📖 Book Review ~ The Khan by Saima Mir

 

Point Blank
1 April 2021

My thanks to Point Blank Publishing, One World Publications
and Sofia at Midas PR for my review copy of this book

Be twice as good as men and four times as good as white men.

Jia Khan has always lived like this.

A successful lawyer, her London life is a long way from the grubby Northern streets she knew as a child, where her father headed up the Pakistani community and ran the local organised crime syndicate. Often his Jirga rule - the old way - was violent and bloody, but it was always justice of a kind.

But now her father, Akbar Khan, has been murdered and Jia must return to take his place. In the past, the police relied on him to maintain the fragile order of the streets. But a power struggle has broken out amongst the various communities and now, nobody is safe.

Justice needs to be restored, and Jia is about to discover that justice always comes at a cost.

📖 My Thoughts..

Saima Mir came to my attention when I was invited to feature the details of the Desiblitz Festival on my blog and this author's crime novel piqued my interest. She is appearing at the Desiblitz Festival on the 25th September and tickets for the event may be obtained here.

The Festival opens today and runs until the 1st October. Saima Mir's event at the festival is on the 25th September.

Jia Khan leaves her well paid job in London and returns to her home town of Bradford for a family wedding. Jia hasn't been home for fifteen years since a tragedy forced her to leave and even though there are difficult reasons for her estrangement from her family, Jia's loyalty to them is unparalleled.

Jia's wealthy family have quite a reputation, as her father, Akbar Khan is the leader of an organised crime syndicate which he rules with his own special brand of rough justice. That the Khan's are people to be reckoned with comes across loud and clear and Jia's involvement in her family's complicated politics is heightened when her father is brutally murdered. Jia, as the eldest daughter, takes over ruling the syndicate in her father's place however, being a woman in this male dominated and very dangerous world is never going to be an easy ride.

Always respectful of the Pakistani community, their beliefs and culture, The Khan moves forward in a dramatic story which brings into question politics, prejudices and power and which highlights the uncompromising nature of the criminal underworld where neither the fainthearted, nor the weak are allowed to flourish. Old resentments fester, and with Akbar Khan gone, new criminal gangs do their best to force their way into the Khan's territory.

This intelligently written debut brings a really interesting interpretation of the gangland crime genre. The mean and moody streets of Bradford, a city in turmoil, comes vividly to life  and the author's distinctive way of creating atmosphere gives the story an authentic feel. The narrative is beautifully written and so evocative of time and place I felt as if I was in the middle of the action, with a ring side seat, watching as the dramatic events unfolded.

The Khan is a tense and pacy crime novel which has at its heart the concept of loyalty. Loyalty to family, loyalty to beliefs and loyalty to culture and it is this strong code of conduct which makes The Khan such an exciting crime drama. 

About the Author

Saima has written for The Times,Guardian and Independent. Her essay for It's Not About the Burqa (Picador) appeared in Guardian Weekend and received over 250,000 hits online in two days. She has also contributed to the anthology The Best, Most Awful Job: Twenty Mothers Talk Honestly About Motherhood. Saima grew up in Bradford and now lives in London.

Twitter @SaimaMir #TheKhan

Website

@PointBlankCrime

@midaspr

@DESIblitz

Saima Mir's event at the festival is on the 25th September

For more information click here

For tickets to the event click  DESIblitz