Khurrum Rahman’s reluctant spy Javid “Jay” Quism returns in his latest, Ride or Die. 

Homegrown Hero saw Jay finagling himself out of an fatwa driven assassination attempt after he foiled the plans of his terrorist father. Jay’s would be assassin, a sleeper agent named Imy, second guessed his role as killer and ended up paying an awful price. When Jay and Imy are sent on a mission to find “The Teacher”, the bin Laden-like terrorist leader who’s also Jay’s father, they have differing end games and that conflict makes for a tension filled finale.

Reading about Jay is like being able to hang out with your cool friend who’s a bit of a screw up but always a fun time. You root for him to make some positive changes with his life because you know he’s capable of it, but his decision making can still be termed as questionable at best. This book also has Jay finding a potential romantic connection which let’s him think about his long term future in a way that he’s never been able to do before.

Although the last book followed the perspectives of both Jay and Imy, their stories ran in parallel, only intersecting at the very end. This book teams them up which gives Rahman the opportunity to see the characters through each other’s eyes. Even after all Jay has been through, his naive optimism can’t help but shine through. On the flip side we have Imy who is scarred by the events that ended the previous books. Jay is on a quest for justice while Imy is out for vengeance. Those two ideas are related but still quite different and we are left wondering which one will win out until the very end.

Whether it’s the streets of London or the dusty roads of Afghanistan, you’ll want to join Rahman on this ride. His unique characters continue to provide a fresh take on the modern spy thriller.