30 June, 2013

June 30, 2013 2

#BookReview :: The Village by Nikita Lalwani

Ray, a young British-Asian woman arrives in the afternoon heat of a small village in India. She has come to live there for several months to make a documentary about the place. For this is no ordinary Indian village - the women collecting water at the well, the men chopping wood in the early morning light have all been found guilty of murder. The village is an open prison. Ray is accompanied by two British colleagues and, as the days pass, they begin to get closer to the lives of the inhabitants of the village. And then it feels too close. As the British visitors become desperate for a story, the distinction between innocence and guilt, between good intentions and horrifying results becomes horribly blurred.
Set in a village modelled on a real-life open prison in India, The Village is a gripping story about manipulation and personal morality, about how truly frail our moral judgement can be. Nikita Lalwani has written a dazzling, heartfelt and disturbing novel which delivers on all the promise of her first.

Ray Bhullar, a British-Asian Woman, who works for BBC, lands up in a small village in India to shoot a documentary. Her colleagues, Serena and Nathan are accompanying her on this trip. As they settle down and get comfortable in the lifestyle of the village, they get a chance to know and learn more about their inhabitants more closely. What’s unique about this village, that prompted BBC to make the documentary in the first place, is the fact that this village is actually a prison. Yes, you heard me right. Every family in this village has a murderer, an offender who is allowed to live with their family. So, far there has been no ‘repeat performance’ and only one failed escape attempt. It’s a very different kind of community – as the readers and Ray and colleagues soon discover.

The book has an awesome and unique premise. The summary of the book had me completely and I simply knew that I just had to read it. 

There are quite a few characters that play an important role in shaping up this novel. But I guess the protagonist, Ray, stands out on her own right. While she wants to make a documentary that her target audience would truly appreciate, circumstances lead her to take a closer look at herself before delving into the lives of these offenders. How far would she go to make her documentary? Would she stand by and watch others being manipulated for the sake of ‘good ol’ drama’. Or will she stop them? Or would she actually join in? Her colleagues each have their own background and the dynamics within the three is interesting to see. I have to admit though, I wish that the author would flesh out a few of the Villagers bit more definitively. 

The plot had held great promise - from taking a look at a new penal system to a way to the ethics of today’s media to human moral in questionable circumstances. I admit, the idea of the open prison really appealed to me at some levels. And, in the modern generation who isn’t questioning the media’s ethics and actions. So, in many ways this book actually raises the questions in our minds and I liked that. The author has also invested a lot of time in thoroughly describing the setting and the people in it. While her descriptions do paint a vivid picture, it does get repetitive after a point. Also, I wished that the pace would pick up a bit.

But what will stay with me for quite some time is the feeling of loneliness that I felt through some of the characters. It was what touched my heart.


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29 June, 2013

June 29, 2013 0

#SpecialFeature :: Music Compilation for Rizwan Sabir Mysteries!

Now Presenting:
*** SPECIAL FEATURE - June'13 ***


Check out the Books

Meet Riz. Riz is a "Been There Done That", a veteran of the UK jihad scene. He joined al-Qaeda as a young man, got lifted by Counter-Terrorism Command and then made an offer he couldn't refuse. Now Riz works as a contractor for the shadowy Kinetic Training Solutions Ltd. Riz's new boss is Colonel Mahoney, the man who gives him carte blanche to continue on the street. Mahoney has asked Riz to investigate disturbing new leads coming from the data on the July 7th attacks. Now all Riz has to do is to uphold his connections to his previous groups and his wayward cousin, Bang-Bang Kirpachi, keep an ear to the ground for his employers... and stay alive... 



