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Freebourne
Win a free kindle copy of this book!
5 days and 12:17:48
100 copies available
U.S. only
In an idyllic English town of the near future, the past is not the only thing left unburied.
After learning of his wife’s affair with his best friend and business partner, divorced and unemployed MindTech entrepreneur Dr Harry Coulson arrives in the idyllic English town of Freebourne, looking to start a new life. But any hopes of quietly picking up the pieces of his broken world are shattered when he steps off the train to discover the body of a young woman lying in the snow. It's almost as if she'd been left there for him to find. Harry does everything he can to help. But as a stranger arriving on the night Freebourne witnesses its first murder in over a century, he not only becomes a suspect in the woman's killing but finds himself caught in a deadly game between science, faith, and free will — in a secret far darker and more terrifying than anything he could have imagined.
After learning of his wife’s affair with his best friend and business partner, divorced and unemployed MindTech entrepreneur Dr Harry Coulson arrives in the idyllic English town of Freebourne, looking to start a new life. But any hopes of quietly picking up the pieces of his broken world are shattered when he steps off the train to discover the body of a young woman lying in the snow. It's almost as if she'd been left there for him to find. Harry does everything he can to help. But as a stranger arriving on the night Freebourne witnesses its first murder in over a century, he not only becomes a suspect in the woman's killing but finds himself caught in a deadly game between science, faith, and free will — in a secret far darker and more terrifying than anything he could have imagined.
- GenresThriller
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2025
10 people are currently reading
2860 people want to read
About the author
Salman Shaheen
1 book16 followersSalman Shaheen is a British politician, journalist and novelist. He has written for the Guardian, New Statesman, New Internationalist, and Times of India, and frequently comments on politics and economics on TV and radio. His exclusive exposes on corporate tax avoidance have made front-page news in the Observer and have been picked up by the FT and the Telegraph.
Salman launched Grow for the Future, the UK’s first-ever policy to transform wasteland into places for urban kids in deprived areas to grow food and learn about sustainability and biodiversity. The policy, initiated in the London Borough of Hounslow, has been backed by the UK government and championed by Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter OBE. He also partnered with Jamie Oliver to launch the celebrity chef’s first-ever food education programme directly targeted at primary schools to tackle childhood obesity.
Passionate about preserving green spaces, Salman helped lead the successful and nationally prominent campaign to save Park Road Allotments – a century-old wildlife haven established to feed wounded soldiers returning from the First World War – from being bulldozed by one of Britain’s richest landowners, the Duke of Northumberland.
Born in Norwich in 1984, Salman graduated with a Double First in Social & Political Sciences from Jesus College, Cambridge, before going on to complete the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia. He now lives in Brentford, West London.
Salman is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Wikipedia
Salman launched Grow for the Future, the UK’s first-ever policy to transform wasteland into places for urban kids in deprived areas to grow food and learn about sustainability and biodiversity. The policy, initiated in the London Borough of Hounslow, has been backed by the UK government and championed by Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter OBE. He also partnered with Jamie Oliver to launch the celebrity chef’s first-ever food education programme directly targeted at primary schools to tackle childhood obesity.
Passionate about preserving green spaces, Salman helped lead the successful and nationally prominent campaign to save Park Road Allotments – a century-old wildlife haven established to feed wounded soldiers returning from the First World War – from being bulldozed by one of Britain’s richest landowners, the Duke of Northumberland.
Born in Norwich in 1984, Salman graduated with a Double First in Social & Political Sciences from Jesus College, Cambridge, before going on to complete the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia. He now lives in Brentford, West London.
Salman is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 23, 2025
Freebourne by Salman Shaheen is a tech-noir psychological thriller that blends AI, crime, religion, and politics. It’s Shaheen’s debut novel, and it reads like A Clockwork Orange meets Identity (the 2000s John Cusack film), with a dash of The Lobster thrown in.
The story follows Harry Coulson, who has just arrived in the small town of Freebourne when he discovers the body of a local girl. He does everything right—checks her pulse and immediately calls the police—but the town quickly becomes convinced that the new guy is responsible. As Harry moves through Freebourne, bodies begin to pile up, and suspicion follows him everywhere.
Set in the near future, Freebourne depicts a society where nearly everyone wears Metaverse goggles. Harry is an AI technician who was ousted from his company and has come to Freebourne for a fresh start. The plot is difficult to describe succinctly because so much is happening at once. As a debut, it feels like Shaheen wanted to get every idea he had about AI and future technology onto the page. Unfortunately, as a reader, it often felt like too much.
I think the novel would have benefited from focusing more tightly on AI and crime. The crime aspect was compelling, and while I was able to figure out who the murderer was, solving that mystery was the most engaging part of the book. The story becomes muddled when it expands into religion and national politics. The central hook—that no one has been murdered in this town for 100 years, and that the crime goes national—was interesting, but I would have preferred the story to stay grounded with local police rather than pulling in the Prime Minister and national political intrigue.
