This book delivers the authentic feel of the heart of the Pukhtun community in a city like Bradford with the emotional tension of a single woman escaping that life to be a successful lawyer in London. The fast-driven plot hardly leaves you breath to absorb the back story before you are dragged with Jia back into the whirlpool of conflicting loyalties as she seeks justice for her murdered father - or is it darker revenge of her own?
Bazigh Khan escorted Briscoe out. As he opened the front door, the police chief turned to him. 'We've known each other a long time, you and I,' he said. 'Your brother's death .... It's obviously very early in our investigations, but our forensics experts have pointed to the possibility that Akbar Khan knew his killer. I know that's not rare in your business. But the way he was found, and the lack of bruising or signs of physical restraint, suggest he had no warning of the threat, and that could be because he trusted whoever killed him.'
The butcher didn't flinch. He put his hand on the policeman's shoulder. 'Come, let me walk you to your car,' he said.
But as Briscoe went to get in the car, Bazigh Khan stepped forward, holding the door firmly shut. 'I'd like you to keep that information between the two of us. Do you understand?' he said, fixing the police chief with his gaze. Briscoe nodded. 'I need you to say the words,' said Bazigh Khan. 'The way you did when I helped out your son.'
