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Slough House #2
Dead Lions
London's Slough House is where the washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what's left of their failed careers. The "slow horses," as they’re called, have all disgraced themselves in some way to get relegated here. Maybe they messed up an op badly and can't be trusted anymore. Maybe they got in the way of an ambitious colleague and had the rug yanked out from under them. Maybe they just got too dependent on the bottle—not unusual in this line of work. One thing they all have in common, though, is they all want to be back in the action. And most of them would do anything to get there─even if it means having to collaborate with one another.
Now the slow horses have a chance at redemption. An old Cold War-era spy is found dead on a bus outside Oxford, far from his usual haunts. The despicable, irascible Jackson Lamb is convinced Dickie Bow was murdered. As the agents dig into their fallen comrade's circumstances, they uncover a shadowy tangle of ancient Cold War secrets that seem to lead back to a man named Alexander Popov, who is either a Soviet bogeyman or the most dangerous man in the world. How many more people will have to die to keep those secrets buried?
Now the slow horses have a chance at redemption. An old Cold War-era spy is found dead on a bus outside Oxford, far from his usual haunts. The despicable, irascible Jackson Lamb is convinced Dickie Bow was murdered. As the agents dig into their fallen comrade's circumstances, they uncover a shadowy tangle of ancient Cold War secrets that seem to lead back to a man named Alexander Popov, who is either a Soviet bogeyman or the most dangerous man in the world. How many more people will have to die to keep those secrets buried?
347 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2013
About the author
Mick Herron
44 books3,763 followersMick Herron was born in Newcastle and has a degree in English from Balliol College, Oxford. He is the author of six books in the Slough House series as well as a mystery series set in Oxford featuring Sarah Tucker and/or P.I. Zoë Boehm. He now lives in Oxford and works in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,151 reviews
October 24, 2023
Audiobook narrated by Sean Barrett
This series is fantastic. A smart, funny spy thriller which keeps the reader at the edge of their seat, with a smile on her/his face and the occasional chuckle. The characters are interesting and Jackson Lamb is a legend. Gary Oldman plays him perfectly in the Slow Horses TV series on Apple TV.
Slough House is where all the MI5 fuck-ups who cannot be fired are sent. Their king is the above mentioned Jackson Lamb, a brilliant spy who was transformed by his past. Usually, the poor idiots shuffle paperwork that nobody cares about, but in one case ( see 1st volume) they got to see real action. In the 2nd instalment of the series, they become alive once again. A former Cold-Era spy is found dead and Lamb is not sure his death was natural. At the same time, two of the horses are sent to babysit a Russian tycoon who might make a deal with the service. Obviously, nothing is as it seems and the losers have to prove they are better than people think they are or they might not survive.
This series is fantastic. A smart, funny spy thriller which keeps the reader at the edge of their seat, with a smile on her/his face and the occasional chuckle. The characters are interesting and Jackson Lamb is a legend. Gary Oldman plays him perfectly in the Slow Horses TV series on Apple TV.
Slough House is where all the MI5 fuck-ups who cannot be fired are sent. Their king is the above mentioned Jackson Lamb, a brilliant spy who was transformed by his past. Usually, the poor idiots shuffle paperwork that nobody cares about, but in one case ( see 1st volume) they got to see real action. In the 2nd instalment of the series, they become alive once again. A former Cold-Era spy is found dead and Lamb is not sure his death was natural. At the same time, two of the horses are sent to babysit a Russian tycoon who might make a deal with the service. Obviously, nothing is as it seems and the losers have to prove they are better than people think they are or they might not survive.
September 30, 2016
This is a superior, intelligent and a darkly comic novel located in the world of spooks and espionage. Slough House is the destination for failed spies known as 'slow horses', a play on Slough House. All want to return to the real action and are even prepared to work with one another in an effort to realise that dream. They are to have their chance when Dickie Bow, an old has-been cold war spy, is discovered dead on a Oxford bus. The difficult and hard to like Jackson Lamb is certain that Dickie was murdered. The politically ambitious Spider Webb annexes two of Lamb's spies to protect and meet the demands of a Russian oligarch, from whom Webb expects to profit personally and politically. This is a tale of a mythic and legendary spy, sleeper cells, the Russian Mob, and the past coming to infiltrate the present.
It is a convoluted trail that Lamb's spies follow. River Cartwright, whose grandfather was a senior spy, finds himself in the unremarkable village of Upshott with a defunct military base and a number of influential inhabitants. The murder of one of their own has the team determined to get justice of one kind or another. Nothing is as it seems, and Roddy Ho is key to uncovering a number of discrepancies and sleights of hand. There are bombs, explosions, and a deadly search for vengeance amidst the Stop the City protests in London. The two separate storylines turn out to be connected. With betrayal, political infighting and manoeuvring, our spies fight for their lives and reputations.
This is an impressively plotted and beautifully written book packed with twist after twist. It is a superb trope on the smoke and mirrors world of espionage. The author has constructed a wonderful cast of characters that include River Cartwright's grandfather. I love the dry wit and humour in the story. This is a terrific and entertaining novel, after all, it won the 2013 CWA gold dagger! Brilliant read which I highly recommend. Thanks to John Murray Press for an ARC.
It is a convoluted trail that Lamb's spies follow. River Cartwright, whose grandfather was a senior spy, finds himself in the unremarkable village of Upshott with a defunct military base and a number of influential inhabitants. The murder of one of their own has the team determined to get justice of one kind or another. Nothing is as it seems, and Roddy Ho is key to uncovering a number of discrepancies and sleights of hand. There are bombs, explosions, and a deadly search for vengeance amidst the Stop the City protests in London. The two separate storylines turn out to be connected. With betrayal, political infighting and manoeuvring, our spies fight for their lives and reputations.
This is an impressively plotted and beautifully written book packed with twist after twist. It is a superb trope on the smoke and mirrors world of espionage. The author has constructed a wonderful cast of characters that include River Cartwright's grandfather. I love the dry wit and humour in the story. This is a terrific and entertaining novel, after all, it won the 2013 CWA gold dagger! Brilliant read which I highly recommend. Thanks to John Murray Press for an ARC.
September 26, 2020
4.5★
“‘You want to know what Lamb wanted, right?’
‘Just a clue.’
‘He’d kill me. And he could do it, too. He’s killed people before.’
‘That’s what he wants you to think,’ River said.
‘You’re saying he hasn’t?’
‘I’m saying he’s not allowed to kill staff. Health and safety.”
And yes, he could. Lamb could. He runs the slow horses, the has-been or the might-have-been spies who’ve been relegated to spook limbo in Slough House where the heavies in MI5 and Regent Park hope they’ll get bored and resign.
Lamb is a deliciously disgusting character, as is his office, where
“The air is heavy with a dog’s olfactory daydream: takeaway food, illicit cigarettes, day-old farts and stale beer. . .”
He’s nearly always grubby and greasy and stuffing himself with bacon sandwiches after which he farts noisily and lights yet another cigarette. I kept expecting him to cause a small explosion or be hoist by his own petard, literally. (My dad once told me that the origin of the word ‘petard’ was ‘break wind’ in old French, so I looked it up, and it’s true. Goes back to Latin, but I digress. Still, to be hoist by one’s own petard paints an amusing picture, eh?)
But he’s also learned a lot and forgotten nothing, which make it impossible to get the better of him. Doesn’t know the meaning of politically correct. Dreadful boss. Catherine Standish and River Cartwright approach him in his office, seeking information.
‘We don’t like being out of the loop.’
‘You’re always out of the loop.The loop’s miles away. Nearest you’ll get to being in the loop is when they make a documentary about it and show it on the History Channel. I thought you were aware of that.’”
. . .
“Lamb plucked a stained mug from the litter on his desk, and threw it at Catherine. River caught it before it reached her head. Lamb said, ‘Well, I’m glad we’ve had this chat. Now f*** off. Cartwright, give that to Standish. Standish, fill it with tea.’”
Catherine Standish had been a fairly important person as assistant to and eventually carer for a very influential, but later disgraced, senior official, now deceased, hence her demotion. River Cartwright bombed out on a training exercise when he was undermined by James “Spider” Webb, who sabotaged it. The details are in the last book, but this is not a spoiler, if you haven’t read it yet.)