The timeline also threw me off. Technology is developed, tested, retested, there’s a funeral, and even a special election—all within one month. It strains believability. That said, Freebourne does have a killer ending. For me, it came too late, and it was impossible to fully solve given what the reader is allowed to know. Still, I believe there’s a very good book buried under too many ideas. As an editor, I would have changed a lot.
I received a copy of this book from Roundfire Books via Simon & Schuster. Freebourne was first published on October 14, 2025, by Roundfire Books.
Why Did I Read Freebourne?
Freebourne wasn’t on my radar at all. Roundfire Books reached out and asked if I’d be interested in reading it. What sold me was a blurb from Judith Woods of The Telegraph, who described it as “Midsomer Murders meets The Matrix.”
Plot Summary:
Harry Coulson arrives in Freebourne and immediately discovers a body, bleeding from a head wound. He checks for a pulse and calls the police. After questioning him, the police let him go—but because this is the first murder in 100 years, the case becomes a national sensation. Harry’s face is plastered across the news, and as the town outsider, he becomes the prime suspect in the public eye. Harry is harassed by reporters and ostracized by the town. He came to Freebourne for a fresh start after divorcing his wife and leaving his company. His plan is to start a new business using AI to erase bad memories. Alongside the murder investigation, Harry finds himself targeted by an anti-AI terrorist group that opposes his technology. As the story unfolds, Harry quickly gains both friends and enemies—some who want him dead, and others who want control of his invention.
What I Liked:
The ending of Freebourne is genuinely great. It upends the entire book, and I was shocked by how far it went. This is a novel you might appreciate more on a second read. While the final twist isn’t something you see coming, there are breadcrumbs—though the reader lacks the necessary context to fully connect them.
I also loved the character of River. She’s sweet, grounding, and has a positive impact on both the story and Harry. The conflict between the anti-AI group and the tech team was another strong element.
What I Disliked:
The way the story is told feels unfair to the reader. The final twist is strong, but it could have been far more impactful if the reader had been given more information earlier. The timeline is far too rushed. I constantly found myself wondering how much time had passed—only to learn near the end that everything happened within a single month.
River, a character I liked, is given the coding responsibilities for Harry’s device, despite being someone he just met in a small town. She works part-time at a diner and somehow codes at an expert level under an absurdly tight timeline. It felt completely unrealistic.
The final twist relies on the reader not knowing the identity of a key character, yet both characters share the same project name—a major oversight when it comes to maintaining a hidden identity.
Religion and national politics were unnecessary. Local politics might have worked, but the national scope felt excessive. Additionally, the technology—the backbone of the novel—isn’t introduced until the second chapter. I think it needed to appear in the first chapter. When it finally arrived in the third, it felt jarring.
Recommendation:
Freebourne is a messy debut with some genuinely strong moments. The final twist is excellent, and I would be interested in following this newly evolved character as they deal with the repercussions of the story’s events. However, I can’t recommend Freebourne to my followers.
Ratting:
Freebrourne by Salman Shaheen. I rated 2 out of 5 stars.
The story follows Harry Coulson, who has just arrived in the small town of Freebourne when he discovers the body of a local girl. He does everything right—checks her pulse and immediately calls the police—but the town quickly becomes convinced that the new guy is responsible. As Harry moves through Freebourne, bodies begin to pile up, and suspicion follows him everywhere.
Set in the near future, Freebourne depicts a society where nearly everyone wears Metaverse goggles. Harry is an AI technician who was ousted from his company and has come to Freebourne for a fresh start. The plot is difficult to describe succinctly because so much is happening at once. As a debut, it feels like Shaheen wanted to get every idea he had about AI and future technology onto the page. Unfortunately, as a reader, it often felt like too much.
I think the novel would have benefited from focusing more tightly on AI and crime. The crime aspect was compelling, and while I was able to figure out who the murderer was, solving that mystery was the most engaging part of the book. The story becomes muddled when it expands into religion and national politics. The central hook—that no one has been murdered in this town for 100 years, and that the crime goes national—was interesting, but I would have preferred the story to stay grounded with local police rather than pulling in the Prime Minister and national political intrigue.
The timeline also threw me off. Technology is developed, tested, retested, there’s a funeral, and even a special election—all within one month. It strains believability. That said, Freebourne does have a killer ending. For me, it came too late, and it was impossible to fully solve given what the reader is allowed to know. Still, I believe there’s a very good book buried under too many ideas. As an editor, I would have changed a lot.
I received a copy of this book from Roundfire Books via Simon & Schuster. Freebourne was first published on October 14, 2025, by Roundfire Books.
