What do you think?
Rate this book
Betrayal
A captured spy.
A woman looking for redemption.
A National Security Advisor trying to hold his country together.
When a captured spy reveals the presence of a mole within the intelligence establishment, it is left to Constantine D’Souza, an ex-police officer and a man forgotten by time, to lead the hunt. In a world of shadows, where lying is an art and betrayal is currency, will D’Souza be able to unearth the mole in time?
EDITORIAL REVIEWS
“Another riveting thriller ripped from the headlines by Omar Shahid Hamid. The counterterrorism expert takes you on a high-speed chase down the rabbit hole of hostile South Asian politics. The search for an Indian mole at the heart of Pakistan’s security structure takes you across the globe at breathless speed, combining a love story with the murky world of spycraft. You will want to read it non-stop.”
― Shuja Nawaz, author of Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within and The Battle for Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighbourhood
A woman looking for redemption.
A National Security Advisor trying to hold his country together.
When a captured spy reveals the presence of a mole within the intelligence establishment, it is left to Constantine D’Souza, an ex-police officer and a man forgotten by time, to lead the hunt. In a world of shadows, where lying is an art and betrayal is currency, will D’Souza be able to unearth the mole in time?
EDITORIAL REVIEWS
“Another riveting thriller ripped from the headlines by Omar Shahid Hamid. The counterterrorism expert takes you on a high-speed chase down the rabbit hole of hostile South Asian politics. The search for an Indian mole at the heart of Pakistan’s security structure takes you across the globe at breathless speed, combining a love story with the murky world of spycraft. You will want to read it non-stop.”
― Shuja Nawaz, author of Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within and The Battle for Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighbourhood
Hardcover
Published June 1, 2021
9 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Omar Shahid Hamid
11 books189 followersOmar Shahid Hamid served with Pakistan's Karachi police for 12 years, during which time he was targeted by various terrorist groups and criminal outfits. He received his Masters in Criminal Justice Policy from the London School of Economics, and his Masters in Law from University College London.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 4, 2021
Profound to see a working police officer can find time to write. His first three books were to good, altering the way how crime in Pakistan's mega-city is understood. Omar inspires educated people to join the police force. His writing is infectious, elicting and scrupulously insighting.
Betrayal, tell us a little about the pressure and the pulls an NSA of a country is exposed to. We can appreciate the NSA's job in protecting the nation, the responsibility they have on them. And the burden of secrets they must guard of and on the job.
The book also helps us to shape our expectations of an NSA, their responsibility to maintain peace and order and be shrewed advisors to the highest officers in government. The NSA position of Pakistan and India is an important one. A role that hopefully will work to bringing peace between the two nations.
Thank you OSH for your yet another thrilling crime novel.
Betrayal, tell us a little about the pressure and the pulls an NSA of a country is exposed to. We can appreciate the NSA's job in protecting the nation, the responsibility they have on them. And the burden of secrets they must guard of and on the job.
The book also helps us to shape our expectations of an NSA, their responsibility to maintain peace and order and be shrewed advisors to the highest officers in government. The NSA position of Pakistan and India is an important one. A role that hopefully will work to bringing peace between the two nations.
Thank you OSH for your yet another thrilling crime novel.
August 3, 2025
A really interesting story. Nicely paced and coherent. Gave me an insight into how the bigwigs of the world operate. Satisfying end. A few small things here and there tho; there were long running dialogues–entire blocks of paragraphs–that served as exposition, a lot of 'tell' instead of 'show', and some curiously missing commas. Plus, I really wish someone would give some representation to the average joes of Pakistan, shift the focus away from the elite rich class that party their life away and indulge in all those things that are typically considered forbidden among muslims in our culture.
July 10, 2021
After having read all of his previous books, leaving this one out wasn't an option. A cop writing about crime is something unusual, at least in our part of the world. But then with hindsight who else would know better about crime than a cop himself? Set in the backdrop of the Indian spy Kulbashan's capture this thriller cum romance cum fictional realism novel makes a good read any day. The writer does a fine job in describing the roles of our sleuths, police, politicians, bureaucracy and their counterparts accross the border. Must I say his observations are spot on. The language full of expletives, the sex scenes a little descriptive, and in some cases the events humorous.
The characters are fast moving, shuttling between Karachi, Lahore, Paris, London and Islamabad. There is logic and sense to the story. The storyline is interesting and there are no dull moments in the book.
