Confessions of a Serial Alibi

by Asia McClain Chapman

In 1999 Adnan Syed was arrested for murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. But at the same time he was accused of the crime, Asia McClain claims she saw Syed at the local library. When McClain hears of Syed’s arrest, she wrote to him to let him know that she might be his alibi. In spite of the opportunity to have him proven innocent, Syed’s attorney did not take any action. Later, his attorney was disbarred due to numerous health problems including multiple sclerosis. She died in 2004. Over a decade after Syed’s arrest, This American Life’s Sarah Koenig investigates the old case. Her interviews with McClain become the first subject of Koenig’s hugely successful podcast Serial and the story became an international internet phenomenon. Determined to set the record straight and the truth free, McClain reaches out to Syed’s new defense attorney and on November 6, 2015, the court ordered an investigation to determine whether Syed’s case be re-opened "in the interests of justice for all parties.” Finally, McClain can become the key alibi witness that she was always meant to be. Now, in Confessions of a Serial Alibi, Asia McClain tells her story for the very first time.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2016

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Confessions of a Serial Alibi" would have been better titled "Musings of Someone Involved in a Famous Case." The book reflects Asia McClain's confused sense of self during the infamy surrounding the revived look at the Hae Min Lee murder trial. It shows why she would be a good witness (highly logical, highly detailed), but it also shows she's not an entertainer, and that's what a book needs. McClain goes too far into detail that isn't especially necessary (she talks, for example, about the interest surrounding her Sephora liquid lipstick in the shade Beso) and analyses her teenage writings at a depth that simply isn't required. As a result, it feels as times as if the book is a defensive exercise against lunatics on the Internet who have tried to rip her words apart--and she would have been better off to simply ignore the trolls. Overall, I found little new about the case here, and my opinion of Asia McClain as someone simply trying to do the right thing hasn't changed.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy books that right the wrong, but this could have been easily been condensed to 100 pages. Lots and lots of the same statements over and over.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible story... Asia is an absolute inspiration.... She is so brave and unwavering in her attempt to seek the truth and to be nothing but honest. I'm in awe of Asia McClain Chapman.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like a 2.5. It was cool to hear Asia's story and how she fits into the case and the stories behind the scenes can either be really interesting or super boring and unnecessary. There was so many times she got sidetracked and I mulled through. Also, there was enough common grammar mistakes that I had the feeling they rushed it to the printer. I honestly wish I had waited for a paper back.

An interesting read, but unnecessary to the case as a whole. I get that Asia wants to get her story out and set that record straight, but it could have easily been done in an extended interview with Serial or Undisclosed.

[Dan Norbut · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a junky of the Adnan Syed case and have listened to "Serial," "Undisclosed," etc. there won't be a ton of stuff in this book that you didn't know already, but this book does provide an excellent glimpse into Ms.Chapman's personality. Her words truly show who she is, and after reading this, I think she is someone I'd like to hang out with. She's very honest, compassionate, kind, and silly, and the book reads like a conversation you might have with her. The book is a bit on the short side as well, but I think it's worth reading just to get a better understanding of who this excellent person is.

[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to start off saying that I am obsessed with True Crime, especially current True Crime. The case against Adnan Syed has been a huge current addiction for me. (This book is about that case.)

To go off of what I said above, to fully appreciate this book you would have to read and listen to a lot before hand. I first listened to SERIAL. "Serial is a podcast from the creators of This American Life, hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial tells one story—a true story—over the course of a season. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. ... A classmate at Woodlawn High School says she knows where Adnan was." This was super addicting and what got me into podcasts. Since then I have been listening to podcasts consistently, mostly true crime podcasts.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Secondly, I recently read the book Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial by Rabia Chaudry. "But Serial did not tell the whole story. In this compelling narrative, Rabia Chaudry presents new key evidence that she maintains dismantles the State's case: a potential new suspect, forensics indicating Hae was killed and kept somewhere for almost half a day, and documentation withheld by the State that destroys the cell phone evidence -- among many other points -- and she shows how fans of Serial joined a crowd-sourced investigation into a case riddled with errors and strange twists. Adnan's Story also shares Adnan’s life in prison, and weaves in his personal reflections, including never-before-seen letters. Chaudry, who is committed to exonerating Adnan, makes it clear that justice is yet to be achieved in this much examined case." OMG! This book was written so well and I was super addicted! I rated this book 5 stars, because I learned so much information!!!
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Then, I started listening to the authors podcast Undisclosed. Undisclosed: The State Vs. Adnan Syed (Season 1) by Rabia Chaudry, Colin Miller, Susan Simpson. "The Undisclosed Podcast is a listening experience that reframes, enhances or otherwise shifts everything you've come to know about the State of Maryland's case against Adnan Syed, especially as you've come to know it through listening to Serial. In order to do that, we intend to revisit the case from the beginning, looking at all the available evidence. Not only will we look at the evidence that was presented in Serial, but we will also provide new evidence that we've uncovered in our investigation. We have combed through police and court records that the Serial team did not possess during the podcast, and done much, much more to get to the truth. Accordingly, we aspire to present the best possible version of the events as we believe those events to be. We will also present theories that we believe the evidence best construes. Perhaps most importantly, we will provide you with all of our evidence as part of that process." I am currently still listening to this and I am super addicted! The second season is currently being released, so I hope to catch up in this quickly!

