Next of Kin

FROM THE VIRAL TIK TOK AUTHOR OF OUT ON A LIMB AND NEXT TO YOU ! Two bickering strangers trying to foster their younger siblings team up to create a stable home, but the undeniable chemistry between them threatens to ruin everything. “Funny and huge-hearted and romantic and real.”— New York Times bestselling author Talia Hibbert When she discovers her biological mother has had a new baby, Chloe doesn't hesitate to provide a home for her. Failing to meet social services' financial evaluation, she's forced into a new initiative: joining households with another prospective guardian. Surly garage mechanic Warren, who is trying to gain custody of his deaf teenage brother, does not make a great first impression. But as their lives intertwine, Chloe and Warren discover they have more in common than they thought. So much so that the chemistry between them threatens everything they've fought for...

FROM THE VIRAL TIK TOK AUTHOR OF OUT ON A LIMB AND NEXT TO YOU ! Two bickering strangers trying to foster their younger siblings team up to create a stable home, but the undeniable chemistry between them threatens to ruin everything. “Funny and huge-hearted and romantic and real.”— New York Times bestselling author Talia Hibbert When she discovers her biological mother has had a new baby, Chloe doesn't hesitate to provide a home for her. Failing to meet social services' financial evaluation, she's forced into a new initiative: joining households with another prospective guardian. Surly garage mechanic Warren, who is trying to gain custody of his deaf teenage brother, does not make a great first impression. But as their lives intertwine, Chloe and Warren discover they have more in common than they thought. So much so that the chemistry between them threatens everything they've fought for...

‘A gripping legal thriller that will leave you reeling . A book that will stay with you long after the last page. The ending is a stunner!’ Reader review ‘This was a roller coaster of a book, an immersive read, a sublime plot with very open and direct dialogue. Expertly written and highly recommended ’ Reader review ‘Kia Abdullah is the absolute queen of the courtroom drama ’ Reader review ‘WOW!! This book is astonishingly brilliant! An absolute masterpiece ’ Reader review * * * * ON AN ORDINARY WORKING DAY… Leila Syed receives a call that cleaves her life in two. Her brother-in-law’s voice is filled with panic. His son’s nursery has called to ask where little Max is. YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE… Leila was supposed to drop Max off that morning. But she forgot. Racing to the carpark, she grasps the horror of what she has done. IS ABOUT TO COME TRUE… What follows is an explosive, high-profile trial that will tear the family apart. But as the case progresses it becomes clear there’s more to this incident than meets the eye… A gripping, brave and tense courtroom drama, Next of Kin will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final, heart-stopping page. * * * * Praise for Kia Abdullah ‘Abdullah’s legal thrillers make John Grisham seem like a maiden aunt’ Sunday Times Crime Club ‘An enthralling, heartbreaking and thrilling courtroom drama that had me shouting out loud and gripped until the last page’ Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man ‘Brilliantly tense, this is another clever page turner from Kia Abdullah that I couldn’t put down. Just superb’ Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City ‘Twists and turns aplenty … The author’s greatest strength lies in her sensitive and relatable description of the relationship between sisters Leila and Max’s mother Yasmin’ i ‘A tense, brilliant read’ Bella

‘A gripping legal thriller that will leave you reeling . A book that will stay with you long after the last page. The ending is a stunner!’ Reader review ‘This was a roller coaster of a book, an immersive read, a sublime plot with very open and direct dialogue. Expertly written and highly recommended ’ Reader review ‘Kia Abdullah is the absolute queen of the courtroom drama ’ Reader review ‘WOW!! This book is astonishingly brilliant! An absolute masterpiece ’ Reader review * * * * ON AN ORDINARY WORKING DAY… Leila Syed receives a call that cleaves her life in two. Her brother-in-law’s voice is filled with panic. His son’s nursery has called to ask where little Max is. YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE… Leila was supposed to drop Max off that morning. But she forgot. Racing to the carpark, she grasps the horror of what she has done. IS ABOUT TO COME TRUE… What follows is an explosive, high-profile trial that will tear the family apart. But as the case progresses it becomes clear there’s more to this incident than meets the eye… A gripping, brave and tense courtroom drama, Next of Kin will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final, heart-stopping page. * * * * Praise for Kia Abdullah ‘Abdullah’s legal thrillers make John Grisham seem like a maiden aunt’ Sunday Times Crime Club ‘An enthralling, heartbreaking and thrilling courtroom drama that had me shouting out loud and gripped until the last page’ Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man ‘Brilliantly tense, this is another clever page turner from Kia Abdullah that I couldn’t put down. Just superb’ Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City ‘Twists and turns aplenty … The author’s greatest strength lies in her sensitive and relatable description of the relationship between sisters Leila and Max’s mother Yasmin’ i ‘A tense, brilliant read’ Bella

