HQ signs 'addictive' Hounslow-based thriller debut

HarperCollins imprint HQ has acquired world English language rights to two books by IT officer and screenwriter, Khurrum Rahman.

HQ editor Clio Cornish pre-empted the rights from Julian Alexander at LAW.

Rahman was born in Pakistan and raised in West London. His debut novel, East of Hounslow, is the first in a series of thrillers which combine the "pulse-racing tension" of "Nomad" with the controversial edge of "Four Lions", the publisher said.  

In East of Hounslow, Javid is a feckless dope dealer living in West London. He goes to Mosque on Friday, because that’s what everyone does. He’s just bought his pride and joy, a BMW, he lives with his mum and life seems sweet. But his world is about to turn upside-down. Because MI5 have been watching, and they think Jay’s just the man they need for a delicate mission: infiltrate a Jihadi training camp in Islamabad. One thing’s for sure: now he’s East of Hounslow, Jay’s life will never be the same again.

Lisa Milton, executive publisher of HQ, said: “With its addictive plot that rivals any Netflix boxset, East of Hounslow won me over from the moment I started reading. I’m absolutely thrilled to be welcoming Khurrum and his electrifying, unmistakable talent to our list. It’s brave, bold, brilliant and is exactly the kind of fiction we want to publish at HQ.”

Rahman said he was "delighted" that the HQ team shared his vision for the novel, which he revealed started life as just a passing conversation with a friend sitting in traffic on the Bath Road in Hounslow. "East of Hounslow will engage and delight the Netflix generation. I have taken inspiration from TV and Film that have thrilled me such as ‘Fargo’, ‘The Big Lebowski’ and ‘The Wire’ to create a story where the characters are as real as they are flawed,” he said.

East of Hounslow will be published in November 2017 by HQ in trade paperback, e-book and audiobook.