“Ride or Die is an thrilling suspense that dares to ask the question: what happens when your sworn enemy becomes your closest companion, when the man who once tried to kill you becomes your protector? After once trying to kill Javid “Jay” Qasim, Imran “Imy” Siddiqui must now be his companion and protect him on the MI5 mission in which they have been thrown together with a common goal: eliminate “The Teacher,” al Jabbar, who just happens to be Jay’s Jihadist father.

This exciting novel is compelling, examining a Jihadi world most of us have read about on the news, but have never experienced. It’s full of trauma, current and past, and the lengths two men will go to seek revenge. Jay wants to eliminate his extremist father al Jabbar, “The Teacher,” after finding out that reports of his death were false, and he is in fact still alive. He is the man Jay both loves and hates; a father to millions but not to his own son. Imy seeks payback for the murder of his wife and son, killed on their wedding day, which, as the survivor, was at once the happiest and worst day of his life. Jay is the man he once tried to kill, a rambling, panicky, incompetent former MI5 agent that you can’t help but like. He is the polar opposite of Imran “Imy,” his taciturn, angry, reluctant-is-a-total-understatement companion through Pakistan and Afghanistan. Thrown together on this mission by MI5, they are “Ride or Die” companions, off to find and eliminate al Jabbar. Although this is Book Three of the Javid Qasim series, and I haven’t had the opportunity to read the first two novels, I found this to be a fine, thoroughly enjoyable, exciting standalone work, and I’m looking forward to reading the other novels to fill in the background.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Khurrum Rahman, and HQ Publishing for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Good stuff. This already has lots of reviews and high ratings. I don't have anything to new to add, but I'll recommend it to thriller fans.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

Ride or Die was hard to follow, confusing at times, and completely awesome. Written by Khurrum Rahman, Ride or Die is the third book in his series featuring Jay Qasim co-starring his mortal enemy, Imy. I have a tendency to jump into a new series without reading the previous books. Usually, not a big deal because you get this gist of what has transpired in previous books but the details are lost. Ride or Die was not one of those books. Rahman hits all the major points of his previous books but it is very apparent the small details matter. I loved Ride or Die as a standalone but I'm certain I would have loved it more had I read the previous books.

The story in Ride or Die is a new-ish twist on terrorism/terrorists but the characters are what makes it. I'm not 100% sure of the backstory of Jay and Imy other than they are both sons of terrorist leaders, both were small-time drug dealers, both have been conscribed into MI-5, and Imy was supposed to assassinate Jay but didn't. Told from the POV of Jay and Imy, you get a sense of who they are and what they might be like given different circumstances. Jay is lighthearted, funny and kind of a bumbling idiot but hard not to like. Imy is brooding, angry, serious, and dealing with an unimaginable loss. You could not have two more different perspectives and Rhaman uses their differences masterfully.

The old adage, 'the enemy of my enemy is a friend' rings true in Ride or Die as Jay and Imy team up to face a deadly, common adversary. I mean this in the best way; It's been a long time since I have been pissed off by how a book ended and I was ticked. I can't wait to see what Rhaman has in store but until then I have time to read the first two books in the series.

My sincere thanks to Khurrum Rahman, Harper 360, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of Ride or Die!