Two bickering strangers trying to foster their younger siblings team up to create a stable home, but the chemistry between them threatens to undo their plans--from the viral TikTok author of Next to You and Out on a Limb . "Funny and huge-hearted and romantic and real."-- New York Times bestselling author Talia Hibbert When people-pleasing Chloe learns that her birth mother has unexpectedly had another baby, she doesn't hesitate to become a next-of-kin guardian. But when she fails to pass Child Protective Services' financial evaluation, she is faced with a choice: see her baby sister placed in foster care or participate in CPS's new initiative, where two prospective guardians join households to qualify. Enter Warren, a surly mechanic's apprentice attempting to get custody of his deaf fifteen-year-old brother. From the moment Warren drives up thirty minutes late, blasting music out of his car, Chloe is convinced that this is a very bad idea. The two immediately clash but eventually agree to live together for the sake of their younger siblings. As their lives intertwine, and Chloe adjusts to caring for her newborn sister, she begins to see a new, softer side of Warren. In fact, they're far more similar than she could have imagined. What started as forced begins to feel natural--and far less lonely. Chemistry soon intensifies beyond what either of them can stand, but is their mutual attraction worth risking everything they've fought for?

Two bickering strangers trying to foster their younger siblings team up to create a stable home, but the chemistry between them threatens to undo their plans--from the viral TikTok author of Next to You and Out on a Limb . "Funny and huge-hearted and romantic and real."-- New York Times bestselling author Talia Hibbert When people-pleasing Chloe learns that her birth mother has unexpectedly had another baby, she doesn't hesitate to become a next-of-kin guardian. But when she fails to pass Child Protective Services' financial evaluation, she is faced with a choice: see her baby sister placed in foster care or participate in CPS's new initiative, where two prospective guardians join households to qualify. Enter Warren, a surly mechanic's apprentice attempting to get custody of his deaf fifteen-year-old brother. From the moment Warren drives up thirty minutes late, blasting music out of his car, Chloe is convinced that this is a very bad idea. The two immediately clash but eventually agree to live together for the sake of their younger siblings. As their lives intertwine, and Chloe adjusts to caring for her newborn sister, she begins to see a new, softer side of Warren. In fact, they're far more similar than she could have imagined. What started as forced begins to feel natural--and far less lonely. Chemistry soon intensifies beyond what either of them can stand, but is their mutual attraction worth risking everything they've fought for?

An electrifying memoir about the demise of a singular family--a stunning new book by Gabrielle Hamilton, author of the New York Times bestseller and James Beard Award winner Blood, Bones & Butter "You won't be able to put down Gabrielle Hamilton's story of the excitement, resilience, agony, and defiance required to be a member of her family. She doesn't mess around."--Ariel Levy, author of The Rules Do Not Apply "We were a family veined through with certain brutalities, rifts, and unresolved conflicts, as well as some remarkable violences and some decades-long silences. But together we had rituals, systems, congruent cohering events that made us who we were as one. I thought of the black and blue marks as if they were the desirable spores of mold found in noble cheeses." The youngest of five children, Gabrielle Hamilton took pride in her unsentimental, idiosyncratic family. She idolized her parents' charisma and non-conformity. She worshipped her siblings' mischievousness and flair. Hers was a family with no fondness for the humdrum. Hamilton grew up to find enormous success, first as a chef and then as the author of award-winning, bestselling books. But her family ties frayed in ways both seismic and mundane until eventually she was estranged from them all. In the wake of one brother's sudden death and another's suicide, while raising young children of her own, Hamilton was compelled to examine the sprawling, complicated root system underlying her losses. She began investigating her family's devout independence and individualism with a nearly forensic rigor, soon discovering a sobering warning in their long-held self-satisfaction. By the time she was called to care for her declining mother--the mother she'd seen only twice in thirty years--Hamilton had realized a certain freedom, one made possible only through a careful psychological autopsy of her family. Hamilton's gift for pungent dialogue, propulsive storytelling, intense honesty, and raucous humor made her first book a classic of modern memoir. In Next of Kin , she offers a keen and compassionate portrait of the people she grew up with and the prevailing but soon-to-falter ethos of the era that produced them. A personal account of one family's disintegration, Next of Kin is also a universal story of the emotional clarity that comes from scrutinizing our family mythologies and seeing through to the other side.