River is still employed, not by the grace of God but by the grace of Grandad Cartwright, a renowned and retired old spook whom nobody still dares cross. He knows where too many skeletons are buried, figuratively and literally.
“. . . once a spook you were always a spook, and everything else was just cover. So the friendly old man trowelling his flowerbeds with a silly hat on remained the strategist who’d helped plot the Service’s course through the Cold War, and River had grown up learning the details.
This case harks back to the Cold War, and River chats to Granddad about it, but finds him pretty circumspect. He will drop the occasional crumb of information about dealings with the Russians, but as for possible ongoing threats, or reasons for them, he speaks only about an imaginary villain, a ‘scarecrow’ whom the Russians invented to get the British to follow.
But when former spy Dickie Bow is found dead on a bus, a few people take notice. He may have been a washed-up operative, but he had been one of the family, so to speak, in the old days, and Lamb decides to investigate. Not because he cares, mind you.
“There was no brotherhood code. If Dickie Bow had succumbed to a mattress fire, Lamb would have got through the five stages without batting an eye: denial, anger, bargaining, indifference, breakfast.”
(Bacon sandwiches, no doubt.) His investigation does unearth a phone.
“It was an ancient thing, a Nokia, black-and-grey, with about as many functions as a bottle opener. You could no more take a photo with it than send an e-mail with a stapler.”
It seems, the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!
Oh. To do a trade deal? Sounds kind of boring, and is . . . until suddenly, it isn’t. Spider Webb is set to make a name for himself, River gets sent to the countryside, tracking down a lead, and Min Harper and Lousa Guy are assigned to look after the Russians.
Many characters return, and new characters are added. This may be funny and entertaining, but the job is deadly and people do die. Sadly. I was starting to enjoy someone who won’t be back, but no hints.
The action does get pretty heavy (well, I said somebody didn’t make it), so it’s not all fun and games.
All in all, another absolute delight. I didn’t guess the plot or the connections, and I certainly didn’t guess the ultimate ending. There are hints along the way, so there’s no sudden surprise revelation, just a peeling back of information which I find very satisfying.
I should add that it’s well-written and the descriptions of place and atmosphere are as good as those of the characters. A church spire in a country town reached “a skyline it had kissed for hundreds of years”.
Incidentally, I think this would read fine as a stand-alone. Enough background is given here and there to appreciate the characters’ histories.
Thanks again to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted. On to #3 in the series!
“‘You want to know what Lamb wanted, right?’
‘Just a clue.’
‘He’d kill me. And he could do it, too. He’s killed people before.’
‘That’s what he wants you to think,’ River said.
‘You’re saying he hasn’t?’
‘I’m saying he’s not allowed to kill staff. Health and safety.”
And yes, he could. Lamb could. He runs the slow horses, the has-been or the might-have-been spies who’ve been relegated to spook limbo in Slough House where the heavies in MI5 and Regent Park hope they’ll get bored and resign.
Lamb is a deliciously disgusting character, as is his office, where
“The air is heavy with a dog’s olfactory daydream: takeaway food, illicit cigarettes, day-old farts and stale beer. . .”
He’s nearly always grubby and greasy and stuffing himself with bacon sandwiches after which he farts noisily and lights yet another cigarette. I kept expecting him to cause a small explosion or be hoist by his own petard, literally. (My dad once told me that the origin of the word ‘petard’ was ‘break wind’ in old French, so I looked it up, and it’s true. Goes back to Latin, but I digress. Still, to be hoist by one’s own petard paints an amusing picture, eh?)
But he’s also learned a lot and forgotten nothing, which make it impossible to get the better of him. Doesn’t know the meaning of politically correct. Dreadful boss. Catherine Standish and River Cartwright approach him in his office, seeking information.
‘We don’t like being out of the loop.’
‘You’re always out of the loop.The loop’s miles away. Nearest you’ll get to being in the loop is when they make a documentary about it and show it on the History Channel. I thought you were aware of that.’”
. . .
“Lamb plucked a stained mug from the litter on his desk, and threw it at Catherine. River caught it before it reached her head. Lamb said, ‘Well, I’m glad we’ve had this chat. Now f*** off. Cartwright, give that to Standish. Standish, fill it with tea.’”
Catherine Standish had been a fairly important person as assistant to and eventually carer for a very influential, but later disgraced, senior official, now deceased, hence her demotion. River Cartwright bombed out on a training exercise when he was undermined by James “Spider” Webb, who sabotaged it. The details are in the last book, but this is not a spoiler, if you haven’t read it yet.)
River is still employed, not by the grace of God but by the grace of Grandad Cartwright, a renowned and retired old spook whom nobody still dares cross. He knows where too many skeletons are buried, figuratively and literally.
“. . . once a spook you were always a spook, and everything else was just cover. So the friendly old man trowelling his flowerbeds with a silly hat on remained the strategist who’d helped plot the Service’s course through the Cold War, and River had grown up learning the details.
This case harks back to the Cold War, and River chats to Granddad about it, but finds him pretty circumspect. He will drop the occasional crumb of information about dealings with the Russians, but as for possible ongoing threats, or reasons for them, he speaks only about an imaginary villain, a ‘scarecrow’ whom the Russians invented to get the British to follow.
But when former spy Dickie Bow is found dead on a bus, a few people take notice. He may have been a washed-up operative, but he had been one of the family, so to speak, in the old days, and Lamb decides to investigate. Not because he cares, mind you.
“There was no brotherhood code. If Dickie Bow had succumbed to a mattress fire, Lamb would have got through the five stages without batting an eye: denial, anger, bargaining, indifference, breakfast.”
(Bacon sandwiches, no doubt.) His investigation does unearth a phone.
“It was an ancient thing, a Nokia, black-and-grey, with about as many functions as a bottle opener. You could no more take a photo with it than send an e-mail with a stapler.”
It seems, the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!
Oh. To do a trade deal? Sounds kind of boring, and is . . . until suddenly, it isn’t. Spider Webb is set to make a name for himself, River gets sent to the countryside, tracking down a lead, and Min Harper and Lousa Guy are assigned to look after the Russians.
Many characters return, and new characters are added. This may be funny and entertaining, but the job is deadly and people do die. Sadly. I was starting to enjoy someone who won’t be back, but no hints.
The action does get pretty heavy (well, I said somebody didn’t make it), so it’s not all fun and games.
All in all, another absolute delight. I didn’t guess the plot or the connections, and I certainly didn’t guess the ultimate ending. There are hints along the way, so there’s no sudden surprise revelation, just a peeling back of information which I find very satisfying.
I should add that it’s well-written and the descriptions of place and atmosphere are as good as those of the characters. A church spire in a country town reached “a skyline it had kissed for hundreds of years”.
Incidentally, I think this would read fine as a stand-alone. Enough background is given here and there to appreciate the characters’ histories.
Thanks again to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted. On to #3 in the series!
January 31, 2018
This is proving to be a very addictive series. Fortunately I have all of them sitting on my Kindle so I will be able to feed my addiction:)
As in the first book we watch our group of MI5 misfits bumble and stumble their way through situations they do not understand and which are usually not what they seem. In this book several of the Slow Horses are involved in really serious situations and one dies. This author is not afraid of leaving corpses behind, including those of the good guys!
What is it that is so appealing about these books? I think it is mostly down to the characters who are all appealing in their own varied ways. The dialogue is smart, a bit dark, and frequently funny. And Jackson Lamb is perfectly cast. Overweight, drinks and smokes too much, doesn't care what he says to anybody, frequently extremely rude and yet he is always at least one step ahead of anybody else in what is going on.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes their spy stories with a touch of irreverence and humour.
As in the first book we watch our group of MI5 misfits bumble and stumble their way through situations they do not understand and which are usually not what they seem. In this book several of the Slow Horses are involved in really serious situations and one dies. This author is not afraid of leaving corpses behind, including those of the good guys!
