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.