Stone Cold Trouble
CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel, 2021
LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER 2021
THRILLERS OF THE MONTH – Observer
BEST 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 Whitaker
Set 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 series:
‘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
THRILLERS OF THE MONTH – Observer
BEST 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 Whitaker
Set 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 series:
‘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
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Reviews
Stone Cold Trouble is a stone cold hit. I loved this captivating journey into West London's underbelly in the company of characters so authentic they feel like old friends. Thrilling, funny, charming, Stone Cold Trouble is a rich, immersive read. Amer Anwar has a deftness of touch that will keep you coming back for more. Highly recommended
Stone Cold Trouble should push Amer Anwar to the forefront of British crime fiction. It's a superb book - brutal and uncompromising, shocking and funny, heart-warming and heart-wrenching. Zaq and Jags, two ordinary men, once again forced to do the extraordinary, just roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done, making fun of each other every step of the way. They may not always make the smart choice, but because of their touching friendship, we cheer them on every step of the way regardless. Simply brilliant
Stone Cold Trouble is another terrific slice of noir set in West London's British Asian community. Anwar excels in framing his subject matter with a nuanced eye - the details of his characters' lives ring with authenticity. In this fast paced mystery adventure, Zaq and Jags are back, slaloming from one crisis to another, until they find themselves neck deep in . . . trouble. Darkly comic, fierce, and engaging
A fast-paced & irreverent Zaq & Jags story (set in the heart of West London's Asian community). Fresh, authentic and totally compelling. I think fans of Mark Billingham's books would love this. EXCELLENT
So worth the wait! I have a major man crush on Zaq and Jags - one of the best British crime fiction duos to emerge in recent years. Gritty action, a rollicking plot and a brilliant cast of fantastic characters. The setting is perfect too; these pubs and backstreets are the kind of London I can believe in
Edgy and street-smart . . . Zaq and Jags are truly engaging heroes, as real as the blokes who live next door. The dialogue is exceptional
Anwar scores again with a confident, authentic and bone-crunching crime thriller
The original Brothers in Blood are back! There are very few guaranteed pleasures in life but spending time with Zaq and Jags is one of them. I blazed through Stone Cold Trouble at the same velocity as the wise-cracking pair blast their way through Southall's criminal underworld in this gritty slice of West London noir
Zaq and Jags are back for another authentic slice of Southall life . . . Full of fascinating insights into life in the Asian neighbourhood
More Peter James than PD James . . . Stone Cold Trouble is a frantic tale of family, food and fighting - a song to the sensual delights of Southall, west London - that insists justice is often best delivered "up close and personal"
Anwar is a skilled enough storyteller and creator of characters that in time he could end up with the same kind of authorial ownership of Asian west London that Ian Rankin has of Edinburgh . . . brutal, funny, touching
Capers, violence, a macho sense of brotherhood and quips follow, as even in the darkest hours our hardy characters somehow manage to keep a twisted smile on their face