Book Trailer

Music Compilation
1 Theme from Dangerous Moonlight / The World Outside By Addinsell / The Four Coins
2 Last Exit By Széki Kurva
3 Ali Baba Be My Baby By Rosemary Clooney
4 F.A.Q. By George Death
5 Jaan pehechan ho By Shankar-Jaikishan
6 Strictly Whip Business By Dan Wilde
7 A night like this By Caro Emerald
8 Jump Around By House Of Pain
9 Midi Surf By Mad Capsule Markets
10 The Ketchup song By Las Ketchup
11 Beyond Redemption By Infamous T
12 The Phoenix By Celt Islam
13 JUNGLE FLOWER By Les Baxter
14 Dilruba Muhbuba By Asha Bhosle / Urmila Matondkar
15 Cape Fear** By Sy and Unknown
16 Love is a losing game By Amy Winehouse
17 The World Outside By Ronnie Hilton
18 Hellraiser By The Fighting Cocks
19 Aquarela do Brasil By Kate Bush & Michael Kamen

You can check out & Listen to the Playlist Here



RIZ IS BACK! AND ON THE WARPATH... Rizwan Sabir returns, on a last-ditch, desperate mission to find his fiancée, dead or alive. Do the Americans have her body? Is she in Gitmo or a "Black Site"? And what is going on with her avatar in cyberspace? Who or what is the Fox Princess? Nothing will get in Riz's way, as to a background of escalating tension and a countdown to a massive right-wing demo, the action takes us from London to Afghanistan, Paris and across Britain. Bad things are going to happen and the only people who can stop them are Riz and his gang... 



Book Trailer

Music Compilation

1 Find My Love By Fairground Attraction
2 THERE'S BEEN A VIOLENT ASSAULT ON PRIORY WAY By Petrol Bastard
3 Zoobi Doobi By SHREYA GHOSHAL & SONU NIGAM
4 Yes my darling daughter By Glen miller
5 Faster By Manic Street Preachers
6 PAAN KHAYE SAIYAN HAMARO By Asha Bhosle
7 Please release me By Engelbert Humperdinck
8 Mahdi By Celt Islam
9 What Goes On By Dan Wilde
10 Heroin By George Death
11 Driveby By The Fighting Cocks
12 Disorder By Ice-T & Slayer
13 Champion Sound (Alliance Remix) By Q Project
14 DANZON NO.2 By DUDAMEL
15 Son of a Bitch By The Fighting Cocks
16 Fly high By Mad Capsule Markets

Connect with Charlie

Giveaway
Charlie has offered to giveaway 2 digital copies of the first book in The Rizwan Sabir Mystery Series, that is Riz. Enter in the rafflecopter below:
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27 June, 2013

June 27, 2013 2

#BookReview :: Because I Am a Girl - Seven Girls, Seven Lives

Because I Am a Girl is a collection of seven stories of seven girls from different parts of India who fought with their situation and tried to empower themselves. With an Introduction by Govind Nihalani and written by personalities from all walks of life—writers, actors, artists, and TV stars—the stories try to capture their struggles, their dreams, and how they keep hope alive in their lives. • Anjum Hasan visits a village in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, where young girls are forced to become sex workers. • Pooja Bedi goes to Lucknow and meets a woman who gets an ultrasound done but then decides against killing her unborn baby girl. • Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan travels to Hyderabad where she meets a young girl who comes to the city, learns data entry and finds herself a job. • Shahana Goswami meets a young school drop-out who has done a beautician’s course, and plans to set up her own parlour. • Namrita Bachchan tells the story of a young girl who sells vegetables in the male-dominated Delhi’s Govindpuri sabzi mandi during the wee hours of the morning and then learns to read and write during the day. • Nafisa Ali Sodhi writes about a young girl in Delhi, who works as a rag picker but is a bright young student. • Aditi Rao Hydari encounters a woman whose husband died of tuberculosis and who is training to be a nurse now while being an apprentice in a hospital.


Last December I went to Ooty for a vacation and me being who I am, I decided to get a book as a souvenir of my visit. Yeah, some people have already told me that it is lame to get a book for a souvenir, especially if it is not about the place I have visited. But I don’t really care! Especially with this book, I don’t regret it at all.

‘Because I am a Girl’ is a book that brings forward seven inspiring stories of seven truly extraordinarily ordinary ladies who have had no advantages in life, yet they have made it further in their lives than those who have been born with silver spoons in their mouth. This is an emotional atom bomb that had me from the very first page. To know that none of what this book sends out is fiction is a horrifying thought, but at the same time it brings us hope. At a time where every second news is of rape and domestic violence, the journey of these Seven Girls is like a beacon on a stormy night at the sea. 

