“Another riveting thriller ripped from the headlines by Omar Shahid Hamid. The counterterrorism expert takes you on a high-speed chase down the rabbit hole of hostile South Asian politics. The search for an Indian mole at the heart of Pakistan’s security structure takes you across the globe at breathless speed, combining a love story with the murky world of spycraft. You will want to read it non-stop.”
― Shuja Nawaz, author of Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within and The Battle for Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighbourhood
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A captured spy. A woman looking for redemption. A national security advisor trying to hold his country together. When a captured spy reveals the presence of a mole within the intelligence establishment, it is left to Constantine D'Souza, an ex-police officer and a man forgotten by time, to lead the hunt. In a world of shadows, where lying is an art and betrayal is currency, will D'Souza be able to unearth the mole in time?
About the Author
Omar Shahid Hamid has been a police officer for 20 years. Now a deputy inspector general, his entry into the police was precipitated by the murder of his father Shahid Hamid, Managing Director of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, when Omar was a university student, and by his meeting with Karachi’s brave cop, Chaudhry Aslam Khan, who captured the murderer. As part of Sindh Police’s counterterrorism department, Omar has survived an ambush by gangsters and a false case against him made by colleagues. After barely escaping a bombing in 2010 of his offices by the Taliban, he took a five-year sabbatical in 2011 to study in the UK, write books, and later work as Head of Asia Analysis at IHS Global Insight, and as the Asia Editor for IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly and IHS Jane’s Intelligence Review. He has an MS in Criminal Justice Policy (LSE), an LLM (UCL), and an LLB (University of Kent). In 2016, he returned to active duty on counterterrorism in Pakistan. He has been widely quoted and featured in publications including The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Times, Le Monde, Reuters, CNN, and BBC.
His first book, The Prisoner (2013, also available in French and German editions), was longlisted for the DSC South Asia Literature Prize, and is being adapted for a feature film. He won the Karachi Literature Festival Fiction Prize in 2017 for The Spinner's Tale (2015) and again in 2018 for The Party Worker (2017). The Spinner's Tale also won the Italy Reads Pakistan Award at the Karachi Literature Festival in 2017 and has been translated into Italian and German. The Party Worker was contracted in March 2019 for a Netflix adaptation. The Fix (2019) explored the arcane world of cricket match-fixing. Betrayal is his fifth novel.
Hardback ISBN: 978-969-716-157-7 (Lightstone Publishers, June 2021. For Pakistan distribution)
Paperback ISBN 978-969-2200-06-6 (Saiyid Books, July 2021. For distribution outside Pakistan)
Paperback ISBN: 978-969-716-157-7 (Lightstone Publishers, August 2021. For Pakistan distribution):
Ebook ISBN: 978-969-2200-04-2 (Publisher: Saiyid Books, 2021. World distribution)
The videos below document some of the many launches or discussions of BETRAYAL
Aamer Naseer in Conversation with Omar Shahid Hamid on the FM Radio show Retro with Aamer Naseer. 13 June 2021
Naveed Shahzad in Conversation with Omar Shahid Hamid. Introduced and concluded by ThinkFest organizer Yaqoob Bangash with concluding remarks also by publisher Ameena Saiyid. 1 August 2021.
Sualeha Siddiqui Sheikhani in Conversation with Omar Shahid Hamid (for the SIUT Center for Biomedical Ethics and Culture). 12 November 2021
Umar Riaz in Conversation with Omar Shahid Hamid at Saeed Book Bank. 5 October 2021.
Mirza Moiz Baig in Conversation with Omar Shahid Hamid on Mocca with Moiz. 5 November 2021.
TCM episode Counterterrorism Officer Writing Crime Thrillers on Betrayal and other works. 20 Octobter 2021.
George Fulton in Conversation with Omar Shahid Hamid (for Chapters bookshop). 26 September 2021.
Review by Umar Riaz of Omar Shahid Hamid's Betrayal. 10 July 2021
Taha Kehar in Conversation with Omar Shahid Hamid on Betrayal. 6 March 2022 at KLF
Fariha Salahuddin and Talat Sheerazi in Conversation with Omar Shahid Hamid on their instagram platform "The Other Side." Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the conversation are embedded below. 13 July 2021.