What is it that is so appealing about these books? I think it is mostly down to the characters who are all appealing in their own varied ways. The dialogue is smart, a bit dark, and frequently funny. And Jackson Lamb is perfectly cast. Overweight, drinks and smokes too much, doesn't care what he says to anybody, frequently extremely rude and yet he is always at least one step ahead of anybody else in what is going on.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes their spy stories with a touch of irreverence and humour.
August 16, 2022
4 ☆
Dead Lions had a tough act to follow as Slow Horses, the debut novel of the Slough House series, had set the bar very high. Herron had written the sequel as a standalone, however, so new readers could start here. I'd then recommend reading the first installment before resuming the series.
Slough House isn't the name of a building but an epithet for a particular branch of MI5, Britain's Secret Service (aka "Regent's Park" after their primary location).
In Dead Lions, a bogeyman emerges from the Cold War ether while an ambitious suit from Regent's Park cultivates a Russian oligarch as a future asset. The former is noticed only by Jackson Lamb due to his memories of the Spooks' Zoo (ie. East Berlin). And since times are fiscally austere, the latter entails roping in two slow horses to do the work.
For me, the plot overstretched reality and tripped over its too convenient coincidences into the farcical realm. As I said, Slow Horses had set a very high standard as its plot played just within its cynical parameters of reality. But I had to read Dead Lions because I was really curious about what direction Herron would take, such as whether there would be a redemption arc or any positive changes for this woebegone wing of MI5. Because about five months previously,
The strength of Dead Lions lies in Herron's development of his characters and their interactions because this novel is funnier and snarkier than its predecessor. The slow horses are no longer so solitary in their broodings after the events of previous year.
Jackson Lamb is nothing like his surname. He's a bully with terrible personal hygiene and he whips out very non-pc cracks. But his string of slow horses, now augmented by two more, still retain a spark of spirit because they know that Lamb is a spook, and a very good one at that.
I usually write a review immediately after I complete a book. But I went ahead and finished all seven novels in the Slough House series before backtracking to review this one. Herron had created something quite special with this series, which I had recognized with the first installment. I can imagine that a sequel poses a big challenge for an author because it's time to commit to a direction, which might explain why three years had elapsed between the first two novels. This is my least favorite in this series and that's only because of the main plot. But Dead Lions introduces two more key characters and reinforces a major theme in the series regarding the long reach of spook history and its consequences. This series is a new favorite which is why I'm rounding my rating up to 4 stars.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
2nd Reading -
As spies play their game of mirrors, not everyone will be reflected in the most dazzling light. Herron further plumbs people's motivations, and nefarious plots subsequently arise. The psychological darkness is mitigated by the sweetness of two key relationships. In Dead Lions, David Cartwright, a legend of the service, is introduced via visits from River. David has been grooming his only grandson in his professional interests. I'm leaving the second relationship for the reader to discover.
Herron revels in up-ending presumptions. Things are either not what they seem or are more complex than anticipated. One case in point is Catherine Standish, whom Lamb disparaged as his Miss Havisham, but Herron revealed her to be savvy and astute. Since Slow Horses, Catherine has not been allowed to fade into the woodwork.
As I had mentioned, the ending of Slow Horses created some expectations for Dead Lions. Herron is too creative by half to meet those "typical" conjectures, but he fulfilled the most important one -- for a funny and cynical sequel with further character development.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Listed in GR sequence, but not necessarily in chronological order:
#1 Slow Horses 4 ☆
#2.5 The List 4 ☆
#3 Real Tigers 4.5 ☆
#4 Spook Street 5 ☆
#5 London Rules 4.5 ☆
#5.5 Marylebone Drop 4 ☆
#6 Joe Country 5 ☆
#6.5 The Catch 4 ☆
#7 Slough House 4.5 ☆
#8 Bad Actors 4 ☆
The friendlier the territory, the scarier the natives.
Dead Lions had a tough act to follow as Slow Horses, the debut novel of the Slough House series, had set the bar very high. Herron had written the sequel as a standalone, however, so new readers could start here. I'd then recommend reading the first installment before resuming the series.
Slough House isn't the name of a building but an epithet for a particular branch of MI5, Britain's Secret Service (aka "Regent's Park" after their primary location).
The Service, like everyone else was hamstrung by rules and regulations: sack the useless, and they take you to tribunal for discriminating against useless people. So the Service bunged the useless into some godforsaken annex and threw paperwork at them, an administrative harassment intended to make them hand in their cards. They called them the slow horses. The screw-ups. The losers ... and they belonged to Jackson Lamb.
In Dead Lions, a bogeyman emerges from the Cold War ether while an ambitious suit from Regent's Park cultivates a Russian oligarch as a future asset. The former is noticed only by Jackson Lamb due to his memories of the Spooks' Zoo (ie. East Berlin). And since times are fiscally austere, the latter entails roping in two slow horses to do the work.
He said, "I was thinking last time we got dragged into a Regent's Park op, someone was looking to screw us over."
For me, the plot overstretched reality and tripped over its too convenient coincidences into the farcical realm. As I said, Slow Horses had set a very high standard as its plot played just within its cynical parameters of reality. But I had to read Dead Lions because I was really curious about what direction Herron would take, such as whether there would be a redemption arc or any positive changes for this woebegone wing of MI5. Because about five months previously,
Slough House had briefly gone live. Things had settled since but optimism hadn't entirely died. They suspected that Jackson Lamb had serious dope on Diana Taverner; enough that, if she wasn't his sock puppet, she was at least in his debt.
And debt meant power.
Lady Di Taverner ... was one of several Second Desks, but top of most people's list whenever there were rumours of a Palace coup.
The strength of Dead Lions lies in Herron's development of his characters and their interactions because this novel is funnier and snarkier than its predecessor. The slow horses are no longer so solitary in their broodings after the events of previous year.
... but there was a base line these days that hadn't always been there, and it was simply stated: Cartwright was a slow horse, same as himself, same as Louisa. Once, that hadn't meant more than being tarred with the same brush. But now, if they didn't stick together exactly, they didn't piss on each other in front of others. Or not in front of Regent's Park suits, anyway.
Jackson Lamb is nothing like his surname. He's a bully with terrible personal hygiene and he whips out very non-pc cracks. But his string of slow horses, now augmented by two more, still retain a spark of spirit because they know that Lamb is a spook, and a very good one at that.
"I'll do it," River said again.
"... this is MI5, not a kiddies' playground. Operational decisions don't turn on who says bagsies. I decide who goes." Lamb counted them off from the right. "Eenie meenie minie mo." At mo, his finger rested on River. He moved it back to Shirley. "Meenie. You're it."
River said, "I was mo!"
"And I don't base operational decisions on children's games, remember?"
I usually write a review immediately after I complete a book. But I went ahead and finished all seven novels in the Slough House series before backtracking to review this one. Herron had created something quite special with this series, which I had recognized with the first installment. I can imagine that a sequel poses a big challenge for an author because it's time to commit to a direction, which might explain why three years had elapsed between the first two novels. This is my least favorite in this series and that's only because of the main plot. But Dead Lions introduces two more key characters and reinforces a major theme in the series regarding the long reach of spook history and its consequences. This series is a new favorite which is why I'm rounding my rating up to 4 stars.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
2nd Reading -
As spies play their game of mirrors, not everyone will be reflected in the most dazzling light. Herron further plumbs people's motivations, and nefarious plots subsequently arise. The psychological darkness is mitigated by the sweetness of two key relationships. In Dead Lions, David Cartwright, a legend of the service, is introduced via visits from River. David has been grooming his only grandson in his professional interests. I'm leaving the second relationship for the reader to discover.
Herron revels in up-ending presumptions. Things are either not what they seem or are more complex than anticipated. One case in point is Catherine Standish, whom Lamb disparaged as his Miss Havisham, but Herron revealed her to be savvy and astute. Since Slow Horses, Catherine has not been allowed to fade into the woodwork.
