Thank you to NetGalley and Collective Ink Limited | Roundfire Books for providing me with the ARC.

In Freebourne, Salman Shaheen offers a story worthy of an episode of Black Mirror.

Everything started with the discovery of a young woman's mutilated body in the peaceful town of Freebourne, known for not having experienced a murder case for over 100 years. The media and public opinion find the ideal suspect in the newcomer to the town: Harry. But Harry is not only the new arrival in the city. He is also a scientist working on a new technology, which could revolutionize the way a human being manages his emotions and traumas.

I sometimes felt the novel went all over the place, that the author was too scattered. He leaves some twists hanging and new characters that add nothing to the plot, while some points deserve to be developed.
Even if I struggled to stay hooked, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. I also appreciated the themes that have been explored - the author inspects the aspects of human beings when their peaceful routines are disrupted, and questions the limits of science over human nature.

If you like murder-mystery, innovative technologies and their potential impact on society, and good plot twists, then you will enjoy this reading.

Freebourne is one of those rare novels that manages to be both deeply cerebral and compulsively readable. Salman Shaheen drops us into a picturesque English town blanketed in snow, where the arrival of Dr Harry Coulson—divorced, disgraced, and disillusioned—coincides with the town’s first murder in over a century. From the moment Harry steps off the train and finds a body in the snow, the story grips you with quiet intensity.

What begins as a classic whodunnit quickly spirals into something far more layered: a philosophical thriller that probes the boundaries between science, faith, and free will. Shaheen’s writing is crisp and confident, with just enough atmosphere to make Freebourne feel eerily real. The tension builds not through bombast but through unease—every character seems to be hiding something, and every revelation deepens the mystery.

There’s a touch of Midsomer Murders in the setting, but the plot veers into Black Mirror territory, especially as Harry becomes entangled in a web of AI, moral ambiguity, and existential dread. It’s clever without being showy, and the final twist is genuinely gasp-worthy.

If you enjoy thrillers that ask big questions while keeping you turning the pages, Freebourne is well worth your time. It’s unsettling, smart, and surprisingly moving.

Thank you to Salman Shaheen, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Unemployed technology wunderkind, Dr Harry Caulson has barely arrived in the seemingly serene English town of Freebourne when he finds himself drawn into a murder plot. Having discovered the young victim almost as soon as he steps off his train, Caulson quickly becomes embroiled in a Kafka-esque nightmare as he is accused on all sides of committing the crime himself.
Yet there is more to Salman Shaheen's clever debut novel than a simple, straightforward run-of-the-mill murder mystery. Set in a chilling and yet all too plausible vision of the near future, Shaheen introduces us to a busy, paranoid world of mysterious sweary men, all-powerful millionaires, militant factions fuelled by a hatred of technology and ruthless, ambitious politicians keen to exploit the situation to their best advantage. Central to proceedings is the potentially world-changing invention which Caulson is on the verge of creating himself: a revolutionary new technology which will have the power to greatly minimise the impact of psychological trauma and personal grief.
With a diverse and appealing range of characters and an unpredictable and compelling storyline which will keep readers guessing until the final page, Freebourne is an unmissable thriller and should establish Salman Shaheen as a talent to watch in the future.

This uses the murder-mystery element and our overall need to use computers in our lives. I was invested in what was going on and thought the overall storyline and thought it had that tension that I was looking for. I enjoyed the overall feel of the characters and that they were so well written. It had that twists that I was expecting in the genre. Salman Shaheen has a strong writing style and was invested in what was happening in this.