For the first time I will not talk about the writing style or the editing. They do not matter when compared to the aim of this book. But yes, I will talk about the characters. They are strong and determined and most importantly they are people we should idolize instead of the filmstars and sports person. These are the people who our lovely politicians should learn from and answer to because I know that they have worked and fought harder than the rest of us. They all may not be highly qualified in terms of academics, but they ARE more educated than us. 

While every single story made an impact on me, but I have to mention Ramrati especially. Pushpa is a lady from UP who stood by her decision of not ‘killing’ her girl child in her womb and gave birth to three beautiful daughters in spite of all the humiliation and abuse of her husband. Ramrati is the matriarch of this particular family and Pushpa’s mother-in-law, a lady who is two generations above us and not educated. Yet her attitude and mentality could put most of the people of our generation to shame. Irrespective of the progressing times and highly expensive education, we are producing males who have no respect for women and women to victimise other women at the same time. All the while, there is this old lady in a village in UP who openly accepts love marriages, treats her daughters-in-law like her own daughters and fights with her own son for the rights of her daughter-in-law. Hats off to that lady for her attitude that our IIT/IIM/Harvard/Oxford and IPS/IAS ‘qualified’ boneheads do not realise.

I am happy that Plan India and few celebrities came forward to work together to bring this book to us. Thank You Random House India too, I will always love the Lee Childs that you publish, but I will truly cherish this book.



Buy the Book NOW!

26 June, 2013

June 26, 2013 0

#BookReview :: Midnight at the Taj Mahal by Brynn Olenberg Sugarman

Hailey and Zach are out of school on a year long adventure. First stop: India!
The excitement begins the moment they step off the plane. Hailey and Zach are entrusted with the magical diary of Shah Jahan, legendary builder of the Taj Mahal, and are whisked off on their first real adventure. The Taj pool shimmers in the full moon, and suddenly the twins are not just traveling the world but traveling back in time, sent on a mission to free the shah and his princess daughter from their prison tower.
With the help of their ingenious friend, Sushil, anything seems possible. Can they help the shah win back his rightful place on the throne? Will they change India's history forever?
Time is running out! Will they succeed before their parents' work in India is done, and it's time for them to move on? 



Imagine having to miss a school year to travel around the world! Wouldn’t it be fun? 

Zach and Hailey get a chance to travel with their parents and their first stop is India! As they land in India, they find a friend in their driver’s son Sushil and soon the three are inseparable. With the diary of Shah Jahan to guide them and the pool in front of Taj Mahal enabling them to time travel, the children soon find themselves on an adventure of a lifetime. They know that they have chance to change the history and they do whatever it takes (and whatever they can) to free the famous emperor from his life of imprisonment.

Frankly, at first when I read the blurb of the book, I was like – really a magical diary and a time travelling pool? But then once I started reading the book, I was hooked. Since the book is first and foremost for young minds, the writing style of the author is simple and inviting. I also liked the way she is detail oriented. Her descriptions of places and situations were just right. The plot wasn’t that complicated but it was fun and refreshing. The characters were well developed and loveable, especially our young protagonists that I cheered for throughout. And let’s not forget the humour incorporated in the book. 

But what I loved the most was seeing my country through a foreigner’s eyes. I am one of those Indians who unabashedly stare at the foreign tourists. No, I am not so fascinated by the skin colour, but always wonder how they look at our country…  Brynn has somehow managed to quench some of that curiosity.

Overall, it was a fun read that was both entertaining and informative.



Buy the Book


25 June, 2013

June 25, 2013 0

#CoverReveal :: My Own Mr.Darcy by Karey White







After being dragged to the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice by her mother, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth’s life changes when Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy appears on the screen. Lizzie falls hard and makes a promise to herself that she will settle for nothing less than her own Mr. Darcy. This ill-advised pledge threatens to ruin any chance of finding true love. During the six intervening years, she has refused to give any interested suitors a chance. They weren’t Mr. Darcy enough.