The best part is the writer writing about contemporary issues, for the local audience in English depicting the society as it is. This book makes a good read anyday.
The characters are fast moving, shuttling between Karachi, Lahore, Paris, London and Islamabad. There is logic and sense to the story. The storyline is interesting and there are no dull moments in the book.
The best part is the writer writing about contemporary issues, for the local audience in English depicting the society as it is. This book makes a good read anyday.
October 24, 2021
Ever since I came to know about Omar Shahid Hamid's new book, I was anticipating it from all my heart.
So, when it finally arrived on 22nd June, I couldn't be more hyped to dive into it.
It took me 4 days to finish it & I have been on the edge of my seat throughout with all those twists & turns. It is a complete package of thrill, excitement, clever scheming, the exceptional role of the intelligence agencies, the dirty politics at the government level not only in Pakistan, but also in India, Afghanistan along with the inclusion of CIA in matters of sensitive importance.
In Betrayal, we have a National Security Advisor whose professional skills as a police officer, IG Balochistan & later as NSA is beyond incredible. I was awed with his character right from the start, what they did to him was just so sad.
Then, we have General Shahram from the agency with all his intelligence & spying, the power he had over everything was commendable. It is scary to some extent when you think about it but then, our agency is something to vouch for. They are the best at what they do.
Moreover, another character, Aleena Farooq with all the power & riches, her story arc made me gasp a number of times & I was greatly affected by what she did for whatever reasons she had.
Lastly, another favorite was Constantine D'Souza, who played a key role in The Prisoner, his knack for intelligence & acting on his instincts was absolutely epic. All the references to Akbar Khan added to the experience.
The book tends to the issue of a captured Indian Spy & the hunt of a bigger mole in the government. The cunning of Krishnamurthy, who is the grandmaster, the games played for power & in the name of peace. The back channel secret meetings, all the details of how the covert operations runs, the secret operatives, connecting the dots & so much more.
It was truly enlightening once again to see how the system works. How truly honorable men are vindicated because that's how it works. How criminals like ATM (Anwar Tareen Malik) can get away.
There are some explicit scenes but overall, it was a perfect political thriller. The last revelation was 💯💯💯
Highly recommended.
So, when it finally arrived on 22nd June, I couldn't be more hyped to dive into it.
It took me 4 days to finish it & I have been on the edge of my seat throughout with all those twists & turns. It is a complete package of thrill, excitement, clever scheming, the exceptional role of the intelligence agencies, the dirty politics at the government level not only in Pakistan, but also in India, Afghanistan along with the inclusion of CIA in matters of sensitive importance.
In Betrayal, we have a National Security Advisor whose professional skills as a police officer, IG Balochistan & later as NSA is beyond incredible. I was awed with his character right from the start, what they did to him was just so sad.
Then, we have General Shahram from the agency with all his intelligence & spying, the power he had over everything was commendable. It is scary to some extent when you think about it but then, our agency is something to vouch for. They are the best at what they do.
Moreover, another character, Aleena Farooq with all the power & riches, her story arc made me gasp a number of times & I was greatly affected by what she did for whatever reasons she had.
Lastly, another favorite was Constantine D'Souza, who played a key role in The Prisoner, his knack for intelligence & acting on his instincts was absolutely epic. All the references to Akbar Khan added to the experience.
The book tends to the issue of a captured Indian Spy & the hunt of a bigger mole in the government. The cunning of Krishnamurthy, who is the grandmaster, the games played for power & in the name of peace. The back channel secret meetings, all the details of how the covert operations runs, the secret operatives, connecting the dots & so much more.
It was truly enlightening once again to see how the system works. How truly honorable men are vindicated because that's how it works. How criminals like ATM (Anwar Tareen Malik) can get away.
There are some explicit scenes but overall, it was a perfect political thriller. The last revelation was 💯💯💯
Highly recommended.
August 1, 2021
Omar Shahid Hamid’s latest book “Betrayal” has everything - it scores highly in both the qualities that people pretend to like in books (formal style, psychological portraiture, political intelligence, moral sensibility) and the qualities that people want in books (sex, violence, plot twists, convincing and frequently deployed spy jargon).
Omar’s allure lies in the authenticity and believability of his novels. His professional life as a career civil servant ( Police Service of Pakistan) allows him to draw from his professional experiences in the field. His book features a labyrinthine plot and high stakes; the greatest betrayal and acts of deception are often internal.
