“Sophie King is missing.

Her parents, Harry and Zara, are distraught; for the last seventeen years, they’ve done everything for their beloved only daughter and now she’s gone.

The police have no leads, and Harry and Zara are growing increasingly frantic, although they are both dealing with it in very different ways. Increasingly obsessed with their highly suspicious neighbour who won’t open the door or answer any questions, they are both coming to the same conclusion. If they want answers, they’re going to have to take the matter into their own hands.

But just how far are they both prepared to go for the love of their daughter?”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of Finding Sophie by Imran Mahmood. Finding Sophie is published by Raven Books today (that’s Thursday 14th March 2024) and is available in hardcover and digital formats with the paperback to follow. I chose to read a free ARC of Finding Sophie but that has in no way influenced my review. My grateful thanks to Graeme for sending me a proof copy.

Harry and Zara King’s world has come crashing down. Their seventeen-year-old daughter, Sophie, is missing. The police have no leads and seem to be keeping her distraught parents in the dark. So Harry and Zara take it upon themselves to find out where their daughter is, they’re desperate to bring her home. Canvassing the neighbours, knocking on doors, dropping off questionnaires. Everyone is so sympathetic and understanding, answering their many questions, helping them piece together her last movements. Except one. The man who lives at number 210. He won’t answer the door, won’t engage with Harry or Zara at all despite their many failed attempts. But Harry and Zara are determined to get answers. And they’ll do whatever it takes to find Sophie…

Finding Sophie is a highly emotional, thought-provoking tale. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. The child you’ve loved and adored for many years suddenly disappears without a trace. Is Sophie still alive? There is no way either Harry or Zara will even begin to entertain the idea that she’s not. For them, acknowledging the worst possible outcome is akin to inviting it in, to giving up the only thing they have left. Hope. But the devastation wracked by Sophie’s absence runs deep. The cracks in their relationship begin to show. The more the couple look into what was happening in Sophie’s life in the lead-up to her disappearance, the more they realise that they didn’t know their daughter at all. But are they also to blame? Did they always do the right thing by their child?

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Poetic throughout, Finding Sophie is an astute and highly affecting novel. The thoughts, actions and emotions of a couple on the edge are laid bare before the reader. One parent takes a deep dive into hopelessness, her pain palpable and all-consuming. While the other takes a more practical approach to matters, pushing boundaries. Both are keen for answers but will the answers be the ones they’re hoping for? We get to hear from both Harry and Zara, but alongside these chapters, the reader is transported to The Old Bailey where a murder trial is taking place. Initially, you can’t be completely sure who has been killed and who is on trial but this all becomes clear fairly quickly. The author is a practicing criminal barrister and yes, there are legal thriller aspects to the story but for me, it was so much more than that. The emotion conveyed, the absolute devastation the couple suffer in their hunt for the truth and the shocking ending to their story can’t, for me, be categorised as simply as that. Finding Sophie is an emotional spiral of a tale which leads the reader down a rabbit hole of hopelessness, despair and fear. The characters are believable and painted in what felt like a realistic light. They’re heartbroken and prepared to do anything to find their daughter. There’s no sugar-coating going on here. The lengths they go to build over time adding tension and suspense to proceedings. I had a feeling I knew one direction the story was going to go in and I was proved correct but there were still many twists and turns to come. All in all, Finding Sophie is a superbly written, evocative, intelligent, suspense-laden thriller. Heartbreaking and affecting, I will be reading more of this author’s books. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free ARC of Finding Sophie. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Finding Sophie by Imran Mahmood was published in the UK by Raven Books on 14th March 2024 and is available in hardcover and digital formats with the paperback to follow (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Imran Mahmood is a practising criminal barrister in England and Wales. 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 the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year, the CWA Gold Dagger Award, and the Glass Bell Award and was made into a hugely successful BBC1 adaptation in association with Netflix, reaching no.3 in the World and in the UK received a BAFTA nomination for best actor. His second novel I Know What I Saw was chosen as a Sunday Times crime novel of the month and reached no. 2 on the Audible charts. It was also long-listed for both the CWA Gold Dagger Award and Theakstons Crime Novel of the year. His third novel ALL I SAID WAS TRUE was also long-listed for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023

His fourth novel Finding Sophie is to be released in the UK and in the USA in March 2024.

Imran was born and raised in Liverpool but now lives in London with his wife and 2 daughters.