Coerced by her roommate, Elizabeth agrees to give the next interested guy ten dates before she dumps him. That guy is Chad, a kind and thoughtful science teacher and swim coach. While she’s dating Chad, her dream comes true in the form of a wealthy bookstore owner named Matt Dawson, who looks and acts like her Mr. Darcy. Of course she has to follow her dream. But as Elizabeth simultaneously dates a regular guy and the dazzling Mr. Dawson, she’s forced to re-evaluate what it was she loved about Mr. Darcy in the first place.






Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist.

She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.















Excerpt 1

Janessa folded her arms and looked at me for so long I started to squirm. “What?”
“I wish you’d look at yourself. You’re ruining your life with this stupid obsession.”
“I’m not obsessed.” I stood up quickly, nearly tipping my chair over. I rinsed my plate and put it in the dishwasher. I could feel Janessa’s eyes on me the entire time, but I refused to look at her. “And just because I’m not interested in this guy doesn’t mean my life is ruined.”
“Let me guess. Was he blond?”
“Knock it off.”
“Too short?”
“He wasn’t short. I’ve got to go.” I left the kitchen with Janessa on my heels.
“Was he too cheerful?”
“Oh brother. I’m not having this conversation with you.”
Janessa grabbed my arm and turned me toward her. “Yes, you are.”
“I’m going to be late for work.”
“Then we’d better talk fast.”
“I don’t have anything to say,” I said.
“Then I’ll talk. You listen. You have to start giving these guys a chance.”
I folded my arms tightly. “I give them a chance.”
“You give them one date, two at the most. But you’re not really giving them a chance because your mind’s already made up before you even go out.”
I was getting annoyed. “I don’t have time for this conversation again.” Janessa was practically reciting word for word what she’d said after my last date. And the one before that.
“Lizzie. If you don’t want to have the same conversation, do something different. Shake things up a little.” She smiled and did a little shimmy. I refused to smile no matter how silly she looked.
“How do you suggest I do that?”
“If this guy… What’s his name?”
“Chad.”
“If Chad calls you back, go out with him again.”
“I don’t see the point.”
“Did you get a serial killer vibe from him?”
“No, I got a nice-guy-that-doesn’t-deserve-to-be-led-on vibe from him.”
“Nice guys are good. So you’ll say yes, right?”
“If I’m not interested, it wouldn’t be fair to say yes.”
“Oh knock off the baloney. You haven’t been fair to a guy since high school. You’re just afraid if you get to know a guy, you might like him. And wouldn’t that be awful? Was Chad funny?”
“Yes, he was funny.”
“Handsome?”
I sighed. “I don’t know if I’d call him handsome, but he was cute.”
“Cute is good. Especially if he was funny. So go out with him again.”
“You act like it’s all up to me.” I walked to the closet and collected my purse. Like a tiger leaping on her prey, Janessa pounced at the bowl on the entry table and grabbed my car keys. “This isn’t funny, Janessa. I’m going to be late for work.”
“Then let’s make a deal. You agree to go out with him ten times before you toss him aside and I’ll give you your keys.”
“Ten times? No way.”
“That’ll give you time to get to know him.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m serious, Lizzie. Ten is a good number. In that amount of time, you can make a real decision. Instead of one based on a stupid movie.”
Now Janessa was skipping through a minefield. “It’s not a stupid movie and I’ve got to go.”
“It’s the stupidest movie in the world if it ruins your life.”
“Nothing’s ruining my life and I’m going to be late. Give me my keys and we’ll talk about this later.” A little tussle ensued as I tried to rescue my keys from her clutches. I almost had them when she darted to the bathroom and shut the door hard and fast, locking it behind her. “This is real mature.”
“I don’t care about mature. You’re my best friend, Lizzie.  I love you and I’m trying to save you from yourself.”
I banged on the door. “Give me the keys. Now.” My voice had become shrieky.
“I’ll give you the keys as soon as you promise you’ll go out with him ten times.”
“I doubt he’ll ask me out again.”
“Why? Were you a jerk?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
I hesitated, knowing I hadn’t been very good company. “I’m pretty sure.”
“If he doesn’t ask you out, you have to ask him.”
“No way am I asking out a guy ten times. No way!”
“You just have to ask him out once. If he doesn’t return the favor you can move on. But you have to be nice to him and give him a reason to want to ask you out again.”
“This is the dumbest idea you’ve ever had.”
“Listen Liz, I’m doing this for you. Give a guy a chance before you give him the old heave-ho.”
I leaned my head on the door. “Just give me the keys. Please.” Now I was whining.
“You’re the one keeping yourself from your keys. And probably true love.”
I looked at my watch. Now I’d have to risk a speeding ticket or get to work five minutes late. I wasn’t sure which was worse—a ticket from a police officer or a tongue-lashing from Delia.
“Fine. I’ll go out with him again if he asks me.”
“And?”
“If he doesn’t ask me, I’ll ask him?”
“Right. And how many times will you go out with him?”
“Way too many,” I said under my breath.
“I can’t hear you.”
“Ten times. If he asks me.”
The door cracked open. “And you’ll be nice to him?”
“Whatever you say. Now give me the keys.”
Janessa emerged from the bathroom and triumphantly dropped my keys into my outstretched hand.
“You’re an idiot,” I said.
“An idiot that loves you and wants you to be happy,” she said. She turned and headed down the hall. “Someday you’ll thank me,” she sang.
“If I don’t kill you first.” I slammed the door behind me.