As I had mentioned, the ending of Slow Horses created some expectations for Dead Lions. Herron is too creative by half to meet those "typical" conjectures, but he fulfilled the most important one -- for a funny and cynical sequel with further character development.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Listed in GR sequence, but not necessarily in chronological order:
#1 Slow Horses 4 ☆
#2.5 The List 4 ☆
#3 Real Tigers 4.5 ☆
#4 Spook Street 5 ☆
#5 London Rules 4.5 ☆
#5.5 Marylebone Drop 4 ☆
#6 Joe Country 5 ☆
#6.5 The Catch 4 ☆
#7 Slough House 4.5 ☆
#8 Bad Actors 4 ☆
November 18, 2021
Book 2 in the Slough House series published 2013
A 4 star addition to the series.
I’m going to start by stating the obvious, for most people, that Slough House is where all the MI5 rejects go. These hapless spooks spend their time pushing paper and generally just killing time until retirement or resignation, which ever come first, arrives.
The interesting thing is that as hapless as these ‘slow horses’, as they are called, are they still manage to be a step ahead of all the James Bond types, the ones with all the brain power.
What that says about British intelligence I’ve leave up to you.
A more unlikely bunch of hero can’t be found, even if you looked really hard.
The head of Slough House is Jackson Lamb. Back in the day when Europe was still struggling with the cold war syndrome Jackson Lamb was a force to be reckoned with. But now he is well over weight, chain smoking, hard drinking, renowned for his voluminous farting and the owner of the most acerbic tongue you are ever likely to encounter. But for all that he’s still miles ahead of his nearest rival.
This all starts with the death of Dickie Bow, a long time forgotten spy from the seventies. Forgotten by most but not Jackson Lamb. Who in Gods name, Lamb thought, would want to off Dickie Bow? An alcoholic nobody.
Lamb smells a rat, a big dead one. The paper pushing is put on hold and the hapless Slow Horses go into action. It soon become obvious, when one of their own ends up dead, that this is no minor event. Stranger still, to Lamb, is that the top brass seem to be hell bent on a cover up.
Intrigue seeps from every page as you try to figure out just what the hell is going on.
From the congested street of London to a leafy pastoral country village ‘the games afoot’. But what’s the game and who’s foot is doing the kicking?
As before the writing is impeccable. My one small gripe is the chapter structure. They were long and I found the many changes of character scenarios within the chapter confusing at times. Having to back track to see what I was missing. To be fare, there were line gapes when the character scenarios changed but I managed to miss quite a few of them. One minute I was reading about Lamb and the next he was gone and a different character was on centre stage. Back a couple of pages and there was the line space that I had, once again, missed.
But that is a very minor fault in what was a damned fine read.
A 4 star addition to the series.
I’m going to start by stating the obvious, for most people, that Slough House is where all the MI5 rejects go. These hapless spooks spend their time pushing paper and generally just killing time until retirement or resignation, which ever come first, arrives.
The interesting thing is that as hapless as these ‘slow horses’, as they are called, are they still manage to be a step ahead of all the James Bond types, the ones with all the brain power.
What that says about British intelligence I’ve leave up to you.
A more unlikely bunch of hero can’t be found, even if you looked really hard.
The head of Slough House is Jackson Lamb. Back in the day when Europe was still struggling with the cold war syndrome Jackson Lamb was a force to be reckoned with. But now he is well over weight, chain smoking, hard drinking, renowned for his voluminous farting and the owner of the most acerbic tongue you are ever likely to encounter. But for all that he’s still miles ahead of his nearest rival.
This all starts with the death of Dickie Bow, a long time forgotten spy from the seventies. Forgotten by most but not Jackson Lamb. Who in Gods name, Lamb thought, would want to off Dickie Bow? An alcoholic nobody.
Lamb smells a rat, a big dead one. The paper pushing is put on hold and the hapless Slow Horses go into action. It soon become obvious, when one of their own ends up dead, that this is no minor event. Stranger still, to Lamb, is that the top brass seem to be hell bent on a cover up.
Intrigue seeps from every page as you try to figure out just what the hell is going on.
From the congested street of London to a leafy pastoral country village ‘the games afoot’. But what’s the game and who’s foot is doing the kicking?
As before the writing is impeccable. My one small gripe is the chapter structure. They were long and I found the many changes of character scenarios within the chapter confusing at times. Having to back track to see what I was missing. To be fare, there were line gapes when the character scenarios changed but I managed to miss quite a few of them. One minute I was reading about Lamb and the next he was gone and a different character was on centre stage. Back a couple of pages and there was the line space that I had, once again, missed.
But that is a very minor fault in what was a damned fine read.
October 15, 2023
Dead Lions, the second book in Mick Herron's Slough House series is as good as the first. The same cast of characters returns augmented by two new Slow Horses and an archivist at Regent's Park. These characters are further developed, and they interact more as most of the characters get more page time in this installment. I am engaged and I root for the Slow Horses despite (or maybe because of) their failings. You can be sure that my feelings might be different if I had to work alongside of them.
The deliciously horrible Jackson Lamb sets the putsch in motion, or does he?, by looking into the death of a former Cold War operative as he experiences “the five stages [of grief]: denial, anger, bargaining, indifference, breakfast.” Meanwhile Min Harper and Louisa Guy have been commandeered by Spider Webb at Regent's Park as security for a supposed Russian oligarch.
Herron cleverly brings Cold War echos into the present as he constructs a plot where a good deal isn't what it seems to be. He also continues to show the politics and machinations at Regents’ Park where an audit is underway. Like any corporate run entity, “all the work’s done low on the food chain. Everyone else just has meetings.” Diana Taverner's deflection of a critical decision is masterful here.
In addition to being a good spy story, Herron explores death and grief. How can one move past the loss of those that we care for or are responsible for? Does revenge really leave a good taste in the mouth if carried out? How can one come to accept the permanent void created by the loss?
Two niggles: The plot required a sequence of unlikely decisions. Several sections of the novel truncated with a no-reveal that were continued a bit later; I found the repeated use of this device annoying.
Despite its imperfections Dead Lions is a well written, suspenseful, witty, and funny thriller which is well worth the time. I will be picking up the follow-on novellas soon and eventually moving on to Book 3.
Publication 2013
The deliciously horrible Jackson Lamb sets the putsch in motion, or does he?, by looking into the death of a former Cold War operative as he experiences “the five stages [of grief]: denial, anger, bargaining, indifference, breakfast.” Meanwhile Min Harper and Louisa Guy have been commandeered by Spider Webb at Regent's Park as security for a supposed Russian oligarch.
Herron cleverly brings Cold War echos into the present as he constructs a plot where a good deal isn't what it seems to be. He also continues to show the politics and machinations at Regents’ Park where an audit is underway. Like any corporate run entity, “all the work’s done low on the food chain. Everyone else just has meetings.” Diana Taverner's deflection of a critical decision is masterful here.
In addition to being a good spy story, Herron explores death and grief. How can one move past the loss of those that we care for or are responsible for? Does revenge really leave a good taste in the mouth if carried out? How can one come to accept the permanent void created by the loss?
Two niggles: The plot required a sequence of unlikely decisions. Several sections of the novel truncated with a no-reveal that were continued a bit later; I found the repeated use of this device annoying.
Despite its imperfections Dead Lions is a well written, suspenseful, witty, and funny thriller which is well worth the time. I will be picking up the follow-on novellas soon and eventually moving on to Book 3.
Publication 2013
June 17, 2017
Dead Lions is the second in the Slough House series, which is based on disgraced MI5 agents called slow horses. Most of the slow horses from the first book are here, along with the addition of two new ones. It seems there is a good supply of them.
As in the first book, these spies just can't help themselves. They sneak around, spy on each other, listen through closed doors, and do anything other than the boring work assigned to them. They absolutely distrust the higher-ups in MI5, but would love to be back there. The boss is Jackson Lamb, and he recognizes a name from the past who has recently been found dead on a bus. Thus starts their illicit investigation.
I enjoyed this book just as much as the first. I like the characters a lot. I like the humorous, snarky, sarcastic dialog. I like how the author presents several “fronts” where characters are handling certain tasks and how those “fronts” all come together to reveal the nefarious plans of their opponents.
I plan to read The List, a #2.5 novella shortly. And I’m looking forward to reading the remainder of the series.