Lastly, I read this book which was a great account of an alibi witness and what it is like to be in the lime light, without wanting to be. This book also provided information from the alibis' point-of-view and why she behaved and acted the way she did in the different situations.

And now I'm disappointed… there are no more books to read about the case. What will feed my addiction besides the podcast Undisclosed?

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a short, one day read - quick and easy but very interesting. It's obviously written by a non-author and I wish the editing had been better but overall I give it a "must-read" rating. I have a ton of respect for Asia and find her to be smart, funny, interesting and incredibly brave. I can only hope that her bravery results in freedom for an obviously innocent, railroaded young man who has spent far too much time locked up for a crime he did not commit.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars just because there were several typos/misused words that could have used editing. Still, a fascinating glimpse into one woman's story of what it means to be an inadvertent alibi witness. I love reading anything about the Syed case and similar cases, so I would recommend this to Serial fans or those with an interest in similar cases/problems in the justice system.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but it was like reading her diary and provided no new information. I was hoping that she would be able to provide more insight as to who Adnan and Hae were, but she was more of an acquaintance than friend.

I question if an editor actually looked at it before sending it to press. The structure was not coherent and the grammar was terrible.

[Hollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devoured it.

This one is a must read after you've listened to season 1 of Serial more times than you can count, then Undisclosed and Truth and Justice. Props to Asia for disrupting her life to testify, and for sharing all of this with us.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Asia's story to be interesting and compelling. It was fascinating to read her account of how something that happened to her in high school and seemed so insignificant at the time has affected her life.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am completely obsessed with this case. I'd heard about it on the news (I live in Virginia, so this was semi-local) after Serial came out, but hadn't bothered to listen. Now that I have, I'm soaking up as much as I can. I bought this book eagerly, and read it as fast as possible. I'd read the nay-sayer reviews posted by those who only believe Adnan is guilty, and vowed to read it with an open mind. This book was all about Asia (I mean, obviously), but had no real "confessions" in my opinion. If you're reading it for more information on the case, skip it. If you want to know all about Asia's life, and how she seemed to think the trial (not sure if that's the right word or not) was all about her, this is the book for you. She seemed to come off as incredibly self-centered, and that frustrated me as she had never come off that way before.

If you want any sort of new information about the case, this isn't the place to look. If you want a history of Asia McClain and how the case has affected her, this is the book for you.

[Rex Fausett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew nothing about the case when I picked up this book at the library. As noted by others above, it could have done with some editing and the guy who complained about no new evidence has missed the point by a thousand miles. This is a damning indictment of the American legal system, specifically the need to ignore testimony that doesn't fit in with your preconceived view of guilt as demonstrated by the DA in this case. The book did have to be printed because its the only way Asia's testimony will be seen by the wider public and have people asking questions. From here it looks like Adnan was fitted up and details like the negative DNA tests confirm that. Yes, it needed editing and the punctuation is poor here and there but Chapman comes across as sincere in her own little paranoid way and that's important.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this revisiting the Adnan Syed case as the Undisclosed podcast is about to relaunch in 2025 and Adnan has just been re-sentenced. I followed the case via the Serial and Undisclosed podcasts when they came out so the facts about the case in this book were not new to me. However, I found it interesting to read Asia's perspective and her explanation for the details that she remembers (or those she forgets or confuses) from that time. I found her account plausible and her perspective on the personalities involved were especially interesting. It only lost one star for me as the book would benefit from a bit more editing but having said that it is an impressive achievement for someone who isn't a writer.