Excerpt 2

It was a busy Monday morning. I was looking out at the line of waiting customers when he walked in. I gasped, shut my thumb in my cash drawer, and then tried not to cry while Mr. Sandoval from a hearing aid store asked me if I was okay.
When I finished Mr. Sandoval’s transaction, I looked at him again. He was taller than anyone in the room. Of course. His hair was dark and a little disheveled. It was hard to see from where I was, but his eyes looked like they were blue. And best of all, he didn’t smile. He looked gorgeously unpleasant and impatient. He looked around the room and his eyes met mine. Still he didn’t smile. My heart was racing. He looked perfect.
I did my best to time it so I’d be his teller. I went a little too fast with one customer and accidentally shorted her a twenty dollar bill. I tried to concentrate as I corrected the transaction. I slowed way down on the next customer, but just when I thought I was finished and would be able to help him next, my customer asked me to break a ten into change. He walked up to Courtney’s window while I counted out nickels and dimes. Furious, I stomped my foot. Not too loudly but enough to release a little of my frustration.
I listened closely as Courtney helped him to see if I could learn anything, but he hardly spoke. He gave a terse nod when Courtney thanked him for coming in and turned on his heel and left. He had excellent posture and a nice, confident stride.
I finished with my customer, and then before anyone else could step forward, I picked up the phone and dialed Courtney’s extension. She glanced at her phone’s display and looked over at me curiously.
            “Who was that?” I whispered when she picked up the receiver.
“Elizabeth, look how many customers there are.”
“I know. Just tell me who that was.” I watched as Courtney picked up her last transaction slip.
“His name is Matt Dawson.”
“Is he married?”
“I have no idea,” Courtney said.
“Was he wearing a ring?”
“I didn’t look. What’s going on, Lizzie?”
“I just need to know about him.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about him and Delia’s watching us. I’ve gotta go.”
Matt Dawson. Matt. Matthew. Like Matthew Macfadyen. Dawson. It was pretty close to Darcy. The only way it could be better is if his name was Fitzwilliam but I’d never met a Fitzwilliam in my life.
Matt Dawson.
This had to be a sign.  




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24 June, 2013

June 24, 2013 0

#CoverReveal :: The Fab Life by Mercy Amare





It’s the life I was born to live: billionaire’s daughters, living amongst the rich & famous. But my mom kept me a secret from my dad. Until now.

I am so out of my league. Fancy parties, expensive cars, and a private school for the elite… It sounds like a dream. But everything is not as perfect as it seems on the outside. Here, the secrets are dirty, and the lies comes easy.

