The third outing for Jay Qasim, wise talking reluctant spy. We join Jay shortly after the end of the second book and, while I won’t spoil anything, I would strongly suggest that these books should be read in order to understand the complexity of plot and the character development.

Hugely enjoyable, bang up to date and with an irreverent take on the genre, this is a series which keeps getting better.

With thanks to Harper Collins and Netgalley for an advanced copy in consideration of an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of Ride or Die, the third novel to feature Hownslow’s most reluctant spy, Javid “Jay” Qasim.

Through no fault of his own Jay is dragged back into the jihadi fray and forced By MI5 to partner with Imran “Imy” Saddiqi, the man who tried to kill him and who blames him for the loss of his family. They may have a common goal but everyone has their own agenda so trust is scarce.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ride or Die which is an exciting thriller that is also extremely funny. The novel is told from several points of view but mainly Jay and Imy in the first person. Imy is a man on a mission so his voice is uptight, vengeful and scheming and not a little self-righteous. Jay, on the other hand, is a mixed up, overgrown teenager with a cynical yet optimistic attitude that will make the reader laugh out loud. He falls into situations and manages to extricate himself on a regular basis, not through forward thinking or planning but by serendipity in one form or another. As Imy says, he has no “discernible skill-set” but he is an excellent creation and one of my favourite new characters.

The plot is exciting with plenty of tension and dangerous situations although Jay’s take on events cuts through the tension by offering a laugh. As the theme is Muslim terrorism the action moves from the mundane (Dubai) to the exotic (Hownslow) and a couple of other dangerous spots. I found sorting out the motives of the various characters quite difficult as they’re rather different to my life experiences but I’m not sure that it matters overly much as I just hooked on to Jay’s narrative and went along for the ride. I found it difficult to put the book down with it’s exciting action scenes, my curiosity about motives and where it would lead and my enjoyment of Jay’s take on life.

Ride or Die is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Two sworn enemies. One deadly mission

‘A brilliant thriller. You’d be mad not to buy this’ 
BEN AARONOVITCH
–––––––––––––––––––––––––
JAY QASIM is finally out of the game and trying to lay low. But then he gets news that rocks his world and drags up everything that he thought he’d left behind. Jay must break his vow never to work with MI5 again and turn to the person who sold him out. But this time he’s determined to do it on his terms.
IMRAN SIDDIQUI once tried to kill Jay but now they have a common adversary. The one thing worse than death is watching the people closest to you die. And after the happiest day of Imran’s life becomes the most tragic, he will stop at nothing to take revenge on the people that have taken away his family.
But when everyone has their own agenda, who can you really trust?
Your most deadly enemy is about to become your closest ally.

My thoughts about this brilliant explosive conclusion 3 part to the fast moving thriller to the brilliant trilogy Jay Qasim series Ride Or Die was beyond excellent talented author Khurrum Rahman has delivered yet another power packed spy action thriller that packs a punch with action and suspense brilliant characters fast moving locations team up of Jay Qasim and Imran Siddiqui was mindblowing stopping the villains loved each an every character some new ones and some old characters returning all an all an this is one of the best trilogy endings that will be known as the best series ever looking forward to buying the final part in the series I would like to say thank you to Khurrum Rahman Hq Stories and Netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read and review this fast moving explosive spy thriller that is an epic conclusion to the Jay Qasim series trilogy well done 💥💥💥💥💥⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved Mr Rahman’s East Of Hounslow, a refreshingly different thriller with an unusual reluctant hero in Javid “ call me Jay” Qasim, working undercover for MI5 to uncover a terrorist plot. In his second book, Homegrown Hero, Jay’s story continued and the reader was introduced to Imran.
In this latest novel we catch up with both characters as they are brought together in a search for Jay’s estranged terrorist father “The Teacher” who was supposedly killed in the earlier book. Is he still alive and what will Jay do if he finds him?
Jay and Imran are both sympathetic characters and gel well together. At the end of Homegrown Hero there was an explosion at Imran’s wedding and Ride or Die reveals what happened to Imy and his family. I’ve been waiting over a year for this information so was excited to see this book up for review!
Jay is his indomitable self and despite his lack of espionage experience he manages to keep going throughout the quest. Imy’s and Jay’s unlikely alliance becomes stronger as the two jet off to Pakistan to continue the search.
The introduction of a possible girlfriend for Jay was great and the manner of her appearance was as ever very well done. Sophia is also an interesting character and I look forward to hearing more about her in the next book-Hopefully there will be another one as the ending was a proverbial cliffhanger!!
A thoroughly enjoyable and exciting read which kept me entertained throughout. Ride Or Die was the perfect distraction from what is happening in the real world at the moment.One of the few positives from the current situation is that it has given me plenty of time to read books by my favourite authors of which Khurrum Rahman is definitely one!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

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Ride or Die (Jay Qasim, Book 3)

by Khurrum Rahman (Goodreads Author)

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Read in April 2020

Another wildly entertaining whilst also being extraordinarily insightful novel here from Khurrum Rahman featuring once again one of my favourite main characters currently in fiction.

Jay is a delight to read about, when he's being funny, when he's being serious, all the time. Backed up by an eclectic and intriguing group dynamic in more ways than one, he sits at the centre of a realistic world that totally blows away preconceptions of many kinds.

But hey, we read for entertainment a whole lot of the time and this series offers up action, a rather ironic occasional dose of romance, plots that are pacy and often edge of the seat, a brilliantly clever underlying humour and almost total unpredictability. What's not to love?

This is an ongoing storyline in a lot of ways so for practical and enjoyment purposes I'd recommend reading in order, starting with the excellent East of Hounslow, but mostly I just simply recommend them.

This author is pretty much a shoe in for my top ten of 2020 later this year which would make it third book in a row that has.

If you want both excellent writing and excellent storytelling look no further.