As in the first book, these spies just can't help themselves. They sneak around, spy on each other, listen through closed doors, and do anything other than the boring work assigned to them. They absolutely distrust the higher-ups in MI5, but would love to be back there. The boss is Jackson Lamb, and he recognizes a name from the past who has recently been found dead on a bus. Thus starts their illicit investigation.
I enjoyed this book just as much as the first. I like the characters a lot. I like the humorous, snarky, sarcastic dialog. I like how the author presents several “fronts” where characters are handling certain tasks and how those “fronts” all come together to reveal the nefarious plans of their opponents.
I plan to read The List, a #2.5 novella shortly. And I’m looking forward to reading the remainder of the series.
September 19, 2021
If you like characters richly drawn, vivid, snarky descriptions and convoluted plots, this is the book for you. The second in the Slough House series, it paints a story where an old Cold War spy turns up dead on a bus and Jackson Lamb suspects that he was murdered. A trail of clues turns up like breadcrumbs down a path. The clues point to a Russian spy “legend” who inspired stories but was never thought to truly exist, Alexander Popov.
Meanwhile, two of the crew have been requisitioned to help Spider Web, the politically motivated spy master wannabe, “babysit” a Russian oligarch coming to London. The reader can see the two stories have to connect, the joy is in seeing how.
These are such fabulous characters. The “slow horses” have all fallen from grace, either through their own screw ups or because they got in the way of someone else’s climb up the ladder. They lack the polish of the spies on Regent’s Park. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have the smarts to see that things aren’t what they seem.
The writing and descriptions are perfect. The spy world is described as a “mirror game”, a protest as a “rainbow coalition of the pissed off”.
Michael Healy is the perfect narrator for this series.
Meanwhile, two of the crew have been requisitioned to help Spider Web, the politically motivated spy master wannabe, “babysit” a Russian oligarch coming to London. The reader can see the two stories have to connect, the joy is in seeing how.
These are such fabulous characters. The “slow horses” have all fallen from grace, either through their own screw ups or because they got in the way of someone else’s climb up the ladder. They lack the polish of the spies on Regent’s Park. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have the smarts to see that things aren’t what they seem.
The writing and descriptions are perfect. The spy world is described as a “mirror game”, a protest as a “rainbow coalition of the pissed off”.
Michael Healy is the perfect narrator for this series.
July 27, 2023
This next venture into the Slough House realm, which consists of misfits/failures/alcoholics of the MI5 calibre, was a busy one. I saw less of the characters than I would have liked, as I love how they all have failings and are very much flawed. These agents all failed in previous missions and are a dumping ground of miscreants, the 'Slow Horses' are involved with the Russians this time.
They seem to be chasing their tales and I found they weren't on the ball all of the time. But they aren't meant to be perfect, they are either drinking too much, drugging too much, or as Jackson Lamb seems to do often - eating curries, farting, smoking and generally quick to anger with a sharp tongue.
The writing is sharp, black and comedic whilst dealing with life and death and many baddies; one of their own was killed this time. I hope to hear more of their stories in the next installment as I find these drop outs extremely interesting. I wouldn't have thought I would be reading about spooks and espionage, but add to the mix this cast of misfits and it makes for very interesting reading.
EXCELLENT narration by Sean Barrett of Harry Hole fame, I found this an easy listen, he is a wonderful peformer.
They seem to be chasing their tales and I found they weren't on the ball all of the time. But they aren't meant to be perfect, they are either drinking too much, drugging too much, or as Jackson Lamb seems to do often - eating curries, farting, smoking and generally quick to anger with a sharp tongue.
The writing is sharp, black and comedic whilst dealing with life and death and many baddies; one of their own was killed this time. I hope to hear more of their stories in the next installment as I find these drop outs extremely interesting. I wouldn't have thought I would be reading about spooks and espionage, but add to the mix this cast of misfits and it makes for very interesting reading.
EXCELLENT narration by Sean Barrett of Harry Hole fame, I found this an easy listen, he is a wonderful peformer.
December 8, 2021
Enjoyed Book 2 even more!
November 30, 2023
5 stars
short review for busy readers: Round 2 for the "loser spies" branch of MI5 at Slough House. If it's possible, it's even funnier and even more thrilling (with a better plot) than the 1st installment. Same narrative style, almost same characters, same general set up. Series should be read in order.
In detail:
If one day I am able to write as wry, witty dialogue and mix so much literary gimmickry into what is essentially a comedy thriller as Mick Herron, then I shall be most disgustingly and obnoxiously proud of myself.
And he should be, too.
This is brilliant stuff, both from the comedy as well as from the spy circus end. The best of British talent any way you look at it.
Jackson Lamb is just as toxic and just as fatherly towards his stable of screw-ups as ever, River Cartwright is just as cleverly clueless and Roderick Ho just as misanthropically useful. Once again
The enemy this time is a phantom KGB agent who the UK knew during the Cold War didn't exist, but that didn't stop him from running ops in England. Now it seems the phantom has suddenly become active again.
Or has he?
The friend this time is a Russian oil oligarch. Ambitious Regent's Park lickspittle Spider Webb believes he can get the guy to do a little info shifting for MI5 once he's ousted Putin and taken over the Duma, which he's clearly aiming to do.
But we know Spider, and his ambitions are often miles ahead of his brain.
As for the writing, nothing but praise here. I am a big fan of Herron's style in which he slips from scene to scene without letting you know you've moved. One dialogue flows straight into the next and only through what's said or the character speaking do you know which scene you're in.
This allows him to keep your attention running on up to 4 different scenes at the same time without getting them confused, and jump plot twists on you that will have you thinking one thing, when it's really another.
It's unconventional, it's mad, and it's a joy to read. (Even if speed readers and those who want a conventional narration might disagree here, as the style will probably irritate both.)
Fabulous novel, fabulous series, totally recommended (but read in order!)
short review for busy readers: Round 2 for the "loser spies" branch of MI5 at Slough House. If it's possible, it's even funnier and even more thrilling (with a better plot) than the 1st installment. Same narrative style, almost same characters, same general set up. Series should be read in order.
In detail:
If one day I am able to write as wry, witty dialogue and mix so much literary gimmickry into what is essentially a comedy thriller as Mick Herron, then I shall be most disgustingly and obnoxiously proud of myself.
And he should be, too.
This is brilliant stuff, both from the comedy as well as from the spy circus end. The best of British talent any way you look at it.
Jackson Lamb is just as toxic and just as fatherly towards his stable of screw-ups as ever, River Cartwright is just as cleverly clueless and Roderick Ho just as misanthropically useful. Once again
The enemy this time is a phantom KGB agent who the UK knew during the Cold War didn't exist, but that didn't stop him from running ops in England. Now it seems the phantom has suddenly become active again.
Or has he?
The friend this time is a Russian oil oligarch. Ambitious Regent's Park lickspittle Spider Webb believes he can get the guy to do a little info shifting for MI5 once he's ousted Putin and taken over the Duma, which he's clearly aiming to do.
But we know Spider, and his ambitions are often miles ahead of his brain.
As for the writing, nothing but praise here. I am a big fan of Herron's style in which he slips from scene to scene without letting you know you've moved. One dialogue flows straight into the next and only through what's said or the character speaking do you know which scene you're in.
This allows him to keep your attention running on up to 4 different scenes at the same time without getting them confused, and jump plot twists on you that will have you thinking one thing, when it's really another.
It's unconventional, it's mad, and it's a joy to read. (Even if speed readers and those who want a conventional narration might disagree here, as the style will probably irritate both.)
Fabulous novel, fabulous series, totally recommended (but read in order!)
March 10, 2018
This was an excellent sequel to the brilliant Slow Horses. Jackson Lamb and his team of misfits, exiled by MI5 to the backwaters of Slough House, are back at their desks churning through paperwork when an ex-cold war spy is killed on a bus. Jackson Lamb believes his death may be linked to an old Russian spy network that may or may not have existed and the 'slow horses' suddenly find themselves involved in an operation. River Cartwright is dispatched to a sleepy village to hunt for Russian spies while two of Lamb's team are seconded by Spider Webb to help him recruit a wealthy Russian businessman.