Why Did I Read Freebourne?
Freebourne wasn’t on my radar at all. Roundfire Books reached out and asked if I’d be interested in reading it. What sold me was a blurb from Judith Woods of The Telegraph, who described it as “Midsomer Murders meets The Matrix.”
Plot Summary:
Harry Coulson arrives in Freebourne and immediately discovers a body, bleeding from a head wound. He checks for a pulse and calls the police. After questioning him, the police let him go—but because this is the first murder in 100 years, the case becomes a national sensation. Harry’s face is plastered across the news, and as the town outsider, he becomes the prime suspect in the public eye. Harry is harassed by reporters and ostracized by the town. He came to Freebourne for a fresh start after divorcing his wife and leaving his company. His plan is to start a new business using AI to erase bad memories. Alongside the murder investigation, Harry finds himself targeted by an anti-AI terrorist group that opposes his technology. As the story unfolds, Harry quickly gains both friends and enemies—some who want him dead, and others who want control of his invention.
What I Liked:
The ending of Freebourne is genuinely great. It upends the entire book, and I was shocked by how far it went. This is a novel you might appreciate more on a second read. While the final twist isn’t something you see coming, there are breadcrumbs—though the reader lacks the necessary context to fully connect them.
I also loved the character of River. She’s sweet, grounding, and has a positive impact on both the story and Harry. The conflict between the anti-AI group and the tech team was another strong element.
What I Disliked:
The way the story is told feels unfair to the reader. The final twist is strong, but it could have been far more impactful if the reader had been given more information earlier. The timeline is far too rushed. I constantly found myself wondering how much time had passed—only to learn near the end that everything happened within a single month.
River, a character I liked, is given the coding responsibilities for Harry’s device, despite being someone he just met in a small town. She works part-time at a diner and somehow codes at an expert level under an absurdly tight timeline. It felt completely unrealistic.
The final twist relies on the reader not knowing the identity of a key character, yet both characters share the same project name—a major oversight when it comes to maintaining a hidden identity.
Religion and national politics were unnecessary. Local politics might have worked, but the national scope felt excessive. Additionally, the technology—the backbone of the novel—isn’t introduced until the second chapter. I think it needed to appear in the first chapter. When it finally arrived in the third, it felt jarring.
Recommendation:
Freebourne is a messy debut with some genuinely strong moments. The final twist is excellent, and I would be interested in following this newly evolved character as they deal with the repercussions of the story’s events. However, I can’t recommend Freebourne to my followers.
Ratting:
Freebrourne by Salman Shaheen. I rated 2 out of 5 stars.
October 16, 2025
Salman Shaheen's Freebourne is a riveting read that masterfully blends crime fiction with technological speculation, creating a thriller that feels both distinctly English and unnervingly contemporary. Before you finish your cup of tea, protagonist Harry Coulson finds himself in extraordinarily deep trouble, and the novel never lets up from there.
The story begins with Harry stepping off a train in the small English town (or perhaps large village) of Freebourne, ready to start a peaceful rural life away from London. He's fleeing personal heartbreak—his wife's affair with his best friend—and hoping for a fresh start. Instead, he discovers a dead woman and within moments finds himself accused of murder. It's hardly the quiet new beginning he envisioned.
What follows is a relentlessly paced narrative that explores themes of memory, identity, and trust within the intimate confines of a close-knit community. Shaheen creates a vivid sense of place in Freebourne, a town complete with a church and vicar, a trendy café, an upscale restaurant, and even BBC studios. The setting has an almost Kafkaesque quality—everything packed into this seemingly small place, creating an atmosphere that's both cozy and claustrophobic.
Harry isn't just running from his past; he's also pursuing a future through an ambitious tech startup. His innovation involves brain modification technology designed to help people process traumatic experiences rapidly, allowing them to move past grief and upset without years of suffering. It's a fascinating premise that raises profound questions about whether we should alter our painful memories, even if we could.
The novel's strength lies in its complex web of characters and relationships. Harry meets Lauren, a bright, beautiful, intelligent woman who takes him under her wing, believes in his innocence, and quickly becomes both his advocate and his lover. There are the parents of the murdered girl—the mother convinced of Harry's guilt, the father oddly willing to invest in Harry's technology despite everything. The local MP, who happens to be the Home Secretary, lurks in the background. Each character serves a purpose in this intricate puzzle, and Shaheen keeps you constantly wondering: who can you trust?
Here we have murder, political shenanigans or intrigue, high tech wonder and terror risk all in one. Plus it has a totally shocking twist at the end.
The pacing is relentless—some might even say chaotic in the best possible way. Events tumble over one another: the discovery of the body, the arrest, the release, new friendships formed in the local café, investments secured, terrorist threats emerging. Shaheen keeps multiple plates spinning, and while the middle section is densely packed with incident, it all builds toward something significant.
