Vengeance by Saima Mir

How is the week almost over?!

Happy Thursday! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things tour for Saima Mir's Vengeance, the follow up to The Khan. 

Since leaving her job as a barrister to take over her father's crime syndicate, Jia has done all she can to support her community. But the repercussions of taking out a rival are weighing on her. What's more, her authority is coming under question after one of her own people is killed and left on display in her garden. A garden that's heavily secured. 

The discovery of her father's notes from his arrival in London in the 70s offers up key insight into his early days but also reveals secrets that could be dangerous for everyone if they come to light. 

So let me first say that I missed The Khan when it initially released. And now I have to go back and read that one!

This is such a fantastic and compelling premise for a series! A Pakistani/British woman who heads up a crime organization! What's more, she used to be on the OTHER side of the law!

I love, love, love this. Strong female characters, a strong sense of place, and strong family ties all come into play in this book, which alternates between Jia's POV, present day, and her father's in the 70s. 

I did feel I was missing a lot of the backstory and development. Not to the detriment of the story, but just in terms of getting the full picture of where Jia came from and what she'd already been through (though I will say there's a decent bit of recap so that I didn't actually feel lost in the plot). 

Normally I steer clear of gang/organized crime if only because it all starts to feel too similar to The Godfather. That is not the case with Vengeance at all. By giving us something other than the traditional mafia story and giving us both the U.K. setting and the challenges facing women in general but also as the leader of the Jirga, Mir has, to my mind, turned the common tropes on their head! 

There's so much to dig into here, not least of which is the complexity of Jia herself. A mother, a sister, a wife, a cousin, and a crime lord! She's efficient and calculating, but also warm and caring. And the balance is just one of the things she's up against!

Vengeance is fantastic and is out now in the UK! 

The Khan published in 2021 in the UK and last year in the States, though the latter version is now out of print. I sincerely hope that it finds a new home here and that this sequel does as well!