better than I could have hoped. What an astonishing voice Imran has created for Xander, at once intelligent, resourceful and yet also deeply flawed. I thought the complex plot was handled masterfully, and that double punch at the end was superb. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Unforgettable ... I didn't think Mahmood could top You Don't Know Me but he most certainly has. A searing take-down of privilege, our unequal society and indeed of traditional crime whodunnits. Mahmood writes sympathetically and intelligently about people who live on the fringes of society
Smart, atmospheric, poignant, and will keep you hooked
This complex mystery (set on the streets of London) took my breath away. Themes of memory, privilege & identity - it's a book that that pulls you in deep. Gripping & utterly immersive. Mahmood is a master storyteller
A tense literary thriller about the lies we persist in telling ourselves and our inability to escape our damaged pasts - packed with moments of pathos and unexpected humour. I believed completely in Xander Shute
I Know What I Saw takes us on a tense, nerve-jangling journey into the world of Xander Shute who believes he's witnessed a murder, but also makes us question our own preconceptions towards people who've fallen through society's cracks. Intelligent and thought-provoking, it marks a welcome return for a supremely talented writer
Clever, mercilessly addictive and deeply thought-provoking, I Know What I Saw blends a dynamite plot with heartfelt characterisation. Wonderful
I was a big fan of Imran Mahmood's first book, YOU DON'T KNOW ME, and his second, I KNOW WHAT I SAW, is every bit as gripping, insightful and beautifully written. [...] I was absolutely captivated
An intense, complex mind-bender of a book, told through eyes you can't always trust. As compelling a tale as I've ever read; you won't put it down until you know the truth
As a portrait of vulnerability it's sympathetically rendered and the resolution surprisingly disturbing
Not only a deftly written and nerve-jangling thriller, but also a multi-layered and unflinching portrait of life for those marginalised on the fringes of society
Heart-wrenching and jaw-dropping, I held my breath until the final word
Every bit as fantastic as everyone says. Utterly gripping
The violent narrative inexorably grips the attention … it's the examination of the mental state of his intelligent protagonist caught in a downward spiral that affirms his talent
Elegantly constructed, educational, involving and moving, this is a terrific novel
I Know What I Saw consolidates [Mahmood's] position as an unpredictable crime writer able to tell a complex fast-paced story and keep readers hooked
Highly original and deftly plotted, delivering a gut-punch of an ending