And that ending! Without venturing into spoiler territory, I can say that the final chapter delivers a revelation that recontextualizes everything that came before. The twist doesn't just surprise—it fundamentally challenges your emotional investment in the story, forcing you to reconsider everything you thought you knew.
Freebourne works as both an engaging crime thriller and a thought-provoking exploration of cutting-edge ethical questions. What makes us who we are—our experiences or our choices?
Shaheen has crafted a thoroughly entertaining read that rewards your attention with genuine surprises. The English setting feels authentic and lived-in, the technology is plausible enough to be unsettling, and the thriller elements keep the pages turning. Most importantly, that shocking conclusion makes the entire journey worthwhile. If you love crime thrillers with big ideas about memory, identity & redemption, grab this one. The payoff is absolutely worth it. Well done, Salman Shaheen—this is crime fiction with real bite.
#scifi #murdermystery #speculativefiction #Freebourne #SalmanShaheen #CrimeFiction #ThrillerBooks #MustRead #PlotTwist
The story begins with Harry stepping off a train in the small English town (or perhaps large village) of Freebourne, ready to start a peaceful rural life away from London. He's fleeing personal heartbreak—his wife's affair with his best friend—and hoping for a fresh start. Instead, he discovers a dead woman and within moments finds himself accused of murder. It's hardly the quiet new beginning he envisioned.
What follows is a relentlessly paced narrative that explores themes of memory, identity, and trust within the intimate confines of a close-knit community. Shaheen creates a vivid sense of place in Freebourne, a town complete with a church and vicar, a trendy café, an upscale restaurant, and even BBC studios. The setting has an almost Kafkaesque quality—everything packed into this seemingly small place, creating an atmosphere that's both cozy and claustrophobic.
Harry isn't just running from his past; he's also pursuing a future through an ambitious tech startup. His innovation involves brain modification technology designed to help people process traumatic experiences rapidly, allowing them to move past grief and upset without years of suffering. It's a fascinating premise that raises profound questions about whether we should alter our painful memories, even if we could.
The novel's strength lies in its complex web of characters and relationships. Harry meets Lauren, a bright, beautiful, intelligent woman who takes him under her wing, believes in his innocence, and quickly becomes both his advocate and his lover. There are the parents of the murdered girl—the mother convinced of Harry's guilt, the father oddly willing to invest in Harry's technology despite everything. The local MP, who happens to be the Home Secretary, lurks in the background. Each character serves a purpose in this intricate puzzle, and Shaheen keeps you constantly wondering: who can you trust?
Here we have murder, political shenanigans or intrigue, high tech wonder and terror risk all in one. Plus it has a totally shocking twist at the end.
The pacing is relentless—some might even say chaotic in the best possible way. Events tumble over one another: the discovery of the body, the arrest, the release, new friendships formed in the local café, investments secured, terrorist threats emerging. Shaheen keeps multiple plates spinning, and while the middle section is densely packed with incident, it all builds toward something significant.
And that ending! Without venturing into spoiler territory, I can say that the final chapter delivers a revelation that recontextualizes everything that came before. The twist doesn't just surprise—it fundamentally challenges your emotional investment in the story, forcing you to reconsider everything you thought you knew.
Freebourne works as both an engaging crime thriller and a thought-provoking exploration of cutting-edge ethical questions. What makes us who we are—our experiences or our choices?
Shaheen has crafted a thoroughly entertaining read that rewards your attention with genuine surprises. The English setting feels authentic and lived-in, the technology is plausible enough to be unsettling, and the thriller elements keep the pages turning. Most importantly, that shocking conclusion makes the entire journey worthwhile. If you love crime thrillers with big ideas about memory, identity & redemption, grab this one. The payoff is absolutely worth it. Well done, Salman Shaheen—this is crime fiction with real bite.
#scifi #murdermystery #speculativefiction #Freebourne #SalmanShaheen #CrimeFiction #ThrillerBooks #MustRead #PlotTwist
October 10, 2025
Freebourne had it all, mystery, thriller, futuristic, sci fi, mayhem and was a page turner. Good book with unexpected twists. I could not put it down till I read the last page.
November 25, 2025
Book Review by Bernard Pearson
Freebourne by Salman Shaheen bursts onto the page like an exploding, multi-dimensional zip filé from a state-of-the-art computer and never relents in its pace through a serpentine plot that leaves one reeling. The early pages are reminiscent of a 1940’s film noire but set some years in the future. The characters are well crafted and believable, the setting a small south coast town apparently inured of the ills befalling the outside world. The apparently senseless murder of the beautiful and much-loved Serena Brandreth shattering this illusion before it is fully formed. The put upon protagonist Dr Harry Coulson, the man who discovers Serena’s body is plunged into a hostile environment where the police and many of the townsfolk are intent on seeing him brought to book for her killing and the ever more shocking crimes that follow. The danger here is that we might be tipped comedically into Royston Vasey home to The League of Gentleman or spooked as on Summer Isle land of the Wicker Man. Sharheen avoids such pitfalls, and the scene is set for a narrative more rooted in some of the works and traditions of early science fiction masters such as H.G, Wells, John Wyndham and Mary Shelley.
