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 💥💥💥💥💥⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ride or Die is the 3rd book in Khurrum Rahman's superb Jay Qasim series. This is a great series, from being a low level drug dealer,with a ranking police officer for a best friend, the hapless Jay's descent into the murky world of Jihadism and then working as an M15 asset is an entertaining and thought-provoking one.
I wouldn't recommend this as a standalone read, there's far too much backstory of just about every character in the series in this book and you'll get much more out of it if you read the first 2 in the series as well, and if you haven't yet you're missing out on a couple of very good books.
In Ride or Die Jay has largely moved on from his previous misadventures and is looking to lead a more normal life. Of course anyone knowing Jay also knows that if anyone is going to end up embroiled in the machinations of the Intelligence World and Muslim Fundamentalism in various world hotspots when all they want is a quiet life in Hounslow it's always going to be Jay.. Someone else trying and failing the same thing is Imran Siddiqui whose family are wiped out in revenge for him failing to kill Jay ,who he blames for the atrocity. Jay is courted once again by the Jihadis then MI5 after a typically "Jay" series of events. Mi5 somehow manage to team up Jay and Imran, and the pair find themselves travelling to Afghanistan to resolve a situation ,each with a different motive. Their bitter dislike of each other gives the tale added spice, Imran the trained killer,Jay the hapless buffoon way out of his depth.
The series as a whole is a valuable insight into how young Muslim men can be attracted to Muslim fundamentalism, it never preaches but shows that slanted news coverage and stereotyping leads to misunderstanding and prejudice leading to alienation and a search for belonging. It's exciting and often thought-provoking with laugh out humour as a bonus. Jay and Imran work well together in Ride or Die as a pair of totally mismatched characters whose dislike and suspicion of each other adds to the tension and unpredictability of the book. The latter parts of the book set in Afghanistan read very much like one of the old Spaghetti Westerns plot-wise, not least the grand finale. Talking of which, Khurrum Rahman's signature with this series is that they always end with a cliff-hanger so once again readers are left in suspense but also in the knowledge that the story is far from done. Indeed there are changes for Jay in this book,a love interest and a psychotic foe on the loose that along with several new threads to to the ongoing tale of Jay and his divided loyalties bode well for the next instalment. Great stuff and a highly recommended read but if you haven't done already do yourself a favour and read the previous couple of books in the series first.
Thanks to Khurrum Rahman, HQ books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

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.

64+

My Books

Browse ▾

Community ▾

Liz Barnsley rated a book it was amazing

less than a minute ago

Ride or Die (Jay Qasim, Book 3)

by Khurrum Rahman (Goodreads Author)

Read 

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.