This is a complex, multilayered plot that unfolds carefully to pull all the threads together into a thrilling conclusion with enough twists and underhand deals to keep you guessing. The characters are the real strength of this series, particularly the shambolic smoking, drinking, farting, bacon-sandwich eating Lamb who looks incompetent but whose brain is as sharp as ever and remembers everything. River and the rest of the team are keen to work together to redeem themselves with MI5 in the hope that they'll be invited back to head office. Throughout a dry wit and dark humour keeps the characters and their exploits grounded and makes this a very entertaining read.
With thanks to Netgalley and Hachette for a digital copy of this book.
This is a complex, multilayered plot that unfolds carefully to pull all the threads together into a thrilling conclusion with enough twists and underhand deals to keep you guessing. The characters are the real strength of this series, particularly the shambolic smoking, drinking, farting, bacon-sandwich eating Lamb who looks incompetent but whose brain is as sharp as ever and remembers everything. River and the rest of the team are keen to work together to redeem themselves with MI5 in the hope that they'll be invited back to head office. Throughout a dry wit and dark humour keeps the characters and their exploits grounded and makes this a very entertaining read.
With thanks to Netgalley and Hachette for a digital copy of this book.
March 21, 2024
3.5 stars
This is the 2nd book in Mick Herron's 'Slough House' (Slow Horses) series, about British MI5 agents who've made a bad mistake and are relegated to working in a dilapidated building called Slough House. The agents, called 'slow horses', are given nothing but monotonous paperwork to do, and are itching to get back in the game.
The slow horse brigade consists of Catherine Standish - a recovering alcoholic who's well organized and capable.
Louisa Guy - a sharp young woman; and Min Harper - a headstrong young man. These two agents have become romantically involved.
Roderick Ho - a computer whiz;
River Cartwright - an ambitious fellow whose grandfather was an MI5 agent;
Marcus Longridge - a forward-thinking newcomer to Slough House;
and Shirley Dander - a clever woman who's just joined Slough House.
The man in charge of Slough House is former spy master Jackson Lamb, an offensive slob who hurls insults at people, smokes too much, eats too much, and needs to shower and use deodorant. Regardless, Lamb feels compelled to look out for his 'joes' (agents), even those he worked with decades ago.
Thus when a long-ago informer called Dickie Bough is found dead on a bus, Lamb investigates.
Lamb believes Bough was murdered, and his suspicions are confirmed when Lamb finds Bough's cell phone between the bus seats, with an unsent text reading 'Cicadas'.....a word used for Russian sleeper agents. The slow horses are given the task of scanning CCTV footage to look for Dickie Bough and whoever was following him, and to determine where the perpetrator went after killing Dickie.
This eventually leads the investigators to an isolated country town called Upshott, which was built near a military base that has now closed down. The one outstanding feature of Upshott is a flying school and tiny air field, with several residents who fly small planes.
River Cartwright goes to Upshott undercover as a writer, and he mingles with the residents and tries to sniff out skullduggery. River gets involved with a pretty female pilot, which leads to trouble.
While all this is going on, an agent called Spider Webb - who works at Regents Park (the REAL MI5 headquarters) - recruits slow horses Louisa Guy and Min Harper for his own project.
Spider has arranged for a meeting between a Russian oil baron and British representatives, and Louisa and Min are in charge of security for the Russian. Spider believes the oil deal will benefit Britain and result in Spider's own professional advancement.
It turns out that there's a connection between Dickie Bough's death, the town of Upshott, and the Russian oil baron. All this leads to an exciting climax, with the slow horses getting in on the action.
For me, this story - with lots of Russian names - got a little confusing, but Heron's characters and humor make the book worth reading. I keep hoping that miserable worm Spider Webb and his manipulative self-serving boss Diana Taverner will get thrown out of Regents Park, but we'll have to see about that.
The Slough House books have been adapted into mini-series that can be seen on the small screen. However the 'Dead Lions' episodes depart somewhat from the story in the book.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
July 20, 2022
This is the second in the Slough House series, where the ‘Slow Horses’ reside – those M15 operatives who have made mistakes and have been shunted off to do administrative tasks. Slough House is presided over by Jackson Lamb, who, although now he appears to be slovenly, unkempt and cruelly sarcastic, was once an undercover operative during the Cold War and, despite his appearances, is not only still quite capable of out manoeuvring those at the Park, but he is fiercely loyal to those he is responsible for and anyone he considers to be one of his own.
One such was Richard Bough, obviously known as ‘Dickie Bow,’ who was an operative long ago. Still, being a spook, even if you are pensioned off, leaves its mark and when Dickie spots a face he recognises from the past, he immediately begins shadowing him and, when Dickie is found dead, Lamb is not convinced his death was natural. In a separate storyline, Min Harper and Louise Guy are seconded by River Cartwright’s old enemy, Spider, to babysit a Russian oligarch, who is visiting London for, ‘talks about talks.’ All of the Slow Horses are desperate to go back into the field and some of them will get the chance in this book.
Author Mick Herron has created a realistic spy setup, which is less James Bond and more Harry Palmer. There is always the threat of cuts and cost cutting, there is a lot of dark humour and there is real danger. Characters in these novels, and in Slough House, change and that is because there is a very real possibility that they could get killed. A desk is empty and becomes filled by someone else and you realise that these novels work so well because of their sense of realism and the wonderful menace of Lamb, when he shuffles out of his lair and prepares to do battle… The two storylines in this novel are soon linked and there is an exciting and action packed finale, but the real joy of these books are in the characters.
One such was Richard Bough, obviously known as ‘Dickie Bow,’ who was an operative long ago. Still, being a spook, even if you are pensioned off, leaves its mark and when Dickie spots a face he recognises from the past, he immediately begins shadowing him and, when Dickie is found dead, Lamb is not convinced his death was natural. In a separate storyline, Min Harper and Louise Guy are seconded by River Cartwright’s old enemy, Spider, to babysit a Russian oligarch, who is visiting London for, ‘talks about talks.’ All of the Slow Horses are desperate to go back into the field and some of them will get the chance in this book.
Author Mick Herron has created a realistic spy setup, which is less James Bond and more Harry Palmer. There is always the threat of cuts and cost cutting, there is a lot of dark humour and there is real danger. Characters in these novels, and in Slough House, change and that is because there is a very real possibility that they could get killed. A desk is empty and becomes filled by someone else and you realise that these novels work so well because of their sense of realism and the wonderful menace of Lamb, when he shuffles out of his lair and prepares to do battle… The two storylines in this novel are soon linked and there is an exciting and action packed finale, but the real joy of these books are in the characters.
August 23, 2024
Nice to see a sequel as good if not better than the first. Reading the Jackson Lamb Slow Horses series my mate in Switzerland sent me. As it is unlikely he will send anymore I will be reading slowly ie not in quick succession.
This story has Jackson Lamb and his team of deadbeats exiled from MI6 proper to Slough House (slow horses) identifying a Russian sleeper cell in a quaint English village. And dealing with a dangerous Russian gangster.
After watching the series on Apple TV the characters and story are well known. Lamb is the antithesis of James Bond. He is a bad tempered, flatulent, whisky drinking, fat and dirty clothed man. But his skills as an agent are not to be denied.
The book is overfilled with great comic exchanges and the initial description of the cat observing the Slough house characters at the beginning and a mouse doing the same at the end is sublime. Mick Herron has created a great series.
‘Speaking of legs,’ said Jackson Lamb and raised his so they stuck out horizontally, then farted. ‘I was always going to do that, too,’ he pointed out. He put his feet back on the ground. ‘Doesn’t make it any less effective.’
Whatever you thought of Lamb’s act, nobody ever accused his farts of lacking authenticity.
Ok so it is unlikely Herron will be getting many Booker prize nominations. But for great comic stories he is the man😉
December 19, 2018
"Dead Lions," Molly said.
"What about them?"
"It's a kids' party game. You have to pretend to be dead. Lie still. Do nothing."
4.5★ - & it possibly would have been higher if I had read the first book, Slow Horses. Possibly. There are a couple of loose threads towards the end of the book that bothered me a bit.
So I'm rating on what I experienced, & for me the start was very confusing, but this thriller went on to be fast paced, exciting & very hard to put down. It was also full of lines that made me giggle.