The action at times is breathless and compressed but Shaheen takes the reader with him. We have time enough to start to care about the characters, the parents of the murdered girl and her varied lovers, friends and admirers. We follow the local constabularies inept attempts at the subtlety of detection as it turns out that there are several other suspects, in fact the author provides the reader with more red herrings than you might see on a fishmonger’s slab.
Meanwhile the scientific philosopher’s stone IT entrepreneur Coulson seeks seems tantalizingly out of reach. Harry has come to make a new start from the wreckage of his marriage and a betrayal by his friend and business partner, but as soon as he arrives in Freebourne he becomes the prime suspect, thus begins an intermittent man hunt. Both by the local constabulary and a tenacious television reporter. Eventually Other suspects in the girl’s murder become apparent but the killing of one of them turns up the heat once more on Harry. Apart from making a new start in his personal life, Coulson is on a mission involving the use of AI to relieve the suffering of those suffering from bereavement and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. With the help of the few friends, he has managed to accrue in Freebourne and the financial muscle of a local millionaire with a vested interest (the bereft father of the first murder victim) Harry establishes a start-up business The little world that Freebourne is described deftly by the author, as is in the wider political landscape, full of scheming government ministers and increasingly violent special interest groups. Harry finds himself befriended by the attractive but somewhat enigmatic Lauren, a bio scientist involved in work around alleviating the effects of dementia. She becomes a kind of guardian angel for the alienated Coulson, pulling him through various scrapes with the law and the locals and soon their relationship appears to blossom. Meanwhile the body count rises alarmingly, and the sense of jeopardy is palpable as Harry with the help of his brilliant young team attempt to perfect his product ‘Polaris’ an AI panacea for the broken hearted. His co-workers are a disparate bunch, River, the ‘hippy chick ‘with a tragic past much darker in hue than her hair colouring, Sachin, a snappy dresser with a mind as sharp as his suit and Darius, the reticent, industrious computer whizz kid. The project.
Harry ‘s behaviour is governed by six rules that he considers sacrosanct but adherence to those rules soon become severely tested by circumstances ever more trying and inexplicable panic attacks.
The ‘’devil’s door’ in the local church is (much as the virtual doors created by Dr. Coulson’s Polaris project) an ominous harbinger of what is to come in this intellectually playful, emotionally intelligent. thriller, Shaheen is able to bring his insider knowledge of some of the posturing and sharp elbowed behaviour of ambitious politicians to create Eliot Nwosu who although a background figure is an appropriately updated take on the Machiavellian Francis Urqhart, from The House of Cards book and television series by Micheal Dobbs.
The action becomes even more frenetic and visceral as the battle between techno driven altruism and dark ages religiosity becomes ever more violent and disturbing. we are looking through the blackest of mirrors in a world preoccupied by ethical dilemmas and rising public disorder prompted by climate change. Shaheen describes the near future as ‘just that’, as if it were truly round the next corner.
The action moves on through more madness and mayhem most of which the hapless Harry seems unable to prevent, despite his good intentions. Cleverly unsignposted disasters comes thick and fast, as the most unlikely characters come up trumps. Meanwhile the theoretical musings about free will and predestination becomes integral to Harry’s survival. The final twist in this absorbing cyber fuelled story is satisfactorily unsettling and the Temple of Janus mosaic uncovered beneath Freebourne a fitting motif within the novel, as we look back to a time where despite the appearance of civility, wickedness thrived in the shadows, and forward to a time where the normal societal rules no longer apply.
This is an assured debut novel, grappling eloquently with the big tech issues that dominate the world presently through the medium of a fast-moving small town murder mystery, not out of place alongside such as those of Ruth Rendell or Ann Cleeves. I look forward to seeing where his writing takes Mr Shaheen next.
