Do yourself a favour and read this absolutely fabulous story. I was pretty happy to see that the Author has continued on with this series into another book. The Black Eyed Girls are there to help him, and they aren’t afraid to cut the odd terrorist head off. Riz was certainly worried that someone might recognise him from his younger days, but when he showed them what he could do with weapons and bombs, he became a well-liked brother. He certainly needed their help when the Colonel asked Riz to go undercover in Syria and join al-Qaeda to find out, what terrorist attack they were planning for the UK. Riz teamed up with his cousin Holly Kirpachi and her friends the Black Eyed Girls. All he had to do in return was to join the Counter Terrorism unit to find and fight the terrorists. Being locked up made him realise that maybe he was on the wrong side, and when Colonel Mahoney rocked up and offered to get him out, Riz jumped at the opportunity. So Riz was rounded up and charged before he could even use some of his training. Luckily for Riz that didn’t eventuate when the terrorist operation he and his fellow friends had planned, was uncovered by the authorities. He decided as a teenager that he wanted to serve the jihad cause and kill the Infidels. Rizwan Sabir was well on his way to becoming a fully-fledged al-Qaeda terrorist. Lots of Action and a few laugh out loud moments really made this an enjoyable read. It has the most wonderful and unique characters, with a thrilling plot from the very beginning of the story, right through to the end. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book and went on to read book 2 and 3 of this trilogy, each of which contributes to a further understanding and extension of reading enjoyment. The only parts I had some issue with was the use of strong, explicit language but I guess the nature of the storyline could not be effective enough without it. It also combines comedy with violence, which though initially appears an odd couple, is perhaps a balanced approach to the sensitive subject of terrorism and war. The book has several themes that flow through the storyline including love, overcoming adversity and the tribulations of having a traditional cultural background but growing up in a liberal society. Being from the same ethnicity as the main characters, I could see that the author, who appears to be a non-Pakistani, had obviously put a lot of effort into research to ensure this authenticity. The characters have a very realistic flavor of authenticity and the Pakistani culture is accurately portrayed, which was unexpected. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the book “Riz” was engrossing enough to make me want to read all the way to the end in just one sitting. As an English teacher, I normally find myself squirming or taking mental notes of criticism whenever reading fiction, preferring to read academic journals.

Riz by Charlie Flowers