What a lovely debut! I was immediately hooked by a tale that I find hard to describe (and is probably why I enjoyed it so much). This is best described as a part character, part plot-driven mystery wrapped up in historical fiction. The story is narrated through the eyes of Alia, initially as a child and later as an academic at Oxford University. As the novel progresses and Alia reaches adulthood, her writings and observations become more succinct. At times, the novel feels autobiographical given the fact the author is an Associate Professor at Oxford. Although, because the book was so gripping and the build-up to the end was so good, I was a tad disappointed by the ending. I think I just expected some sort of wow factor or an exciting twist at the end…However, the ending was still very good and made me sit and think for a while about everything that happened in this book Pacing is also an issue. The first third of the novel is well paced, but the rest, from the middle section through to the conclusion, feels rushed. Alia’s on-off relationship with her flatmate goes nowhere, and whilst Denby’s perspective is an interesting one, he often reads like an afterthought and never quite earns his place in the story. Khalid can’t resist gambling himself, although not in the big clubs, which he couldn’t afford. He bets on the race and stops in at a local pub with a mate.

I must note that Alia’s character left a big impression on me because she grew so much as a character as the book progressed. As she learned more about her family, her father and the past, she found a sense of belonging and finally realised who she really is and for me, that is one of many strong messages that this book was trying to convey to the readers. The novel, which Khan has described as a love letter to London, pursues two parallel narratives, the first concerning a wonderfully vibrant character Khalid Quraishi, who is a croupier for Hugh Hefner’s Playboy casino in London, while his Pakistan-based parents still think he’s pursuing an engineering degree at Imperial. To the rest, she was Khalid’s girl. No one here was interested in her as an individual – not in her PhD research, or her next deadline, or her daily worries. They didn’t want to listen to her account of the journey. Of course, they needed to know that she was healthy and well clothed. But they cared about her because she was part of their line, their tribe, and she was the living link to the man who was her father, who they loved, and for this reason they would do anything for her and in this there was something unconditional and anonymous. She could have been anyone, but because she was his, she mattered. She was their lost property.”

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Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration They and her grandmother are delighted to see her again. There are countless relatives at the party for her. She represents something.

In 2003, Khalid's daughter Alia has only hazy memories of her father, as she saw l Alia’s father is Khalid, whom we meet first as a young man, a popular croupier in London’s Playboy Club. There are real people populating the story, and although I wasn’t familiar with the scandals, even I recognise some of the names, including Hugh Hefner, of course. That always makes something like this more interesting. The author is a highly regarded historian, and it’s obvious from this that she is very much at home writing about these people, places, and times. Are you worried about your wedding dress post D-day celebration in Edgware Road? If you are, then, the first thing that you need to do is calm down and sign up for wedding dress cleaning services in Edgware Road at Hello Laundry. The wedding dress dry cleaners of our platform will wash your wedding dress and remove all kinds of stains or marks with mild liquid detergent soap to make the bridal gown clean and tidy. You’ll find it so easy to relax in your air-conditioned double or family room. Feel invigorated in the power shower in your en-suite bathroom using the complimentary toiletries before putting your feet up in front of your flat-screen TV. He meets and loves his wife, loves his daughter, gets mixed up in some dodgy dealings which involve Adnan Kashoggi, the wealthy Saudi businessman, and finds himself in some scary situations. Khalid’s body is found a long way from his home, and the police decide he accidentally drowned. We obviously have our suspicions because we know the sort of people he was mixing with.In 2003, Khalid's daughter Alia has only hazy memories of her father, as she saw little of him after her parents' divorce, beyond infrequent meetings at Underground stations around London. When he was found dead in 1987, after failing to turn up to one of their father-daughter Tube meetings, the police put his death down to an accident - although the fact that his body was dragged from the Solent was rather odd for a man who lived in the Edgware Road. This loss has always left Alia feeling that she knows little about the Pakistani half of her heritage, and how this impacts her own sense of identity. The time has come for her to find out what sort of man Khalid was and why he ended his days in a watery grave... In the meantime, Lord Denby a Labour Peer for Oxford East is tipped off about the shady dealings of BCCI bank and slowly unravels the questionable financial activities that connect an international bank founded by a Pakistan Businessman that has branches on British soil. I liked Khalid’s comparison of the Irish Catholics and Sufis as “their own little people”. An Irish pub seems an odd place for him to feel at home, but then he’s an odd sort of fellow.