Freebourne by Salman Shaheen bursts onto the page like an exploding, multi-dimensional zip filé from a state-of-the-art computer and never relents in its pace through a serpentine plot that leaves one reeling. The early pages are reminiscent of a 1940’s film noire but set some years in the future. The characters are well crafted and believable, the setting a small south coast town apparently inured of the ills befalling the outside world. The apparently senseless murder of the beautiful and much-loved Serena Brandreth shattering this illusion before it is fully formed. The put upon protagonist Dr Harry Coulson, the man who discovers Serena’s body is plunged into a hostile environment where the police and many of the townsfolk are intent on seeing him brought to book for her killing and the ever more shocking crimes that follow. The danger here is that we might be tipped comedically into Royston Vasey home to The League of Gentleman or spooked as on Summer Isle land of the Wicker Man. Sharheen avoids such pitfalls, and the scene is set for a narrative more rooted in some of the works and traditions of early science fiction masters such as H.G, Wells, John Wyndham and Mary Shelley.
The action at times is breathless and compressed but Shaheen takes the reader with him. We have time enough to start to care about the characters, the parents of the murdered girl and her varied lovers, friends and admirers. We follow the local constabularies inept attempts at the subtlety of detection as it turns out that there are several other suspects, in fact the author provides the reader with more red herrings than you might see on a fishmonger’s slab.
Meanwhile the scientific philosopher’s stone IT entrepreneur Coulson seeks seems tantalizingly out of reach. Harry has come to make a new start from the wreckage of his marriage and a betrayal by his friend and business partner, but as soon as he arrives in Freebourne he becomes the prime suspect, thus begins an intermittent man hunt. Both by the local constabulary and a tenacious television reporter. Eventually Other suspects in the girl’s murder become apparent but the killing of one of them turns up the heat once more on Harry. Apart from making a new start in his personal life, Coulson is on a mission involving the use of AI to relieve the suffering of those suffering from bereavement and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. With the help of the few friends, he has managed to accrue in Freebourne and the financial muscle of a local millionaire with a vested interest (the bereft father of the first murder victim) Harry establishes a start-up business The little world that Freebourne is described deftly by the author, as is in the wider political landscape, full of scheming government ministers and increasingly violent special interest groups. Harry finds himself befriended by the attractive but somewhat enigmatic Lauren, a bio scientist involved in work around alleviating the effects of dementia. She becomes a kind of guardian angel for the alienated Coulson, pulling him through various scrapes with the law and the locals and soon their relationship appears to blossom. Meanwhile the body count rises alarmingly, and the sense of jeopardy is palpable as Harry with the help of his brilliant young team attempt to perfect his product ‘Polaris’ an AI panacea for the broken hearted. His co-workers are a disparate bunch, River, the ‘hippy chick ‘with a tragic past much darker in hue than her hair colouring, Sachin, a snappy dresser with a mind as sharp as his suit and Darius, the reticent, industrious computer whizz kid. The project.
Harry ‘s behaviour is governed by six rules that he considers sacrosanct but adherence to those rules soon become severely tested by circumstances ever more trying and inexplicable panic attacks.
The ‘’devil’s door’ in the local church is (much as the virtual doors created by Dr. Coulson’s Polaris project) an ominous harbinger of what is to come in this intellectually playful, emotionally intelligent. thriller, Shaheen is able to bring his insider knowledge of some of the posturing and sharp elbowed behaviour of ambitious politicians to create Eliot Nwosu who although a background figure is an appropriately updated take on the Machiavellian Francis Urqhart, from The House of Cards book and television series by Micheal Dobbs.
The action becomes even more frenetic and visceral as the battle between techno driven altruism and dark ages religiosity becomes ever more violent and disturbing. we are looking through the blackest of mirrors in a world preoccupied by ethical dilemmas and rising public disorder prompted by climate change. Shaheen describes the near future as ‘just that’, as if it were truly round the next corner.
The action moves on through more madness and mayhem most of which the hapless Harry seems unable to prevent, despite his good intentions. Cleverly unsignposted disasters comes thick and fast, as the most unlikely characters come up trumps. Meanwhile the theoretical musings about free will and predestination becomes integral to Harry’s survival. The final twist in this absorbing cyber fuelled story is satisfactorily unsettling and the Temple of Janus mosaic uncovered beneath Freebourne a fitting motif within the novel, as we look back to a time where despite the appearance of civility, wickedness thrived in the shadows, and forward to a time where the normal societal rules no longer apply.
This is an assured debut novel, grappling eloquently with the big tech issues that dominate the world presently through the medium of a fast-moving small town murder mystery, not out of place alongside such as those of Ruth Rendell or Ann Cleeves. I look forward to seeing where his writing takes Mr Shaheen next.
October 15, 2025
Freebourne: A Novel
By Salman Shaheen
Publisher: Roundfire Books
Published Date: October 14, 2025
ASIN: B0FKSK2Q3H
Page Count: 280
Triggers: infidelity, gore, murder, AI mind-bending ethics, trauma, existential dread.
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Skull Dread Rating: ☠️ (existential unease > gore factor)
What Did I Just Walk Into?
