Stone Cold Trouble

by Amer Anwar

LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER 2021THRILLERS OF THE MONTH - ObserverBEST CRIME FICTION, SEPT 2020 - The Times'BRUTAL, SHOCKING AND FUNNY' - M. W. Craven'A STONE COLD HIT! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED' - Adam Hamdy'A RIOTOUS BELTER OF A BOOK' - Abir Mukherjee'A BONE-CRUNCHING CRIME THRILLER' - James Swallow'A FAST AND FIERCE THRILL RIDE' - Chris WhitakerSet in the heart of West London's Asian community, this is the latest instalment in the unmissable ZAQ & JAGS series . . . Trying - and failing - to keep his head down and to stay out of trouble, ex-con Zaq Khan agrees to help his best friend, Jags, recover a family heirloom, currently in the possession of a wealthy businessman. But when Zaq's brother is viciously assaulted, Zaq is left wondering whether someone from his own past is out to get revenge. Wanting answers and retribution, Zaq and Jags set out to track down those responsible. Meanwhile, their dealings with the businessman take a turn for the worse and Zaq and Jags find themselves suspected of murder. It'll take both brains and brawn to get themselves out of trouble and, no matter what happens, the results will likely be deadly. The only question is, whether it will prove deadly for them, or for someone else . . . ?Praise for Amer Anwar and the Zaq & Jags 'An engaging hero, a cunning plot and a fascinating journey into Southall's underworld. We'll be hearing a lot more from Amer Anwar' MICK HERRON'A fresh and exciting new voice' ANN CLEEVES'Tense and pacey . . . fast and furious' GUARDIAN'An authentic slice of Brit Asian noir . . . Gripping' VASEEM KHAN'Gritty, startlingly original and great fun' ROBERT BRYNDZA'Utterly convincing . . . Terrific dialogue and much humour' THE TIMES

396 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 24, 2020

About the author

Amer Anwar grew up in West London. After leaving college he had a variety of jobs, including; warehouse assistant, comic book lettering artist, driver for emergency doctors and chalet rep in the French Alps. He eventually settled into a career as a creative artworker/graphic designer and spent the next decade and a half producing artwork, mainly for the home entertainment industry.

Not having written any fiction since about the age of 12, but still dreaming of one day writing a novel, Amer started taking writing classes in the evenings. This led on to a graduate certificate and then an MA in Creative Writing, both from Birkbeck, University of London.

By this time he had begun work on a novel and decided to enter the opening chapters to the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger competition for the best unpublished novel, in order to receive his first rejection on the road to publication. To his complete amazement, he won the actual award. It took him another eight years, however, to finish the novel and then a further two to get published.

His critically acclaimed debut, Brothers in Blood, a fast-paced crime thriller set in west London, was picked by both the Times and the Guardian as one of their books of the year. The eagerly awaited follow-up, Stone Cold Trouble, again featuring ex-con Zaq Khan and his best friend Jags, will be published in September 2020.

You can find out more about Amer at www.ameranwar.com or on social media -

Twitter - @ameranwar
Facebook – ameranwar.author
Instagram – ameranwar_author

Reviews

[Mark Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was stunned by something in the acknowledgements section of this book, that its predecessor was considered too niche and wouldn't appeal to a broader audience. Well, as someone from the broader audience this book is terrific. I have read its predecessor, Brothers in Blood, and now this tale and both are great. They both have a fast pace, great characters, good story and hard to put down. Even though you know you are going to pay for it by having to sleep in later in the day to recover.

The story picks up only a few months after the end of Brothers in Blood. Zaq and Jags are up to the necks in trouble. Someone has attacked Zaq's brother, Tariq, putting him in hospital. And Zaq doesn't know why, so whilst his parents look after Tariq Zaq investigates and becomes embroiled in British colonial treasure and murder.

Would I read the follow up when it is written? Yes. I'll be first in the queue.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the money once again

Having read "Blood Brothers" I was hoping that there would be a sequel or series and here we are.
If you like action ( quite often very violent) great characters (even the minor ones) and excellent plotting and writing them the Zaq and Jags series is a must read.
My only criticism is that by the time I had read it I had put on a stone in weight.
Please Mr Anwar, less eating next time.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zaq and jags are refreshingly different protagonists and I love there ongoing tribulations in this novel. It’s full of action and drama and it’s fascinating to see how the characters develop, I love this series I hope there are many more to come

[Tim Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in his Zaq and Jags series, set amongst London's Asian community and starring Zaq, recently released from jail after serving five years for manslaughter, and best mate Jags. The two are roped in to retrieve a necklace belonging to Jag's aunt, which his uncle, the inaptly named Lucky, has lost in a card game. Before they can deal with that little contretemps though, Zaq gets word that his younger brother Tariq has been beaten up and put in intensive care. Zaq needs to find out who is responsible and why, and take revenge. Both strands of the story eventually come together, and after a fair amount of graphic violence our chums manage to walk away, definitely bloodied but unbowed. Highly enjoyable. 4 stars.

[Dave Orth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reluctant 3.3 for plot - a retread of Brothers in Blood with Zeq careening from fight to fight. A 4 for the continued immersion of East Asian culture in Britain

[Judy Bolitho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed like this author’s first book.

[Graeme Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gripping. Fast paced. Violent. You did want to know how it was going to end.

[Nadia in Northumberland · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book so bad and for so many reasons .... If anyone reads these reviews to find out the plot, just skip mine. Many of the others have a good summary of the story, which as with the characters, is pedantic and peppered with graphic violence that does not compensate for how bad this book is. Many of the reviews refer to the book as a contemporary “pulp fiction” example. Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler this is NOT. Mostly because it lacks any sense of a moral compass or rather because, unlike the cynicism and detachment of hard-boiled heroes, Jacq and Jags brush off very quickly the fact that they try and condemn to death the baddies of the story and they live happily ever after without a care in the world .... Yes, there is some soul searching at points, which Jacq (literally) punches out or reasons during juvenile banters with Jags.
As for the women .... no femmes fatales here.... either the long suffering muted mum by the hospital bed or some non descriptive younger versions that visit the hospital or, worse, get punched by the evil boyfriend.
I think what annoyed me the most with this book is that it made me feel like a zoo spectator .... “let’s see the interesting creatures in the cage” .... no fun, no deprecating self-awareness to salvage it. I do not know if the simplistic writing is meant to be a choice as well to convey the pulp fiction character but it also made everything read as superficially moralising, be it the background story of how the necklace ended up with Lucky or Nina’s remarks about Asian men ....