I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2021 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2021/02/2021-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Javid—call him Jay—Qasim lives a cushy life in London with his mother as a low-level drug dealer who attends prayers weekly on Friday. He’s just purchased a shiny new BMW. Life is good. Until his BMW is stolen, along with a bag containing drugs and a payment for his supplier, Silas, an unforgiving sort.

Because Jay is able to switch between the religious and secular worlds with ease, MI-5 has identified him as a potential informant. For the same reason, a militant Islamic group courts him for membership. With the threat of Silas looming, he’s pushed into choosing his allegiances to save himself from Silas’s retribution at the hands of his henchman, Staples.

Witty and observant, Jay makes a great narrator. With some distance from each side, he’s able to critique both—not only the deadly terrorist suicide bombs but also the equally destructive unmanned drone strikes. East of Hounslow compares and contrasts the recruitment techniques of the terrorist and the spy agency and shows a training camp and mission planning from the inside with some revelations about the cell members’ motivations.

I found the book fascinating, especially once Jay became ensnared in his mission, and by the end of the book, I was biting my nails. This is the first installation in a planned series, and I’m already anticipating the sequel.

The book East of Hounslow tells the story of a young man named Jay. Jay is a young Muslim living in London who is also a low-level drug dealer. However, his drug-dealing catches up with him, which leads Jay to go undercover with MI5 in order to infiltrate a group that is radicalizing young Muslims. I thought this book was fine. It is a fast read, but it is often predictable and the dialog often feels stilted.

Jay Qasim never expected to find himself working for MI-5. Nor did he expect to infiltrate a local mosque to find the radicals. He's a low level criminal- nothing big- and now he's in the thick of things. This is written with a light hand and good sense of humor. Jay's terrific and someone you will root for. The other characters are a treat as well. Rahman has created a thriller about terrorism and radicalization that avoids the dark and will make you turn the pages. I liked this much more than I expected and, now that I know it is the first in a series, I'm going to look for more. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. A good read on hot day.

This is quite good. It's been out since 2017 so there are +100 helpful reviews already out there that will tell you all you want to know. Recommended for mystery/thriller fans.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

Khurrum Rahman is an author to watch! East of Hounslow is a superb book that will keep you turning pages until the end!

"East of Hounslow" is a snappy, surprising thriller about an unlikely MI5 recruit named Javid Qasim, a dabbling drug dealer from the largely Muslim London neighborhood of Hounslow. Jay, as he likes to be called, lives with his mother, goes to Friday prayers, but is otherwise not religious. Imagine his surprise when MI5 reaches out to him just when he needs serious help escaping his psycho supplier, who needs a lot of money paid back by Friday or else.

Why Jay? That's the question. He's immature, somewhat cocky, and sort of a softy. His best friends are Parvez, who lives across the street, is annoyingly religious and wears Crocs; and Idris, who's a detective. Why is he, of all the immature 20-somethings in the neighborhood, the right guy to infiltrate a radical corner of the local mosque?

The answer to this question is what drives the suspense as you, the anxious reader, wonders when the other shoe is going to drop. Jay is way over his head, yet he manages to stay true to what is decent in him, and where did that come from?

"East of Hounslow" is Jay Qasim #1. I look forward to seeing how Jay will mature and grow from his experiences in this story, or take the easy way and slip back into the drug underworld.

~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader

First in the Jay Qasim crime thriller series. Originally released in 2017, it's being reissued to coincide with the expected July 2020 publication of the third book in the series.

What a fabulous book. If you missed it first time around, do yourself a favor and pick it up right now. It's funny, gritty, fast-paced, relevant, and disturbing, and it has one of the best lead characters around.

Javid Qasim - call him Jay - is a low-level London drug dealer, to the disappointment of his best mate from school, who is now a police detective. He's a Friday afternoon Muslim, attending mosque only once a week, to the disappointment of his more devout neighbor. He lives with his mum, just bought his first nice car, and enjoys playing video games while wearing his Batman onesie. And for reasons he doesn't fully understand, he's about to be pressured into working for M15 to spy on potential radicalization among his friends.

Jay is fast-talking, funny, loyal, and resourceful. Extroverted and engaging, he moves fluidly among people divided by ethnicity, class, and allegiance. As Jay settles into his role as an M15 informant, Rahman skillfully portrays the day-to-day prejudice that Muslims experience, from outright hostility to more covert slights, and explores how the resulting rage and offense can be exploited.

If I have a criticism, it may be that there are too many characters for their full development. Infighting at M15 flares but then resolves in a rush, ultimately adding little to the plot. We learn the backstory for Jay's quasi-love interest only late in the book, in a few cursory lines.

But these are quibbles in a book with a main character as vibrant as Jay. I look forward to more adventures with Jay, as he navigates a chaotic, violent, and confusing world, working through what it means to be a son, a friend, and a man. To be pure.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an author to keep an eye on. Fabulous writing, fabulous characters. Took me into another world. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Thank you Netgalley for this wonderful book.

Interesting book, and quite pacey. A Muslim man in Britain is living with his mum, dealing drugs for a nasty fella who he gets on with because he's a reliable employee who brings the cash on time, and generally having a simple and comfortable life without much bother. But then his mum moves away with a new boyfriend, he finds out a friend he has generally felt sorry for is getting caught up in meetings with extremists (also attended by a very attractive young woman) and before long he's recruited by MI5 to blend in and try to find the man behind the movment. It's funny and suspenseful and does a fair job of both illustrating how radicalization can happen and how it's completely contrary to Muslim teaching without being heavy-handed in its polemics. I'm not at all sure how this can be the start of a series, but it's quite good for a debut that takes some risks. I really enjoyed the narrative voice of the main character.

Wow! I just finished "East of Hounslow" and booted up the laptop at once. This is the best book that I have read in quite some time. The storytelling is compulsive. The writing is tight. The characters are interesting, complex, real and surprising. The author never resorts to reducing the characters or situations to two dimensional, easily predictable stereotypes, and instead uses the protagonist's voice to inform and carry the reader at breakneck pace.

More please from Khurrum Rahman.