This is the fourth book in a series about Kamil so if you haven’t read the previous ones, I suggest that you pause and find the former stories as it will make this one so much more enjoyable. It stands alone as a crime thriller but I found that it took a while for me to grasp some of the reasons for actions and relationships between characters who are mentioned in passing. That alongside the inclusion of commentary on the political situation of that time meant that at times I was out of my depth or perhaps just interest.

This is Ajay Chowdhury's second novel featuring Detective Kamil Rahman and the two loves in his life; Anjoli and Maliha. Will he make a commitment to one of them in this new novel?
I was a real fan of The Detective, Ajay's previous thriller but not so much this one. I used to enjoy reading the explanations of the various dishes at Tandoori Knights but sadly his latest novel is for the knowledgeable diner, with little explanation of the ingredients. I feel Ajay Chowdhury is trying to make political and religious statements in his writing that was not so apparent in The Detective. Notwithstanding that it was a good thriller with several threads. No mention was made of the repercussions of breaching The Official Secrets Act which was alarming, especially as we now know that staff at Bletchley Park went to their graves not discussing their secrets. I do totally get Kamil's sense of fairness and righteous indignation coming through, also he makes a great case for the laws of unintended consequences. Is a fiction novel the right vehicle for something I feel Ajay wants the world to wake up to? I don't know. Maybe he should try non-fiction?

Regarding my early ARC:
A note for the author.....woollen moccasins wouldn't normally give rise to footsteps echoing down the wooden staircase. Either there was frost or snow at the doctor's house. A wooden sheet magics itself in to a pane at the escape attempt.

Another enjoyable entry in the Kamil Rahman series - I’ve stopped questioning the likelihood of events and am just rolling with it - so he’s a spy now? Yep, happy with that, off you go spying without any training, you’ll be grand. The nature of these affairs is that events and stories running in parallel will coincide, and part of the fun is working out just how Kamil’s story and Anjoli’s story will be linked together. Further conflict in Kamil’s romantic life is also entertaining, the poor lad just can’t get a break…

Roll on the next book!

I have read the previous books in the Kamil Rahman series and have loved them all. This one is no exception, in fact it’s the best so far. It has everything – murders, tension, intrigue, romance, humour, and lots of great food. It’s a fabulous read and I can’t wait for the next one. A lot of the book centres on Kamil’s past so it would make more sense to new readers if they read the previous 3 books first. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc, and please let me have the next one soon!

This really couldn’t be further from the type of genre I usually read, I’m not politically inclined, I know nothing about the religious aspects of the book and I’ve never read a spy thriller!

I enjoyed the book enormously and will recommend it thoroughly however it’s not converted me into wanting to read loads more of this type of story, a great one off! Thrilling, brutal, amusing and I felt well researched (but what do I know about m15?!)

Thank you Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage for an advance copy of The Spy, the fourth novel to feature Kamil Rahman, set mostly in London.

Kamil is working as a DC in the Met when MI5 ask him to go undercover. They have discovered the hint of a terrorist plot and want him to get the detail. He is sacked from the Met as a cover story and successfully infiltrates the cell, which sends him to Kashmir as a loyalty test. Meanwhile his friend Anjoli is looking for a missing teenager who is sending coded messages in his videos.

I enjoyed The Spy, which is a novel of two halves. The first half is relatively slow as Kamil gradually insinuates himself into an extremist cell, whereas the second half is nonstop action and tension as Kamil dices with death.

I’m not greatly interested in spies or militant extremism in my reading matter, but the chance to spend time with Kamil and Anjoli was too good to pass up. Having said that the novel has a harder edge than its predecessors, exposing the Hindu nationalism in India and the violence in Kashmir. I have no idea if it is a true depiction, but it feels as if it could be. It paints a grim picture.

As I said a novel of two halves. I didn’t feel overly engaged in the first half with the terrorists promoting a pipe dream. Still, all you need is to convince the gullible and a cell is born. Even the naive Kamil found something enticing in their argument. The second half is full of action as Kamil swings into action to save the world, or at least one part of it. The novel is well put together with a clever plot and a neat, if fanciful, ending of just desserts. It is satisfying but hardly believable.

Kamil is still dithering about the ladies in his life, should he choose his friend Anjoli or go back to his former fiancée Mahliha. After four novels he finally makes a choice, but he may be too late. I like Kamil, but he’s a strange mixture of rash and indecision. His heart’s in the right place.

The Spy is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

An enjoyable series which entertains and educates.

