Category: Blog Tour

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Razia by Abda Khan, described as ‘a fast-paced thriller that exposes the truth behind Britain’s darkest secret.’  That secret? Modern slavery.

• The Home Office estimates that there are currently around 13,000 slaves in the UK, though other sources suggest this is a gross underestimate
• The novel is published to coincide with World Day against Trafficking in Persons on 30 July
• It combines years of research with the pace and intrigue of a character-driven thriller

Thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate and to Unbound for my review copy.

---

About the Book

Farah is a young lawyer living and working in London. She’s just ended a long relationship, and her parents are looking for a husband – whether Farah wants one or not. So far, so normal. But at a work dinner, hosted by a dangerously powerful man, she comes across a young woman called Razia, who Farah soon realises is being kept as a domestic slave.

We follow Farah’s daring investigations from the law courts of London to the brick kilns of Lahore, as she begins to uncover the traps that keep generation after generation enslaved. Everywhere she turns there is deep-rooted oppression and corruption, and when the authorities finally intervene, their actions have dire consequences.

Farah teams up with a human rights lawyer, Ali, and the two become close… but can she trust him; can they help Razia and others like her; and will they ever discover the explosive secret behind these tragic events?

Format: Paperback, ebook (304 pp.)    Publisher: Unbound
Published: 11^th July 2019   Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Razia on Goodreads

---

My Review

Farah is an interesting character. There’s a dichotomy in that she’s a successful, independent woman pursuing a career as a lawyer but nevertheless feels the need to consider an arranged marriage in order to meet the expectations of her family and cultural heritage. I have to say that some of Farah’s actions did seem a little naive at times but one couldn’t help admire her determination to help Razia.

When later in the book Farah travels to Pakistan, the author allows the reader to see, through Farah’s eyes, the vast gulf between rich and poor in that country: the rich in their swanky air-conditioned mansions; the poor toiling in the heat making bricks with no way out of poverty and debt and with limited access to education or healthcare. I also liked that the author briefly gives the reader the chance to hear directly from the otherwise ‘voiceless’ Razia even if the events she recounts are intensely troubling.

A tragic development propels Farah into a course of action that exposes her to danger at the hands of those who wield power and influence, and aren’t afraid to use it. Fortunately, Farah has local lawyer, Ali Omar, as her ally, who is more aware than she is of the lengths to which such people will go. The development of their relationship from initial distrust to – well, I’ll leave you to guess/find out – adds another dimension to the book.

I really liked the insight the book provides into Pakistani culture: food, clothing, religious practices and social customs. There are some great descriptions of meals that will probably set your stomach rumbling! I do think a glossary would be helpful for readers unfamiliar with some of the Urdu words used.

Razia is a thought-provoking book that deals with important issues such as corruption, exploitation and inequality but in an accessible way and with the feel of a mystery novel. Its unexpectedly bittersweet and poignant ending shows an author with a deft touch for creating a satisfying reading experience.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Unbound, and Random Things Tours.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

In three words: Thought-provoking, compelling, topical

Try something similar…Hold by Michael Donkor or (set in Lahore) The Inside City by Anita Mir (click on titles to read my review)

---

About the Author

Abda Khan is an author and lawyer who works with victims of domestic violence. She was born in Bradford in 1969 to Pakistani immigrant parents, and she now lives and works in the West Midlands. Her first novel, Stained, was published in 2016 and described by Booklist as ‘a contemporary Tess of the d’Urbervilles’. She was Highly Commended as a finalist at the 2017 NatWest Asian Woman of Achievement Awards, in the Arts and Culture category.

Connect with Abda

Website  ǀ  Facebook  ǀ  Twitter  ǀ  Instagram ǀ Goodreads

The book just arrived at What Cathy Read Next is Train Man by Andrew Mulligan, the service from Chatto & Windus via Random Things Tours.  This service is comprised of 320 pages.  After leaving What Cathy Read Next, this book will call at Cosy Books, Rachel Read It and NB Magazine where this blog tour terminates.

---

About the Book

Michael is a broken man. He’s waiting for the 09.46 to Gloucester, so as to reach Crewe for 11.22: the platforms are long at Crewe, and he can walk easily into the path of a high-speed train to London.

He’s planned it all: a net of tangerines (for when the refreshments trolley is cancelled), and a juice carton, full of neat whisky. To make identification swift, he has taped his last credit card to the inside of his shoe.

What Michael hasn’t factored in is a twelve-minute delay, which risks him missing his connection, and making new ones.

He longs to silence the voices in his own head: ex-girlfriends, colleagues, and the memories from his schooldays, decades old. They all torment him. What Michael needs is somebody to listen.

A last, lonely journey becomes a lesson in the power of human connection, proving that no matter how bad things seem, it’s never too late to get back on track. Journeys intersect. People find hope when and where they least expect it. A missed connection needn’t be a disaster: it could just save your life.

Format: Hardcover (320 pp.)    Publisher: Chatto & Windus
Published: 4^th July 2019     Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Train Man on Goodreads

---

My Review

Many of us have probably had the experience of travelling by train and idly wondering about our fellow passengers: where are they going, what’s the purpose of their journey? We may also have had the experience of being drawn into polite, inconsequential conversations with fellow travellers or of watching passengers struggle with luggage, unpack and repack belongings, and so on. Michael’s journey, and those of the other characters in the book, is punctuated by just such encounters.

In Michael’s case they prompt him to construct elaborate and often farfetched stories about the people he meets; perhaps they might become friends or be present at momentous moments in each other’s lives. In fact, Michael’s thoughts often involve him creating fictional versions of his own life in which he is a much more successful, better version of himself. In reality he’s something of a loner who tends to be overly intolerant of petty bureaucracy and breaches of rules by others when his own life, arguably, is littered with more significant failings. This might make him a slightly irritating or unsympathetic character was it not for what the reader gradually learns about his traumatic past.

The sudden switches between Michael’s journey, his memories and the stories of the other characters do require a degree of alertness on the part of the reader. If you like, the same alertness required to control the trains arriving and departing at a busy railway junction.

Despite Michael’s careful planning of his intended journey, in the end it’s a decision taken on impulse that changes everything for him, and for the reader as well. What initially seemed a quite dark story takes on an altogether different hue.

Train Man is a thought-provoking story about chance encounters, missed opportunities, the kindness of strangers and why, sometimes, living in the moment is enough.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Chatto & Windus, and NetGalley.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

In three words: Emotional, acutely-observed, thought-provoking

Try something similar…Drift, Stumble, Fall by M. Jonathan Lee (read my review here)

---

About the Author

Andrew Mulligan was born in 1962 and brought up in London. He worked as a theatre director for ten years before travels in Asia prompted him to retrain as a teacher. Having taught in India, Brazil, Vietnam and the Philippines he returned to the UK and now writes full time. He is best known as a children’s author; his novel Trash (2010) has been published in thirty-two languages. He also writes radio plays and film scripts. Train Man is his first adult novel: ‘What was the starting point? I’m afraid it was when a colleague did the unthinkable, and all I could think about was what might have saved him.’

Connect with Andrew

Website  ǀ  Goodreads