Homegrown Hero: A funny and addictive thriller for fans of Informer

Homegrown Hero: A funny and addictive thriller for fans of Informer
Khurrum Rahman

Reluctant spy.Trained assassin.WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?JAY QASIM is back home in West London and in pursuit of normality. He’s swapped dope-dealing for admin, and spends his free time at the local Muslim Community Centre or cruising around Hounslow in his beloved BMW. No-one would guess that he was the MI5 spy who foiled the most devastating terrorist attack in recent history.But Jay’s part in sabotaging Ghurfat-Al-Mudarris’ hit on London didn’t pass unnoticed.IMRAN SIDDIQUI was trained to kill in Afghanistan by tthe terrorist cell who saved his life after his home was destroyed by war. The time has finally come for him to repay them – throwing him headlong into the path of Jay Qasim.Now, they must each decide whose side they’re really on.

Born in Karachi, Pakistan in 1975, KHURRUM RAHMAN moved to England when he was one. He is a west London boy and now lives in Berkshire with his wife and two sons.

Khurrum is currently working as a Senior IT Officer but his real love is writing. He has a screenplay which has been optioned by a Danish TV producer but is now concentrating on novels.

Khurrum’s first novel, and the first book in the Jay Qasim series, East of Hounslow, was shortlisted for both the CrimeFest Last Laugh award and the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger award.

Copyright (#ulink_4fc9a13e-4b5a-51ca-bed4-9b52ab749278)

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018

Copyright © Khurrum Rahman 2018

Khurrum Rahman asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © November 2018 ISBN: 9780008229610

Version: 2018-10-23

PRAISE FOR KHURRUM RAHMAN (#ulink_a5958434-7e24-5e1e-a303-75590f17e681)

‘Told with striking panache. Announces the arrival of a fine, fresh new thriller writer.’ Daily Mail

‘Combining humour and tragedy is one of the hardest literary challenges, but Khurrum Rahman succeeds.’ TLS

‘A very funny but tense thriller ... think Four Lions meets Phone Shop.’ Red

‘As much a coming-of-age story as a full-on action thriller, East of Hounslow is thought-provoking and entirely gripping.’ Guardian

‘Sweary, funny and, above all, an absolutely cracking thriller that you’ll tear through, this is the anti-James Bond that the 21st century needs.’ Emerald Street

‘East of Hounslow, in which a young Muslim finds himself forced to become an MI5 plant in a group of jihadists, is as British as Nelson’s Column. A superb and exciting debut novel.’ Telegraph

ISBN: 978-0-00-822960-3

‘Clipped dialogues, staccato sentences and the hilariously brilliant prose set the pace of this excellent unputdownable crime thriller. The climax will leave you breathless.’ New Indian Express

‘A brilliant thriller. You’d be mad not to buy this.’ Ben Aaronovitch, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Rivers of London series

‘Excellent book. Phenomenal writing.’ B A Paris, Sunday Times bestselling author of Bring Me Back

‘I loved it. More please.’ Mel McGrath, author of Give Me the Child

‘Builds to a heart-constricting climax.’ Times Crime Club

‘The best thriller I’ve read in ages.’ Stephen Leather, author of the Spider Shepherd series

SHORTLISTED for the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award 2018

SHORTLISTED for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger 2018

To my very own Mischief & Mayhem,

and the one I call Jaan

Contents

Cover (#ulink_3cc168a8-f8c8-5c5a-914c-ec723fd986d4)

About the Author (#ulink_4c28ae63-ad60-5b0f-b662-2e82d1bbf47e)

Title Page (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#ulink_6a41ba01-d545-5842-87ae-842cbef880b8)

PRAISE (#ulink_50ccf1d0-2b97-5f14-9ba6-2ec53f61c83a)

Dedication (#ulink_d033ad30-c359-568b-a7c4-ac0360920852)

Prologue (#ulink_dd41d337-1f19-5e8d-9a62-078598c15bdd)

PART 1: TWO DAYS EARLIER (#ulink_4cb32035-22d8-56db-981b-62ccffa10383)

1. Imran Siddiqui (Imy) (#ulink_0692edfa-8150-56a3-8e28-a99a1c8f0785)

2. Javid Qasim (Jay) (#ulink_d4c343e6-a2d5-5ab6-8ddc-af31d18b0800)

3. Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai (#ulink_359d8069-9451-5d3c-b97e-ef5d77031cbd)

4. Thames House (#ulink_79434df1-b87c-5b03-b5b0-12f71bac34d8)

5. Hounslow High Street (#ulink_05c4b2eb-51a1-5c7d-9e65-a40f4f0a86c1)

6. Imy (#ulink_ff1b0681-184b-56e9-8c1f-60c717a28e80)