[Cristin Grenier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confessions of a Serial Alibi was heart wrenching. Mostly because I could not decide by the time I was done reading it if I could side with Adnan or not. Did he do it? I am just not sure. Do I have reasonable doubt? Definitely! I also feel the case was grossly mishandled by authorities.

I stumbled upon this book because of a podcast a friend of mine recommended. I found it much easier to follow the evidence in writing than just by listening. I recommend both the book and the Serial podcast for any true crime fans out there.

[Bobbi Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is very poorly written; from the bad grammar to the often nonexistent punctuation. I didn’t learn anything new about the case (Adnan was released from prison in 2022), and I often wondered how many “best friends” a girl can have. While I have many questions regarding this case, my questions to Asia are 1) why didn’t you tell the police you saw, and chatted with, Adnan in the library? 2) Why write him a letter the day after he was arrested? I didn’t even know suspects in central booking could receive mail.

[Deuce Bigelow · Rating 1 out of 5]

256 pages that could have been a 2 paragraph blog post. I get that doing the right thing feels awesome but her incredible narcissism and overly dramatic (and extremely repetitive) writing made this super hard to get through. Awful awful awful, skip this one. It offers absolutely no new information or insight.

[Raewyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who has taught using Adnan's case (via Serial and Undisclosed), I was quite surprised to hear about a book -- and so soon after the PCR hearing!

While it was nice to hear from Asia's perspective, the book could have been more impactful if it was about half a long.

[Jim Rogal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t fault Asia for writing the book. She seems to play a specific part in the tale of January 13th. I question her mental health in general. While the story is about her interaction she seems to not know if she is mad, unhappy or excited to be part of this whole mess.

[Yolanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read this if you're a Serial junkie. It was fascinating hearing Asia's side of the story but I, like many others, thought this book had waaaayyyyy too many unnecessary details.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love all things Serial but Asia is not a great writer. I thought it was mildly interesting but could have been half as long.

[KaRon Spriggs-bethea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was good to hear her side of the story. Was a bit drawn out at times but otherwise an easy read.

[Rachel Simone · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/2.5 stars

Like many people, I have been closely following the Adnan Syed case since Serial. I have listened to Undisclosed, read Adnan's Story by Rabia Chaudry, read through countless blog posts and watched the HBO miniseries. I didn't expect this book to give any new info and I was right. It read like a diary. It does give more context for Woodlawn / Baltimore in general.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written very much in a conversational, stream of consciousness style. While it doesn't give any new insight into Adnan's case, it gives her background story regarding her affidavit. While people may question her motives, you can tell she's conflicted about her action. She's just trying to do the right thing, whether it helps Adnan or not. It's a short, quick read, and I recommend it for anyone who was obsessed with the Serial podcast.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book. I was so excited to hear from the alibi witness in her own words. Well, I should be careful what I wish for. She writes like I presume she talks, which is fine because she is actually a pretty funny girl. However, I couldn't get past then"woe is me" she constantly goes into throughout the book.
"I don't want anyone to know my new last name"
"Twitter is mean"
"I cry all the time"
"This has been hard/an inconvenience for me"
And on and on....
Towards the end it was pretty painful and took every ounce of me to push through and finish. I appreciate she tried to help Adnan, but this book just screams "I gonna take my 10 minutes of fame and try to put my kids through college". They should be able to buy a pick of pens with the earnings from my sale.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might be the most poorly written book I have ever encountered, and I made it through only about 60 pages. For me as a reader, repetition is bad, stream-of-consciousness is bad, writing like a teenager when you’re in your mid-thirties is bad, writing a book that your lawyer firmly advises you not to write is bad. These four things combined are the worst.

[Heather Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most people I read this book thirsty for more information after listening to the incredible Serial podcast. It was pretty disappointing… not very well written and did not deliver what I hoped it would in terms of information on Adnan’s case. But I am supportive of Asia in putting her story out there, I’m sure it wasn’t easy.

[kristin harger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh

Something about this felt awkwardly written...I can't quite put my finger on it. I'm much more interested in Adnan's story than hers, but if you want to know about her feelings and struggles then give it a try.

[Lyz Frey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. And a little bit pretentious.

Boring. And a little bit pretentious. As a person who has closely followed this story, I am disappointed in Asia. This seems more like a capitalization on Adnan's dad situation, versus someone really trying to help him.

[Leslie Dowling · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a yawn. This would have made a semi-interesting magazine article but stretched out to (barely) book length is just a waste of time.