#BlogTour! #Review – East of Hounslow by @KhurrumRahman @HQStories

Apologies for my late in the day post, I have been laid up in bed for most of it! However, I’m here now and I am delighted to welcome author, Khurrum Rahman, and his debut novel ‘East of Hounslow’ which will be released in e-book on the 30th November. Huge thanks to HQStories for inviting me to take part in the blog tour, as well as an ARC of the book. Here is my review:

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.

With the edgy humour of Four Lions and the pulse-racing tension of Nomad, East of Hounslow is the first in a series of thriller starring Jay Qasim.

What does TWG think?

For a debut novel by a debut author, ‘East of Hounslow’ certainly packs a punch!

Jay is a drug dealer who has, unfortunately, landed himself in a bit of a difficult situation which means his life is about to take on a teensy bit of turbulence. From losing things that weren’t really ‘his’, to then playing a modern version of ‘I Spy’, Jay realises that he has to up his maturity level extremely quickly. Gone are the days where his mum will bail him out…

I really didn’t know what to make of this book at first as I found myself laughing at situations which, if happened in reality, wouldn’t make anyone laugh. The author has managed to take his deep and meaningful theme and stripped it back, before sitting down to tell his ‘friends’ a story.

Some parts of the book were a little bit slow burning, but due to the humour and refreshing storytelling from Khurrum Rahman, ‘East of Hounslow’ really is a book worth sticking with. In amongst all of the humour and slapstick anecdotes, the author has also written in some quite eye-opening and emotive scenes where Jay is concerned. Before anyone says anything, I wasn’t sitting here with tears running down my face with sadness, but I could feel the emotion making itself known in each and every word as the author told his realistic and poignant story.

Truthfully, I still don’t know what to make of this book. The storyline seemed to have a little bit of everything, even if I did find myself feeling a little bit guilty for laughing so much. Because the author has generously given us a story with so many additions (such as humour, thriller, religion, drugs etc), I found myself getting a bit overwhelmed by it all.

That said, ‘East of Hounslow’ kept me thoroughly entertained from start to finish. I am in awe at the way the author has written this book and I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

Thanks HQStories.

Pre-order now from Amazon UK