Divorced tech bro Harry Coulson thinks he’s moving to a sleepy English hamlet to lick his wounds, but instead steps off the train and immediately finds a corpse in the snow. Freebourne hasn’t seen a murder in a century, so naturally everyone assumes it’s Harry’s fault. From there it turns into part whodunnit, part AI fever dream, part “Black Mirror ate Midsomer Murders for breakfast.”
Here’s What Slapped:
That opening scene: step off the train, boom—dead body. Welcome to Freebourne, Harry.
Snowy English countryside atmosphere done right: cozy but make it creepy.
AI + faith + free will = brain-melting cocktail of philosophy and paranoia.
Everyone is shady, everyone has secrets prime small-town thriller juice.
The twist? Let’s just say I stopped chewing mid-bite.
What Could’ve Been Better:
Some sections got so convoluted I wasn’t sure if I was reading the story or trapped in Harry’s malfunctioning AI project.
A couple of characters felt like placeholders for “Look! Suspicion!” rather than actual people.
The gore occasionally tipped over from effective to “okay, we get it.”
Perfect for Readers Who Love:
Black Mirror meets Midsomer Murders
Small towns with big secrets
Philosophical thrillers that ask “what if AI messed with your brain?”
Snow-covered corpses and cozy dread
Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review
By Salman Shaheen
Publisher: Roundfire Books
Published Date: October 14, 2025
ASIN: B0FKSK2Q3H
Page Count: 280
Triggers: infidelity, gore, murder, AI mind-bending ethics, trauma, existential dread.
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Skull Dread Rating: ☠️ (existential unease > gore factor)
What Did I Just Walk Into?
Divorced tech bro Harry Coulson thinks he’s moving to a sleepy English hamlet to lick his wounds, but instead steps off the train and immediately finds a corpse in the snow. Freebourne hasn’t seen a murder in a century, so naturally everyone assumes it’s Harry’s fault. From there it turns into part whodunnit, part AI fever dream, part “Black Mirror ate Midsomer Murders for breakfast.”
Here’s What Slapped:
That opening scene: step off the train, boom—dead body. Welcome to Freebourne, Harry.
Snowy English countryside atmosphere done right: cozy but make it creepy.
AI + faith + free will = brain-melting cocktail of philosophy and paranoia.
Everyone is shady, everyone has secrets prime small-town thriller juice.
The twist? Let’s just say I stopped chewing mid-bite.
What Could’ve Been Better:
Some sections got so convoluted I wasn’t sure if I was reading the story or trapped in Harry’s malfunctioning AI project.
A couple of characters felt like placeholders for “Look! Suspicion!” rather than actual people.
The gore occasionally tipped over from effective to “okay, we get it.”
Perfect for Readers Who Love:
Black Mirror meets Midsomer Murders
Small towns with big secrets
Philosophical thrillers that ask “what if AI messed with your brain?”
Snow-covered corpses and cozy dread
Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review
August 13, 2025
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.
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.
October 8, 2025
Dr. Harry Coulson arrives in the small village of Freebourne to begin a new life after a divorce. As he's walking to his hotel, he comes across the dead body of a young woman. He immediately calls the police, but is shocked when everyone begins to treat him as a suspect. The press camps outside his door and the police question him aggressively. It doesn't help that the woman was the daughter of the most prominent family in town. Harry has left the big city for the quiet village in the hope of finishing work on his project: a device that will edit out painful memories and allow people to better cope with distressing situations. Is someone trying to prevent his work from becoming a reality?
I enjoyed the twists in the story but I wasn't expecting the sci-fi or futuristic elements. It raises a lot of questions about whether it's better to live with the truth, however unpleasant, or whether an artificially unburdened life might possible.
I received a copy of this book from a GoodReads giveaway.
I enjoyed the twists in the story but I wasn't expecting the sci-fi or futuristic elements. It raises a lot of questions about whether it's better to live with the truth, however unpleasant, or whether an artificially unburdened life might possible.
I received a copy of this book from a GoodReads giveaway.
September 23, 2025
I both enjoyed this book and at times was really annoyed by it, but I think in the end I did like it.
This was one of those books that you question if you can trust (almost) any of the characters, though the one I questioned the most, outside of our main character, was warranted! With the project that Harry is working on, in this too perfect little town, and other ai, mind altering, etc going on in this world is anything we're reading actually happening in the book or it in it someone's mind?
I keep thinking about his project, if I could close off the hurt from loss, trauma, etc quickly, vs maybe years of working through it and feeling it, would I? Would it really be worth it? Would I trust the people to made it - that's an easy no, no matter who it was.
This story had a couple of interesting twists, and I'm curious about this little town and what will happen next.
This was one of those books that you question if you can trust (almost) any of the characters, though the one I questioned the most, outside of our main character, was warranted! With the project that Harry is working on, in this too perfect little town, and other ai, mind altering, etc going on in this world is anything we're reading actually happening in the book or it in it someone's mind?
