Nobody knows a city like its taxi drivers. In New York City, the hacks are often former professionals, immigrants now willing to take a step down in order to get a leg up on life in a new country. Ranjit Singh, the protagonist in A.X. Ahmad's second novel of a projected trilogy (after The Caretaker), is one of these cabbies.
A former Indian army captain and a practicing Sikh, Ranjit lives in a Spartan apartment in Queens and works part-time security for an Indian import broker. His life is filled with boredom and regret--until he picks up Bollywood film star Shabana Shah and delivers her to the door of the luxurious old Dakota on Central Park West. The doorman later sneaks Ranjit into Shabana's apartment when she's out so he can see how his idol lives. The next day, Shabana is found dead in her living room, bludgeoned by a statue that's covered with Ranjit's fingerprints. He is thrown into the Tombs, Manhattan's notorious municipal jail, awaiting bail with little hope except his faith in his own resourcefulness and his network of fellow drivers.
The Last Taxi Ride is an immigrant's-eye view of New York City's streets and American xenophobia masquerading as a whodunit. Ahmad ably brings to life a side of the city rarely seen by those who take for granted their nannies, doormen and cabbies. With a closing hint of Ranjit's need to escape to a Sikh community in California, Ahmad suggests Ranjit's adventures will continue. A good thing; he's too engaging to let go so soon. --Bruce Jacobs, founding partner, Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kan.