Lamb stood, gazed at the nearest tree as if in sudden awe of nature, lifted a heel from the ground and farted.
"Sign of a good curry," he said, "Sometimes they just bubble about inside you for ages."
"I keep meaning to ask why you have never married," River said.
River. The cast of this book have great names & nicknames like Dicky Bow & "Spider" Webb. Herron is a modern Dickens in this regard. Based on this book, I think this series would film really well, & hope that the Slow Horses mentioned on IMDB is the one from this series - & I almost never want to see books I enjoy filmed. But I think the BBC could make a good series of this one.
July 31, 2018
As Dickie Bow followed the hood, keeping him/it in sight, it felt good to be back on the job – even though no one else knew about it. The problem with the trains meant the frustrated commuters queued to catch the replacement buses, so Dickie kept the hood in view and stepped onto the same bus, sitting two seats behind him.
But when Dickie was found dead at the end of the route, Jackson Lamb – head of Slough House, where the disgraced MI5 spies were put out to pasture – was positive Dickie had been murdered. And he knew he needed to find the answers. His misfit agents in their search for the truth found a dark web of Cold War secrets. Danger was afoot; people would die; but Lamb wanted to know - did Dickie die of natural causes, or was it murder?
Humerous and dark, Dead Lions by Mick Herron is the 2nd in the Slough House series and though there are many characters, the odious Jackson Lamb stands out. Always one step ahead of the rest, with his often rude and snarky comments he runs Slough House with aplomb. Twists and turns are littered with dry humour and sarcasm – the plot is complex and entertaining. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy to read and review.
But when Dickie was found dead at the end of the route, Jackson Lamb – head of Slough House, where the disgraced MI5 spies were put out to pasture – was positive Dickie had been murdered. And he knew he needed to find the answers. His misfit agents in their search for the truth found a dark web of Cold War secrets. Danger was afoot; people would die; but Lamb wanted to know - did Dickie die of natural causes, or was it murder?
Humerous and dark, Dead Lions by Mick Herron is the 2nd in the Slough House series and though there are many characters, the odious Jackson Lamb stands out. Always one step ahead of the rest, with his often rude and snarky comments he runs Slough House with aplomb. Twists and turns are littered with dry humour and sarcasm – the plot is complex and entertaining. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy to read and review.
May 13, 2024
A worthy sequel to Slow Horses. Jackson Lamb is the star of the show again, but the other members of his motley team get a chance to shine, or, as it happens, mostly not. Black humour mixed with spy craft and throwbacks to the Cold War, le Carre and Len Deighton. Much to enjoy and looking forward to the next one.
March 22, 2018
2 stars
This starts out reasonably well, with an old-time Le Carré atmosphere updated to modern London. However, halfway through, the wobbly plot gets stupid-silly, and the characters turn into cartoons.
There was more humour starting in the second 1/4 and continuing some of the way through. Herron's wit and humour are pretty good. This is often good fun, without detracting from the seriousness of the mystery and spycraft!
Nice moment of history for River:
River Cartwright was a spook because that’s what his grandfather was. Not had been: was. Some professions you never gave up, long after they were over. David Cartwright was a Service legend, but the way he told it, the same held true for the lowliest bagman: you could change sides, sell your secrets, offer your memoirs to the highest bidder, but once a spook you were always a spook, and everything else was just cover.
Cute:
Women were born spooks, and could smell betrayal before it happened.
River's grandad, the O.B., considering River's suspicions about Lamb...
That woodlouse: it had scuttered about in evident fear, and at the last second had thrown itself into the flames below, as if death were preferable to the moments spent waiting for it.
Alexander Popov hadn’t existed. He wondered if that were still the case. He continued to stare into the dying fire for some while. But in the way of things that were dying, it didn’t reveal anything he didn’t already know.
At about halfway through, both Taverner and Webb agree to the silliest and most outrageous cartoon operation to recruit a Russian bigwig. No way any sane person would agree to any of this, no matter how avaricious and power-hungry.
From there on, the plot gets sillier and sillier, more and more chaotic and choppy. By the last 1/4 of the book, the point of view changes with almost every paragraph. What a nasty, stupid mess.
Ugh.
Notes:
5.0% ".... I'm reminded of the London
"Poison-tip umbrella assassination of Georgi Markov" here."
25.0% "Much more assured than "Slow Horses", with good pacing, interesting expansion of the main characters, and a good central mystery. Great stuff!"
57.0% ".. I'm insulted by the stupidity of "the Needle" sub-plot, and that even with insane lust for power, anyone over the age of 8 would fall for this crap. Bad deal,Herron. Ugh"
58.0% "... But it was like being in New York, where someone could ask you the time in a way that suggested you’d just punched their mother."
66.0% "... far less happy with this now. Plot keeps getting sillier."
76.0% "... again, my least favourite lazy writing tactic: To have a character see or hear something that the author withholds. Grrrrrrr"
78.0% "... Herron blatantly steals the "Molly" character from Le Carré. Too blatant to be homage. Ugh"
81.0% "... all shoe and no footprint...
Similar to Texas "all hat and no cattle"..."
89.0% "... incredibly choppy, confused climax. A cartoon spy story of laughable stupidity. Ugh."
.
This starts out reasonably well, with an old-time Le Carré atmosphere updated to modern London. However, halfway through, the wobbly plot gets stupid-silly, and the characters turn into cartoons.
There was more humour starting in the second 1/4 and continuing some of the way through. Herron's wit and humour are pretty good. This is often good fun, without detracting from the seriousness of the mystery and spycraft!
Nice moment of history for River:
River Cartwright was a spook because that’s what his grandfather was. Not had been: was. Some professions you never gave up, long after they were over. David Cartwright was a Service legend, but the way he told it, the same held true for the lowliest bagman: you could change sides, sell your secrets, offer your memoirs to the highest bidder, but once a spook you were always a spook, and everything else was just cover.
Cute:
Women were born spooks, and could smell betrayal before it happened.
River's grandad, the O.B., considering River's suspicions about Lamb...
That woodlouse: it had scuttered about in evident fear, and at the last second had thrown itself into the flames below, as if death were preferable to the moments spent waiting for it.
Alexander Popov hadn’t existed. He wondered if that were still the case. He continued to stare into the dying fire for some while. But in the way of things that were dying, it didn’t reveal anything he didn’t already know.
At about halfway through, both Taverner and Webb agree to the silliest and most outrageous cartoon operation to recruit a Russian bigwig. No way any sane person would agree to any of this, no matter how avaricious and power-hungry.
From there on, the plot gets sillier and sillier, more and more chaotic and choppy. By the last 1/4 of the book, the point of view changes with almost every paragraph. What a nasty, stupid mess.
Ugh.
Notes:
5.0% ".... I'm reminded of the London
"Poison-tip umbrella assassination of Georgi Markov" here."
25.0% "Much more assured than "Slow Horses", with good pacing, interesting expansion of the main characters, and a good central mystery. Great stuff!"
57.0% ".. I'm insulted by the stupidity of "the Needle" sub-plot, and that even with insane lust for power, anyone over the age of 8 would fall for this crap. Bad deal,Herron. Ugh"
58.0% "... But it was like being in New York, where someone could ask you the time in a way that suggested you’d just punched their mother."
66.0% "... far less happy with this now. Plot keeps getting sillier."
76.0% "... again, my least favourite lazy writing tactic: To have a character see or hear something that the author withholds. Grrrrrrr"
78.0% "... Herron blatantly steals the "Molly" character from Le Carré. Too blatant to be homage. Ugh"
81.0% "... all shoe and no footprint...
Similar to Texas "all hat and no cattle"..."
89.0% "... incredibly choppy, confused climax. A cartoon spy story of laughable stupidity. Ugh."
.