Omar emulatively constructs Betrayal’s characters - one tries to find resemblance in their real life persona’s of equivalent positions in the government. Unfortunately, putting the characters into real life personalities is quite daunting a task - Constantine ( Omar’s version of La Carre’s George Smiley) and General Shehram may find easy resemblance but hypothetically Sameer Ali Khan (NSA in Betrayal and our Pakistani version are poles apart).
Omar is at his best when he constructs the groundwork for the “honey trap ” of Aleena Farooq with the National Security Adviser Sameer Ali Khan - no one wonder government functionaries indeed fall to the entrapments [regardless of their professional acumen]. No wonder,why we see “the best” falling bait and vulnerable to tumbling in. Cleverness, training, character, and patriotism are often no defense against a well-set honey trap - that’s a key take away from Betrayal.
Betrayal has a pulse-pounding plot and deserves appreciation for its nuanced depiction of the genre, it’s a must-read.
Omar’s allure lies in the authenticity and believability of his novels. His professional life as a career civil servant ( Police Service of Pakistan) allows him to draw from his professional experiences in the field. His book features a labyrinthine plot and high stakes; the greatest betrayal and acts of deception are often internal.
Omar emulatively constructs Betrayal’s characters - one tries to find resemblance in their real life persona’s of equivalent positions in the government. Unfortunately, putting the characters into real life personalities is quite daunting a task - Constantine ( Omar’s version of La Carre’s George Smiley) and General Shehram may find easy resemblance but hypothetically Sameer Ali Khan (NSA in Betrayal and our Pakistani version are poles apart).
Omar is at his best when he constructs the groundwork for the “honey trap ” of Aleena Farooq with the National Security Adviser Sameer Ali Khan - no one wonder government functionaries indeed fall to the entrapments [regardless of their professional acumen]. No wonder,why we see “the best” falling bait and vulnerable to tumbling in. Cleverness, training, character, and patriotism are often no defense against a well-set honey trap - that’s a key take away from Betrayal.
Betrayal has a pulse-pounding plot and deserves appreciation for its nuanced depiction of the genre, it’s a must-read.
November 1, 2023
The suspense and thrill in the whole novel was top notch. You can trust Omar to give you best Pakistan based thriller always. But what made me give this book three stars (or maybe 2.5) is the shallow characterization. At first, I assumed the way he has written about love is deliberate, some people do love in such a tiring way that they can neither appreciate what's infront of them nor get the actual object of their desire. But slowly, the characters started to appear one dimensional and hallow. Two protagonists are shown as people on top in their profession, rich, beautiful, everyone wants to be like them. It's almost like a children's love story with a pinch of thriller in between.
July 20, 2021
Blinder from Omar Shahid Hamid!
I haven’t found our homegrown writers to be much good, but I couldn’t put down this book until I’d finished it. This is the first book I’ve read by Hamid, and he’s immediately become my favorite local writer. The storytelling is absolutely on point. I haven’t read his past works, but I’ve already downloaded The Prisoner and look forward to making it my next read. If you like Jeffery Archer’s style of storytelling, you will absolutely love Omar Shahid Hamid’s writing!
I haven’t found our homegrown writers to be much good, but I couldn’t put down this book until I’d finished it. This is the first book I’ve read by Hamid, and he’s immediately become my favorite local writer. The storytelling is absolutely on point. I haven’t read his past works, but I’ve already downloaded The Prisoner and look forward to making it my next read. If you like Jeffery Archer’s style of storytelling, you will absolutely love Omar Shahid Hamid’s writing!
April 20, 2022
Informal: one of the best books i ve read, thriller that captures and engulfs you. I picked up this book to explore this genere in a different and pakistani cultural setting hence its really dissapointing to bearly see glimpses of pakistani culture and the massive and more frequent infuence of the west, in the nicknames (sam for sameer/ fred for farid), in the way the relationships progress and so on. Now i wasnt expecting a written script of a pakistani drama but it would have been nice to read a thriller that keeps you on the edge yet gives you things you can relate with in the culture
October 23, 2021
After a disastrous Fix (his last book) Omar is back with a bang! Though not as profound his first three books this one is surely a great read!
June 24, 2021
3.5 / 5
It is a lot less espionage, and more romance. by definition, there are A Few Good Men in the novel: sincere and ethical
The book is more romantic in terms of A man's love for a woman and his country. It is lovely to meet Constantice DeSouza again. There are enough hints within the first third of the book to know where it is all headed and what connects to what, so the thrill is slower paced but till the end one does want to watch which character heads where and who's doing what.
