Beneath the Book Club: Deeply unsettling is how I best describe Next of Kin. What are your thoughts?
I was only a few chapters in when I began to think I wasn’t going to enjoy reading Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah.
Beneath the Book Club’s first official read centered around the death of a child after being accidentally left inside a hot car by his doting aunt.
A dead child is never fun to read about.
But I carried on, and before long, a strange mystery began to unfold, a story that ended in a way I never could have predicted.
And believe me, I tried.
If you read Next of Kin, you’ll discover a story about deep secrets, misplaced altruism and how some situations can never be corrected.
This book left me feeling deeply unsettled.
There was no ending that could have erased the ache in my stomach, but it was a story with enough unique twists to keep me on the edge of my seat.
Here are a few questions for all you book clubbers to consider.
DID THE SUBJECT MATTER OF A DEAD CHILD AFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO ENJOY THE BOOK?
WHICH CHARACTER/CHARACTERS DID YOU FIND MOST SYMPATHETIC?
DID YOU EVER SUSPECT THAT WILL AND YASMIN HAD AN AFFAIR? IF SO, WHAT TIPPED YOU OFF?
ANDREW AND LEILA PLANNED TO KILL MAX BY LEAVING HIM IN A HOT CAR BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED HE HAD A TERMINAL ILLNESS. IS THE DESIRE TO AVOID SUFFERING EVER A VALID REASON TO TAKE A LIFE?
SHOULD LEILA HAVE TURNED HERSELF INTO POLICE?
WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THIS BOOK?
“Oh my God” was my first outburst when I ended this book.
I do not believe that the subject matter had an affect on my enjoying this book, which I did enjoy. Was it sad and hard? Of course.
In the beginning I sympathized with Leila because how horrible to know you were the cause of the death. Of course I also believed at the time it was accidental because as a mom I know we get distracted and accidents happen. I had no sympathy for any of them at the end of the book. Will maybe but with his actions maybe not.
Of course Leila and Andrew should turn themselves in but highly doubtful seeing as how far they…
This book was very unsettling to me. I knew the child was going to be left so I did a little speed reading through that part of the book.
I knew the dad had over dosed the child from the beginning but I thought it was accidental.
I did not foresee the affair Ysmain had an affair with her brother in law that explained his over the top reaction to the child’s death.
I sympathized with Leila. She struggled the most with her actions and stood trail and was ready to be punished.
As a grandmother of children this age it was a hard read. I have my grands quite a bit and always look in my rear view t…