Welcome to my fab life.

Author Bio
 I am a YA/ NA author, with an addiction to NOS & Red Bull energy drinks. My guilty pleasure is the TV series The Lying Game and The Vampire Diaries. I'm 23 years old. I currently live in St Louis, with my husband of 2 years.

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22 June, 2013

June 22, 2013 0

#SpecialFeature :: #Spotlight on Blood Honeymoon by Charlie Flowers

Now Presenting:
*** SPECIAL FEATURE - June'13 ***

Blood Honeymoon (The Rizwan Sabir Mysteries #3) by Charlie Flowers 
RIZ AND BANG-BANG ARE BACK... AND MURDER FOLLOWS WITH THEM!
Rizwan Sabir - ex al-Qaeda jihadi, now a fixer for a shadowy branch of the Ministry of Defence. 
Holly "Bang-Bang" Kirpachi - hard-bitten girl gang leader.
Their marriage will be the social event of the season!
But their wedding celebrations are interrupted by a series of murders in the East End of London. Someone is emulating the Ripper, and a beleaguered Home Office attaches Riz and Bang-Bang to the case. Whitechapel is simmering with tension. Can they catch the killer before it boils over? And are there other, darker forces at work?

Read An Excerpt


CHAPTER 6



We met Colonel Mahoney in the lobby of the Home Office building on Marsham Street. He walked us to the lifts. A guard with a key unlocked the right-hand lift, messed with the controls, and indicated we should board. The Colonel hit the button for the top. I waited till we were on our way and then spoke. ‘OK. Remind me why she’s sent for us and what we have to do with a murder? This is Met jurisdiction, 
surely?’ 
He smiled mirthlessly. ‘We’re needed. You’ll see why.’ 
I watched the floors stream by. ‘Fair one.’ 
I suddenly remembered something and stuck my hand out palm outwards. ‘Holly. We’re meeting the Home Secretary. Gum. Spit please.’ 
She spat the gum into my hand and grinned. The Colonel gave a despairing look skywards. The doors opened onto the plush carpeting of the top floor. We turned right and walked. ‘Holly babe, listen. No touching technological stuff, right?’ 
‘Right.’
The Colonel looked down at her. ‘You haven’t met the Home Secretary yet, have you Holly?’ 
‘Nope. What’s she like?’ 
‘Like Rosa Klebb with better shoes.’

The Home Secretary was at her desk, signing her way through a sheaf of forms. Intercept warrants? Who knew. In the corner, like Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat, sat a very rarely-sighted beast indeed. The Cabinet Secretary. The most senior civil servant in the country. He said nothing and studiously made notes as we gathered around the desk. 
The Colonel cleared his throat and began to introduce us, but within half a second, the thousand-watt politician focus had settled on Bang-Bang and the Home Secretary was around the table giving her the full handshake grip. ‘And you must be the famous Holly!’ Bang-Bang took her hand and just smiled back, with a wonky look. The Home Secretary’s gaze fell on Bang-Bang’s tattooed arms, and then on the Colonel and me. ‘Great work, both of you. Great work! And congratulations on your marriage. Shame about the Americans but they should have thought about what they were biting off to chew. Well done. Now…’ 
She returned to take station behind her desk. ‘Please, sit. Have a look at these.’ 
Some folders were slid our way. ‘Photos from the two crime scenes. I’m sorry Holly.’ Bang-Bang shrugged. The Home Secretary was talking to the Colonel. ‘In case you’re wondering, Philip has signed off on this, so you’re cleared to work with us for the duration and…’ But I was watching Bang-Bang out the corner of my eye. Her fingers were pressed white on the colour blow-ups of her murdered friend and there was an expression of silent fury on her face, which passed as though it had never been there. Presently she smiled and looked at us. 
‘Her name was Fifi. Fifi Blitz. Riz shohar meray, what do you see?’ I leant in and looked and she took my arm. A dead girl, her throat and wrists cut, white as paper and glassy-eyed in death. I sensed the Colonel watching me with interest. Something about the knife wounds nagged at me. But for the life of me I couldn’t think what. The whitewashed wall behind her was stickered and flyered with several layers of posters, bill stickers… The Home Secretary had turned her focus back to the Colonel, 
together with its coaxial politician charm. ‘David. It’s been so hectic. How was the move to Feltham? How is the new setup suiting you?’ 
‘They have us at the end of the main wing. To be honest Ma’am, it’s a bit like being AirTanker Ltd.’ 
They laughed. The Cabinet Secretary scribbled with his LeBlanc pen. I was turning the photos, away from the partials of the corpses. I didn’t want to look at that. This was from the first crime scene. There. On the walls. A black-and-yellow sticker with craggy writing. Hard to make out, but - ‘Same sticker. Got a blowup?’ 
‘Unfortunately not, as it was two separate teams and they didn’t see it as significant.’ 
I did. I recognised the style. ‘These are al-Muhajiroun stickers.’ 
The Home Secretary just nodded at me. The Colonel slid another folder in my direction. ‘You and Holly will be attached to the Murder Investigation Team, and you’ll like this bit - it’s headed up by Lennie George. We had to move him away from the Flying Squad to somewhere where there was less heat.’ 
We grinned. We liked Lennie. ‘Gambling again?’ 
He nodded. ‘‘Fraid so, he’s into all kinds of gangsters for all kinds of debt. You two look after him, OK?’ 
We nodded back. He continued. ‘You may also recognise his second-in-command, Greg Rich.’ 
I felt myself blanch. ‘Oh for FUCK’s sake boss! Sorry Home Secretary. He’s the one who kept nicking me!’ 
The Colonel was laughing. The bastard had got me again. ‘Boss, if he was any more bent kids would slide down him on coconut mats. He’s a racist, bent, bigoted…’ 
‘OK Riz we get it. Have you still got your notes from your Snowdrop training?’ 
‘Yes boss. Remember it all like yesterday.’ The Colonel was referring to the RAF Police, colloquially 
known as the Snowdrops. Shortly after being sprung from prison and inducted into the Colonel’s outfit, I’d been sent on two courses - six months with the Intelligence Corps at Chicksands, 
and then six more months and an operational tour with the RAF Police. The course at Chicksands had covered headquarters staff work, agent-handling and interpreting intelligence; the course at 
RAF Halton had covered everything from criminal law and investigations, to advanced driving. 
Technically, my fifteen months training with al-Qaeda had got me to section commander and intelligence operator level, but al-Qaeda didn’t give out certificates and the MOD wouldn’t have 
recognised them if they did. So back in I went. The Colonel was talking. ‘Aaanyway - you’ll be based with the MIT at Bethnal Green police station. You know where that is.’
I did. ‘Sure that’s wise? It’s about half a klick from the building we just demolished.’ 
‘It’s the only station in the area with any spare room for the team and its gear, as all the other local nicks have been commandeered by SO15. Can’t imagine why.’ 
Bang-Bang and I suddenly found the curtains and decor incredibly interesting. The Colonel continued regardless. ‘Look on the bright side you two, it’s not Limehouse nick. And the canteen has 5 stars from Scores on the Doors.’ 
The Home Secretary was tapping her pen down a sheet of paper on her desk. It looked like a schedule and she seemed to be counting backwards to herself. She looked up. ‘It’s ten days till I address the Conservative Party spring forum. So you have ten days to fix this and bring me a result. I have every confidence in you, Colonel Mahoney, and your team.’
She clicked her pen. ‘That is all.’


Raves & Reviews

Excellent book from an excellent writer! We need more Riz by Flowers! ~~ Nick on Goodreads

Bloody, thought provoking (on a par with todays troubles and indeed the past) and heavy doses of wry satire. Do yourself a favour, the Riz stories educate and open your mind. Bloody Brilliant. ~~ Dani on Amazon

It's suddenly all a bit film noir really, but it works... Riz has it all... ~~ Ruth on Goodreads



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Charlie has offered to giveaway 2 digital copies of the first book in The Rizwan Sabir Mystery Series, that is Riz. Enter in the rafflecopter below:


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