It is a lovely read, which "tugs at heartstrings" and leaves readers asking the author "why?" ....
It is a lot less espionage, and more romance. by definition, there are A Few Good Men in the novel: sincere and ethical
The book is more romantic in terms of A man's love for a woman and his country. It is lovely to meet Constantice DeSouza again. There are enough hints within the first third of the book to know where it is all headed and what connects to what, so the thrill is slower paced but till the end one does want to watch which character heads where and who's doing what.
It is a lovely read, which "tugs at heartstrings" and leaves readers asking the author "why?" ....
July 15, 2021
BETRAYAL: A REVIEW 🌟🌟🌟🌟
A story full of suspense, mystery, action, spying and politics. An insight into critical and sensitive business of Government, police and intelligence agencies.
My first interaction with Omar shahid hamid’s work was through “The prisoner” and and this book also have some connections with the characters from that book. As amazing as always, OSH didn't fail to keep my brain on its toes. 😃
Story starts from the capture of an Indian spy by Pakistani agencies from Iranian border and then revolves around the life of National security advisor sameer Ali khan who was famous for his performance in Baluchistan as IG police , and mole in Pakistani government with the name of “deaf leopard"(whom with Kumar(Indian spy) was in contact). As in The prisoner, Constantine is back in action in this one, and again proved himself as an amazing cop once again by finding the most sensitive information about the deaf leopard, when every other agency failed to do so.
.
.
MPOV: This story also forced me to compare it’s characters with real people :p ( I think I guessed right) and that’s the beauty of every story written by OSH. :D I am already waiting for the next book, as general shahram and CONSTENTINE are still in the game.
A story full of suspense, mystery, action, spying and politics. An insight into critical and sensitive business of Government, police and intelligence agencies.
My first interaction with Omar shahid hamid’s work was through “The prisoner” and and this book also have some connections with the characters from that book. As amazing as always, OSH didn't fail to keep my brain on its toes. 😃
Story starts from the capture of an Indian spy by Pakistani agencies from Iranian border and then revolves around the life of National security advisor sameer Ali khan who was famous for his performance in Baluchistan as IG police , and mole in Pakistani government with the name of “deaf leopard"(whom with Kumar(Indian spy) was in contact). As in The prisoner, Constantine is back in action in this one, and again proved himself as an amazing cop once again by finding the most sensitive information about the deaf leopard, when every other agency failed to do so.
.
.
MPOV: This story also forced me to compare it’s characters with real people :p ( I think I guessed right) and that’s the beauty of every story written by OSH. :D I am already waiting for the next book, as general shahram and CONSTENTINE are still in the game.
December 18, 2021
Different from his others books which were entirely based on the dynamics of Karachi.
This book tackles a national security issue, like his other books there is an element of truth and one can draw comparisions on who the characters might be "inspired" by.
Quite a few characters in the book and it gets sometimes confusing, many sub plots but come together nicely. Not his best work unfortunately.
This book tackles a national security issue, like his other books there is an element of truth and one can draw comparisions on who the characters might be "inspired" by.
Quite a few characters in the book and it gets sometimes confusing, many sub plots but come together nicely. Not his best work unfortunately.
October 2, 2021
Another great book by Omar Shahid Hamid. Found it hard to keep this book down. OSH gives the reader a front row seat into the world of espionage and how two rival countries, their politicians and military men work against and for each other. How relationships are exploited and how people are manipulated. All through the lens of a love story stretching for decades that never culminates.
December 3, 2021
Started of great but the writer seemed to have got lazier by the half way mark. Could have added more depth in the story. The ending was a disappointment in comparison to the authors past books which were great.
Oh well, lets wait for his next book I guess.
Oh well, lets wait for his next book I guess.
October 6, 2021
WHAT A HORRIFIC INSIDE OF AGENCIES AND POLITICS🔥🔥💥
November 4, 2021
Loved it. A very careful blend of real events with fiction. The whole read made me a bit sad towards the end because of the fact that perhaps this is how it is in reality.
February 27, 2023
A man of honor and principle, engulfed by dirty quagmire of politics, ultimately fails to survive.
An excelsior work!
An excelsior work!
March 26, 2024
The story of human nature and betrayal for own interests.
August 29, 2021
Is being sold as a spy-thriller, but that part came only when about half of the book was done. Thoroughly enjoyed it when it did come though. Good story overall (first part included).
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews