Published By: HQ
Pages: 432
Released On: 22/05/2025
Local pharmacist and pillar of the community, Idris Khan, spends his days doling out methadone to the hundreds of addicts in his care. They trust Idris with their secrets, and so he knows more than his mild manner suggests. So when his childhood sweetheart, Rebecca, doesn’t turn up for her daily methadone dose, Idris is worried. Worried enough to go looking for her in the most deprived area of Leeds, alone.
The mess Idris finds catapults him into the middle of a turf war between the two most powerful drug cartels in Yorkshire. Now, he must use every bit of intelligence and cunning he has to keep those he loves safe.
Because a war is on the way. And when Idris goes after his enemies, they won’t see him coming.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This is my first of Dhand’s books but I can safely say it won’t be my last.
This was so hyped up that I was worried it wouldn’t live up to my expectations but I needn’t have worried.
I’ve never really connected pharmacists with criminal activity and whatnot. but it makes total sense really. I don’t know how it all works behind the scenes, but look at how many drugs they have access to. There’s this imbalance of power. And whilst I have used the same pharmacy for over 30 years, I’ll always wonder what else they’ve bene up to.
It was fast paced and exactly what I wanted from a thriller. I read the first 1/4 of it within an hour of going to bed and I had to force myself to put it down because it was just so addictive.
It does, at times, feel just a little bit unrealistic, which usually takes me out of a book but I didn’t mind it here to be honest. It sort of made it even more tense and thrilling with how intense it was. I could definitely see it made into a TV series or film.
I found there were bits that made me feel really uncomfortable, which is quite a powerful thing in a thriller, especially when you read as many as I do, to create something that still manages to creep the reader out. There’s no sugar-coating it, it’s dark and depression, violent, and very intense.
I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the characters (that’s not an opinion on the writing of them, they were written very well). I mean, the “baddies” were proper villains which was good to read. There’s no true “goodies” I didn’t think. Everyone is a bit morally grey. Nearly everyone has a villainous side to them, whether out of choice or necessity. I didn’t gel with the characters at first, but they did win me over and now I’ve finished it, I feel they are actually very well created characters with so much depth and so many layers.
I don’t know much about the drug industry – at least the illegal one – and my knowledge of pharmacy is just due to my own illnesses, but I didn’t realise just how simple it could be for the lines between legal and illegal drugs could blur. But Dhand has made it sound so real and authentic, that even if you’ve never been in that situation, you can feel it’s absolutely true to life.
It finishes well but there is definitely scope for a sequel if Dhand decides to go that way, and I do hope he does because there’s a few things I’d like to know more about.
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