I keep thinking about his project, if I could close off the hurt from loss, trauma, etc quickly, vs maybe years of working through it and feeling it, would I? Would it really be worth it? Would I trust the people to made it - that's an easy no, no matter who it was.
This story had a couple of interesting twists, and I'm curious about this little town and what will happen next.
October 21, 2025
Freebourne by Salman Shaheen is a layered mystery novel.
The writing is crisp and engaging. The story starts slow but towards the end it picks up pace and transforms into an unputdownable book.
The relationships between characters developed too quickly for me to feel invested. Though the ending was great, it felt abrupt and I felt an epilogue would have been nice.
What truly stood out for me was the main plot, it held my attention throughout and delivered a satisfying payoff. Towards the end was intense and gripping, with a twist that raised the book to another level.
I love when a mystery keeps me guessing till the end and Freebourne did just that! It was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
I thank the author for providing me with an ARC copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
The writing is crisp and engaging. The story starts slow but towards the end it picks up pace and transforms into an unputdownable book.
The relationships between characters developed too quickly for me to feel invested. Though the ending was great, it felt abrupt and I felt an epilogue would have been nice.
What truly stood out for me was the main plot, it held my attention throughout and delivered a satisfying payoff. Towards the end was intense and gripping, with a twist that raised the book to another level.
I love when a mystery keeps me guessing till the end and Freebourne did just that! It was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
I thank the author for providing me with an ARC copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 30, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed Freebourne by Salman Shaheen As a fan of whodunnit crime novels and science fiction, Salman's novel cleverly blends both genres, whilst also serving as a medium to touch on a variety of philosophical and contemporary political issues. (I liked this quote from the acknowledgements: "if you want to try and say something meaningful about the world, you should smuggle it in a murder mystery".)
The twist at the end was excellent. Having seen quotes claiming it was spectacular and that I'd never see it coming, I naturally did my best to guess. Whilst I like to think I had a decent stab at it, the full conclusion was still very satisfying!
The twist at the end was excellent. Having seen quotes claiming it was spectacular and that I'd never see it coming, I naturally did my best to guess. Whilst I like to think I had a decent stab at it, the full conclusion was still very satisfying!
October 2, 2025
Freebourne by Salman Shaheen is the very convoluted story of Dr. Harry Coulson who arrives new in the town of Freebourne just to find a body outside the train station. This is just the beginning of a very convoluted story of mystery, mayhem and confusion as Harry tries to make a life in the town. This was a very hard story for me to read as there were many characters who were not engaging and a bit too much gore spread around everywhere.
October 27, 2025
Salman Shaheen hurtles to dark places in his extremely readable crime thriller/speculative fiction debut. The author drags readers by the scruff of the neck through scenes of ultra-violence and gut-wrenching emotion, against a backdrop of commentary on ethics in tech, populist politics, and small town English mores. The tightly-plotted melodrama sweeps all before it, while both the dystopian invention at the heart of the novel and the ending's multiple twists play with reality itself.
November 6, 2025
A captivating, genre bending read that keeps the pages flipping at your finger tips from cover to cover. Set in the future, the author very cleverly weaves in deeply philosophical questions of human nature, with revolutionary mind changing technology whilst having you point fingers at "could be" murderers. An unimaginable twist at the end! A must read!
January 29, 2026
I loved this book! A true page turner. Interesting characters, a plot that keeps you guessing, and a twist (or three) that I promise you won't see coming. It is a murder mystery, but it is not formulaic, and crucially, the plot is watertight - I find sometimes books of this genre require you to suspend disbelief a little bit. Not so with Freebourne! A great read.
October 6, 2025
Cleverly written, twisty, and deeply immersing.
This book is powerful and stays with you, and really made me think about science, belief, AI and power. It explores where things could go given latest scientific developments - and what should/ shouldn't be allowed.
This book is powerful and stays with you, and really made me think about science, belief, AI and power. It explores where things could go given latest scientific developments - and what should/ shouldn't be allowed.
January 1, 2026
A fast moving gripping read with more than a few themes that resonates strongly with some of the biggest current and future political, security and intelligence governance challenges that we face as a modern democracy.
Tony Regan
Tony Regan
January 7, 2026
Enjoyed the book however felt there were too many elements for one story - murder, AI, religion, politics, family drama and romance - and some of the story plots come to play too late in the day. A book I wanted to finish but could have been more than one story.
October 21, 2025
Great read, kept me hooked all the way through waiting for the final reveal. Whilst doing this it also makes you think about what the future may hold, and if that’s what we want!
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November 30, 2025Wow what an amazing Thriller with the Characters and the story lines twists n turns! I really enjoyed this one! Such a great Author
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