Rabia Chaudry's 'Adnan's Story': An Intimate Account of a Wrongful Conviction

Ameen Kamran: Well written and researched! The documents are well organized and intertwined into the story of the lives the case touched. Some of the Desi and Islamic aspects are a bit filtered in presentation but this is good as not to overwhelm someone new to the cultural and religious aspects of life. Beautiful work. However, I really wanted the book version with Adnan’s handsome face on the cover.

He is perhaps the most handsome man I have ever seen in m life. ❤️

United States on Feb 02, 2023

Orna Richella Maguire: Adnan’s story is powerful, raw, wrong, and terrible. Rabia has done a wonderful service sharing it so well. But when I saw the date it was published I cried to realise he still had more years of disappointments ahead.

United Kingdom on Oct 05, 2022

Contessa: I heard serial quite late in the day - at that time I wasn't sure if Adnan was innocent but I wanted him to be and I certainly didn't think there was sufficient evidence to convict him. I followed the case after and the more I heard and read the more I became convinced of Adnan's innocence.
Adnan's case is not the only one where we are aware of poor( criminal? ) police and prosecutor practices to secure a conviction, any conviction whether it is the right conviction or not. Rabia Chaudry's book gives you all the facts and also has a plea at the end to fix the justice system as this is clearly broken and many innocent people are convicted ( one day that could be you/me or a loved one) and meanwhile the guilty go free.

United Kingdom on Dec 03, 2016

thebooklover: Well written and with a relevant sequence of facts, deliberation which adds weight to the case of this tragic story. There are many facets which simply don't stack up in the case against Adnan Syed both legally and morally if this transpires to be true than a travesty of justice of the biggest magnitude has occurred. It is still difficult to be absolutely certain of guilt or innocence and this is not a reflection on this book or its efforts to present a wholly credible case for innocence, there are some questions remaining however l would urge people to read it not as a barometer of whether this young man is guilty but rather as a reference to see if justice was served...on that note it was not.

United Kingdom on Sep 14, 2016

Boo Radley: This is a book that had to be written, and Rabia is the best person to write it. Not only has she invested a lot in proving Adnan Syed’s innocence over the past 16 years, but she genuinely cares about the whole Syed family. As they fell apart, she kept it together. Combine those qualities with legal expertise, a razor-sharp mind, and a history of philanthropy, and you have a formidable advocate.

She’s also a good writer, with a compelling narrative voice. She understands what her readers want to know, and she doesn’t mess around. The book is long, but not longer than it should be. I could have happily read more. It’s a coherent account of Syed's relationship with Hae Min Lee, her death, his trial, and everything that has happened subsequently, which makes its point and never loses momentum.

Along the way, Rabia adeptly tackles all the burning questions people have about the case. Why would Jay implicate himself as an accessory to Hae’s murder if he had nothing to do with it? Why hasn’t Adnan had the DNA samples tested yet? How do you explain the infamous Nisha call? How did Jay know where Hae’s car was? There are logical, believable answers to all these...

United Kingdom on Sep 02, 2016

Kass Hall: I pre-ordered the book when it first popped up in 2015 and my copy has arrived, but I have in fact listened to the audiobook instead (due to time commitments) through Audible.

I preface my review by saying I am unabashedly in the camp of Adnan and his supporters. I hope, however, I can provide a balanced review here.

It should be noted from the outset that this book is not and was never meant to be an unbiased investigation into the case. The book is written firmly in the view of Adnan and Rabia. Notwithstanding that, I think the story is told as they know and understand it. No one - not a single person involved in this case - would be able to provide an unbiased account of what happened in 1999 and since. I didn't feel the book sugar coated Adnan's "weaknesses" as a human being or a Muslim (weakness being a perception here, rather than perhaps the reality).

When I listened to Serial, I felt unconvinced either way of Adnan's guilt or innocence - exactly as Serial designed, I sat on the fence. I was unequivocal that a fair trial had not been afforded Adnan and that there was plenty of reasonable doubt.

The Undisclosed podcast changed that, through...

United States on Aug 22, 2016

Beau: Unlike so many other reviewers, I cannot say that I could not put this book down. Quite the contrary. Time and time again I found myself setting this book aside while I struggled to cope with the realization, of the truth and just how seriously our criminal justice system is failing us. While Rabia's faith and the loving environment in which Adan was raised come through in this book, acting like leavening to lighten the overall feel of this tragedy. This story is so sad on so many levels that the reader must either maintain an emotional distance, and believe the lie that we while we may not be safe from the bad guys, we have the good guys to protect us, or they must confront, the tragedy that lurks just off screen in their own life's movie. They must come to grips with how dangerous our criminal justice system can become if it is not constantly monitored by we the people.
Adnan’s Story is a real life morality play about what can happen to anyone, even you, when enough people in your own circle fall victim to their own biases. I am not just talking about anti Muslim bias here, although there is enough of that to go around. This story is filled with people who believe they are...

United States on Aug 18, 2016

Amazonian from Toronto: While there weren't any bombshells in this book, I did enjoy getting to know more about Adnan Syed on a personal level. Chaudry includes a number of letters written by Syed in this book, and it allowed me to understand more why he sometimes came across as guarded in Serial (hint: he was concerned about being labelled manipulative). Chaudry is of course biased, but I cannot fault her for that bias as she truly believes that someone that she clearly loves deeply has been wrongfully convicted. While I do not necessarily agree with Chaudry's view of Syed's innocence, the egregious behaviour of both the police and of the prosecution as well as the poor representation he received from his own lawyer all lead me to the belief that he did not receive due process and he was unfairly convicted. Chaudry's depiction of Muslim culture and beliefs was also both informative and illuminating.

Canada on Aug 14, 2016