"The Spy" is the fourth book featuring disgraced Detective Kamil Rahman and it finds him working for the Metropolitan Police. When he is asked by his imam to help with a suspected bomber within the mosque, things soon escalate and events (somewhat implausibly) overlap when he is asked by MI5 to infiltrate a terrorist cell.

Soon our hero is embroiled in a plot which takes him from Brick Lane in London to Kashmir and beyond, and confrontations with enemies new and old. In another sub-plot, Anjoli investigates the kidnapping of a young boy who’s sending coded video messages to his parents.

Kamil's life is a list of un-made decisions - not least, which of the two women in his life he wants the most. There's his ex-fiancée Maliha and his partner-in-crime Anjoli. Both strong women, and both pressing him to make a choice. This thread for me was the most frustrating in the book - after four books, the man just can't make up his mind!

"The Spy" continues to explore themes from the previous books - largely concerning the situation in Kamil's home country, with corruption and atrocities in India and Kashmir escalating by the day, but also the growing hatred aimed at ethnic groups in Britain. The narrative is strong and emotive, and it fairly carries you along. This isn't a "spy story" in the sense of Le Carre or Deighton, but it's a find read.

I have only read one of the previous Rahman books, and although it's not essential to have done so to enjoy "The Spy", I'd recommend reading them before opening this latest chapter. The author does a good job of filling in the characters' past exploits, but I feel there's a lot of good stuff to absorb before reading this.

Fans of the series will no doubt love this book, but newcomers might do well to catch up first.

Really effective and engaging writing of character and situation, right from the start - I found I really cared and wanted justice for the innocent man and family killed for the enforced harbouring of an enemy of the state - and I certainly found the hunt and the plot they uncover (amateur as they are),, involve high stakes in corruption in Indian government. I guess I could have done without the romance stream - it was distracting and confusing … in fact, I also learned a lot about food! The only reason I am giving this a 4-star rating is that sub stream of romance going on … and sometimes, the kind of ‘right on’ jargon and attitudes seemed cliched. But very impressive and I’m going to look for earlier books in the series.

I've really enjoyed this series as we've followed the story of Kamil, disgraced from the Indian police force and relocated to London, working first as a waiter, then as a cook and then joining the Met, only to bend the rules on his first case. In this book, rather improbably, MI5 decide they need a Muslim undercover operative and Kamil is their choice. So he is again apparently ejected from the Force in disgrace as he tries to infiltrate to find what plans terrorists are plotting.

The strands of the story were a bit implausible and it wasn't really a surprise when they began to intersect. The story further explores his relationship with the two women in his life, but it gets a bit repetitive as he angsts over who he wants to spend his life with. If the choice is that difficult, I'd say the answer is 'neither'!

So not quite as sharp and incisive as the previous books, but still a good read, very topical and relevant. The trip to Kashmir and India was particularly interesting to read. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, an action packed episode in this series. I love Ajay's writing, enough description to add interest and to educate about political and ethnic issues without too much superfluous information. As the series develops, the characters become more rounded, I love the love quadrangle and that Kamil sometimes makes hasty decisions, it makes everything realistic. I was really fascinated and horrified by the the descriptions of life and the political situation in the Indian sub-continent and the effects this had on lives of people with an Indian background in the UK
A great read and I look forward to reading the next adventures of Kamil & friends. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

Another brilliant book by Chowdhury. Although it's the 4th in the series with Kamil Rahman it is probably the best. Kamil, now a policeman in East London, is recruited by MI5 to thwart a Muslim terrorist plot to free Kashmir and destroy the Indian president. Set in the Indian community around Brick Lane, it is a great read whatever the religion or ethnicity of the reader.
Although the book could be enjoyed as a stand alone, so much of the plot relates to his past and his relationship to Anjoli that a lot would be missed. All the books are very good so it is no hardship to read them in order.
Can't wait for the next one. I think I can guess the title.

Kamil Rahman is working as a Detective with the Metropolitan Police. He’s not popular with his boss and the feeling is reciprocated. However, when MI5 receive information about a terrorist plot, they decide that Rahman fits the bill, and he accepts their request to infiltrate the terrorist cell and is sent by the cell to Kashmir to make a delivery. But Rahman’s beliefs begin to change the more he learns about the cell, and he finds himself looking more sympathetically at the terrorists cause!

