East of Hounslow

By: Khurrum Rahman

Narrated by: Waleed Akhtar

Shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award 2019, shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Debut Dagger Award 2018 and the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award 2018

A TELEGRAPH Book of the Year.

Meet Jay.
Small-time dealer.
Accidental jihadist.
The one man who can save us all?

Javid – call him Jay – is a dope dealer living in West London. He goes to mosque on Friday, and he’s just bought his pride and joy – a BMW. He lives with his mum, and life seems sweet.

But his world is about to turn upside-down. Because MI5 have been watching him, and they think he’s just the man they need for a delicate mission.

One thing’s for sure: now he’s a long way East of Hounslow, Jay’s life will never be the same again.

The pulse-pounding spy thriller featuring MI5’s most unlikely and hilarious new hero Jay Qasim. Fans of Mick Herron and Ben Aaronvotich will love this fast-paced and gripping new crime thriller series.

Don’t miss the prequel to the series, The Motive, written exclusively for Quick Reads 2021. And keep up with Jay’s next adventure:
1. East of Hounslow
2. Homegrown Hero
3. Ride or Die

©2017 Khurrum Rahman (P)2017 HarperCollins

Critic reviews

"A brilliant thriller. You'd be mad not to buy this." (Ben Aaronovitch)

"Excellent book. Phenomenal writing." (BA Paris)

Terrific story! Such a good read.

Main character Jay Kasim is so funny and engaging. I loved tagging along with him. Rahman is a great storyteller .great characters. Great plot. The narrator is wonderful. I hated for the book to end!

Brilliant narration

I don't do many written reviews, so it has to be something special to get me typing. And it is. Waleed Akhtar did not just tell this story, he performed it in such a way as to make it seem as if he really was the main character in the book. Excellent.

I bought this book on spec

I bought this book on spec and found it a bit hard going. Not because it was poorly written but because I found narrator Waleed Akhtar's accent grated. I understand the accent may be intended to lend authenticity to the story but I found it detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book. The plot was based on an interesting and all too realistic concept and contained enough credibility and surprises to keep me listening. I would be happy to try a similar or better effort from Khurrum Rahman with a different narrator. This one goes into the second tier of my library.

A mixed bag

I found the story less suspenseful than it should have been - seemed a little directionless at times. The social context was interesting and well conveyed. The reader was good, but the clear sense of character he conveyed in the first person sections, made the switch to third person in the same voice confusing. The ending was very clunky.