This is a really tense read that sees Rahman in some very difficult and dangerous situations. Alongside this, his love life isn’t faring much better as he is pushed into making a choice between very close friend Anjoli, and his ex fiancée Maliha. Fast paced with a great storyline that results in a gripping read. Humour, Politics, Action and Romance, something for everyone?

Another cracking story from Ajay Chowdhury charting the life and loves of Kamil Rhaman.
Kamil has moved out from the flat above Tandoori Knights and is still working for the Met. As the lowest DC in the office as far as his immediate boss is concerned; Kamil is becoming disenchanted with his return to police work, when after his local imam disappears he gets a call from MI5. From here Kamil enters the murky world of an undercover cop, not able to tell Anjoli, Malhia or even his parents what he is up to.
I did wonder how long the author could keep this series going, but without giving anything away, he seems to have solved Kamil's love life and given two characters a whole new boundless world to investigate in the ongoing series.
Looking forward to the next chapter in Kamil’s life, and the TV series when it comes out!

Thanks Random House Uk and NetGalley for ARC.

Detective Kamil Rahman is not enjoying his latest posting or his immediate superior in the Met, thinking that a man of his experience and skill shouldn't be reduced to effectively administrative roles to pay his dues all over again. After all, he was a detective back in Kolkata, before his spells as waiter and chef, then reentry into police work at the Met, and solving a notorious murder case just recently.
His dissatisfaction spills into his personal life - his relationships with two women, his temporary digs, his questing for meaning and developing relationship with his faith - so when his imam disappears he longs to try to find out what's going on. However, when MI5 approach him he's initially reluctant to do their bidding. Can he make a difference? Will be in time to save the imam and prevent more bloodshed?

This is the fourth in a series that I cam into a little late but have thoroughly enjoyed so far. Rahman is engagingly hopeless in love and life and plays fast and loose with the rules at work, valuing intuition over procedure. His London is well drawn and his fish out of water excursion to Kashmir was fascinating to me ( my knowledge of the situation in Kashmir is entirely drawn from a documentary about a Scottish football manager based there). The restaurant-based subplot bubbles away nicely and it all comes good in the end, mostly.

The Spy is Ajay Chowdhury's 4th book featuring Kamil Rahman, one time Kolkata police officer, now reinventing himself in London. Each of the books would work well as a standalone but, as a series, there is a lot of extra enjoyment from the character development.

Kamil is not enjoying life in the Metropolitan Police as he'd hoped, not least because his boss is jealous of him. When his friend and mentor, the local Imam, disappears Kamil finds himself in the middle of a potential terrorist plot and he has to decide how deep to throw himself into the mix. While his professional life becomes fraught with danger, Kamil is also walking an emotional tightrope as he can't decide whether to take the plunge beyond friendship with Anjoli (who readers of the earlier books will know well) or his ex-fiance who has turned up from Kolkata.

This is another rip roaring read. I really enjoyed returning to these characters and the reinvention of Kamil's role in each book keeps the plotting entirely fresh. The subtext is interesting and it kept me guessing throughout. The narrative is nicely set for the next book in the series.

There is a slightly odd sub-plot involving clues from Harry Potter books but that didn't reduce my enjoyment. Would definitely recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I absolutely loved the first two installments of this series. And this was no different.

It has such an interesting and unique plot with excellent pacing which kept me super engaged throughout. It is incredibly emotional, raw and beautiful. I absolutely love this genre and this was no exception, i will definitely be reading more from this wonderful author

This was an interesting book that drives into the world of extremists linked to Kashmiri. The story was his. There were times I wondered how authentic the situation was. However, good writing and an enjoyable mystery with elements of a thriller.

I really enjoyed this book. It was full of intrigue and twists and turns which gave an insight into the fight against terrorism. The author also showed us that there is always more than one angle to a situation which some would regards as terrorism whereas others view it as protecting their heritage.

Far fetched to say the least but an easy read.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Ajay Chowdhury has done it again!!!

When I saw the opportunity to read the latest novel about Detective Kamil Rahman I jumped straight in

Ajay Chowdhury's writing is exceptional, the way he describes places is such that you feel you're right there with the characters. The best part in my opinion is that you can read his books independently; obviously, it's better to read them (trust me, you won't be disappointed!) but if this is you first Kamil Rahman novel, you will enjoy it!!

In a way, it does feel like The Spy departs slightly from The Cook, The Waiter and The Detective -in a good way! Not sure whether this is intentional but it's as if he's intending to create a spinoff series for one of the characters (don't worry, I won't spoil the book!!)

All in all, a perfect read.