July 30, 2022
Reread July 2022
... On a reread we can see exactly how clever Herron is in placing all the pieces in precisely the right place for the story to unravel to plan. However, I can't help feeling that the Pashkin strand is just a little too clever for its own good. On the other hand, the Popov story is brilliant: the tangled identities, the cicadas, the village
-------------------------------------
In this second of his Slough House series, Herron gives us another sly take on the old skool spy novel lifting it into something contemporary. The set-up is that Slough House is where the washed-up spies go, the ones who have made a spectacular mistake such as leaving a top-secret file on the Tube, or spending their days gambling or drinking before being caught. Now under the malign management of the brilliantly-conceived Jackson Lamb, the under-dogs come into their own against MI5 when a man is found dead on a bus in Oxford leaving a cryptic clue about a mythical KGB sleeper plot.
I would strongly recommend that you read Slow Horses first as the wonderful characters are delineated there in more detail. Herron writes with real character and flair, and his sardonic narrative voice is one of the things that makes these books so clever and enjoyable. One of his tricks is to take an established thriller plot (the kidnapping by extremists in the first book; a long-secret KGB plot here) and give it a twist, then another, so that it feels fresh again. He's also not afraid to kill off main characters so we can't relax and take anything for granted here, and the combination of real risk and danger with a cynical sense of humour and a murky sense of realpolitik makes these books topical and contemporary.
A fresh and refreshing take on the spy novel.
... On a reread we can see exactly how clever Herron is in placing all the pieces in precisely the right place for the story to unravel to plan. However, I can't help feeling that the Pashkin strand is just a little too clever for its own good. On the other hand, the Popov story is brilliant: the tangled identities, the cicadas, the village
-------------------------------------
In this second of his Slough House series, Herron gives us another sly take on the old skool spy novel lifting it into something contemporary. The set-up is that Slough House is where the washed-up spies go, the ones who have made a spectacular mistake such as leaving a top-secret file on the Tube, or spending their days gambling or drinking before being caught. Now under the malign management of the brilliantly-conceived Jackson Lamb, the under-dogs come into their own against MI5 when a man is found dead on a bus in Oxford leaving a cryptic clue about a mythical KGB sleeper plot.
I would strongly recommend that you read Slow Horses first as the wonderful characters are delineated there in more detail. Herron writes with real character and flair, and his sardonic narrative voice is one of the things that makes these books so clever and enjoyable. One of his tricks is to take an established thriller plot (the kidnapping by extremists in the first book; a long-secret KGB plot here) and give it a twist, then another, so that it feels fresh again. He's also not afraid to kill off main characters so we can't relax and take anything for granted here, and the combination of real risk and danger with a cynical sense of humour and a murky sense of realpolitik makes these books topical and contemporary.
A fresh and refreshing take on the spy novel.
January 31, 2018
This is the 2nd book in the Slough House series by author Mick Herron.
I appear to be in the minority but I personally struggled to connect with this novel and found it hard work. Thankfully for the author there are plenty of people who disagree with me but an honest review is what I promised.
Slough House is where all failed MI5 spies go to carry out trivial chores because they have messed up on the job. One thing they all have in common, though, is they all want to be back in the action. When an old Cold War-era spy is found dead on a bus outside Oxford, far from his usual haunts. The despicable, irascible Jackson Lamb is convinced Dickie Bow was murdered. The agents uncover a shadowy tangle of ancient Cold War secrets that seem to lead back to a man named Alexander Popov, who is either a Soviet bogeyman or the most dangerous man in the world.
I liked the idea of failed spies trying to resurrect their careers and there were some very promising characters in the book, but maybe a few too many to keep track of. I am not put off easily and will try another one in the series and who knows I may be converted.
I would like to thank Net Galley and John Murray Press for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I appear to be in the minority but I personally struggled to connect with this novel and found it hard work. Thankfully for the author there are plenty of people who disagree with me but an honest review is what I promised.
Slough House is where all failed MI5 spies go to carry out trivial chores because they have messed up on the job. One thing they all have in common, though, is they all want to be back in the action. When an old Cold War-era spy is found dead on a bus outside Oxford, far from his usual haunts. The despicable, irascible Jackson Lamb is convinced Dickie Bow was murdered. The agents uncover a shadowy tangle of ancient Cold War secrets that seem to lead back to a man named Alexander Popov, who is either a Soviet bogeyman or the most dangerous man in the world.
I liked the idea of failed spies trying to resurrect their careers and there were some very promising characters in the book, but maybe a few too many to keep track of. I am not put off easily and will try another one in the series and who knows I may be converted.
I would like to thank Net Galley and John Murray Press for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
April 30, 2021
A face in the crowd, a blast from the past, and washed up MI5, Cold War spy, Dickie Bow, is off pursuing an old Russian nemesis. Regent Park, MI5 headquarters, has their own Russian oligarch to follow and what ensues is a smoke and mirrors game that involves Jackson Lamb and his dishonored staff from Slough House.
I’m not sure who is more despicable - the belching, chain smoking Jackson Lamb or Roddy Ho, the arrogant, anti-social, internet geek. But, they both have enviable characteristics and this just goes to show how creative Herron’s characterizations are.
What a fun series this is!
I’m not sure who is more despicable - the belching, chain smoking Jackson Lamb or Roddy Ho, the arrogant, anti-social, internet geek. But, they both have enviable characteristics and this just goes to show how creative Herron’s characterizations are.
What a fun series this is!
October 23, 2020
Dead Lions is the second novel in the Slough House series by British author, Mick Herron. Slough House is where the spook screw-ups from MI5 who, for some reason or other, can’t be sacked, are sent. There they are set such tedious, mind-numbing tasks it’s hoped they will be fed-up enough to quit. Slough House doesn’t have a big staff, currently just seven under the control of Jackson Lamb. They had a bit of unexpected action a few months ago, so there are empty desks and a few new faces.
Ordinarily, there are no ops from Slough House: the Slow Horses can’t be trusted with anything that matters. But the recent death, on a bus, of Cold War spy, Dickie Bow has Jackson Lamb looking closer, and soon his smartest young spy, River Cartwright is in place in a sleepy Cotswolds village trying to track down a Russian agent. Meanwhile, two of Lamb’s slow horses are seconded by River’s nemesis at Regent’s Park, James (Spider) Webb, for “babysitting” duty in Russian oil talks. Is there a connection?
Once again, Herron gives the reader a fast-paced spy novel of a very different sort. The premise is original, and the execution is inspired. The characters are all credibly flawed, their dialogue is full of dry wit, and there is plenty of humour, most of it very black and very British, with an abundance of laugh out loud moments. There are twists and red herrings and the reader will find it hard not to cheer these misfits on as they do their best. Readers will be pleased to learn there are two and a half further volumes of this series for their entertainment and enjoyment. Another brilliant read!
Ordinarily, there are no ops from Slough House: the Slow Horses can’t be trusted with anything that matters. But the recent death, on a bus, of Cold War spy, Dickie Bow has Jackson Lamb looking closer, and soon his smartest young spy, River Cartwright is in place in a sleepy Cotswolds village trying to track down a Russian agent. Meanwhile, two of Lamb’s slow horses are seconded by River’s nemesis at Regent’s Park, James (Spider) Webb, for “babysitting” duty in Russian oil talks. Is there a connection?
Once again, Herron gives the reader a fast-paced spy novel of a very different sort. The premise is original, and the execution is inspired. The characters are all credibly flawed, their dialogue is full of dry wit, and there is plenty of humour, most of it very black and very British, with an abundance of laugh out loud moments. There are twists and red herrings and the reader will find it hard not to cheer these misfits on as they do their best. Readers will be pleased to learn there are two and a half further volumes of this series for their entertainment and enjoyment. Another brilliant read!
August 14, 2023
The fun of these books is seeing familiar faces again and enjoying the smart dialogue, which often has me laughing out loud. The things I would normally read spy fiction for – some plausible tradecraft, credible insights into international relations, the pleasure of intelligent company – are, on the other hand, largely absent, since the plot of this one is completely ludicrous, and, especially in the second half, involves people making decisions that would be ridiculous for high schoolers, let alone intelligence agents.
Still, the characters are so much fun to spend time with. The final act of this one became so implausible that it did take me out of it a bit, but for at least the first half I was having a great time.
Still, the characters are so much fun to spend time with. The final act of this one became so implausible that it did take me out of it a bit, but for at least the first half I was having a great time.
October 2, 2023
This was great fun.
In this volume the Slow Horses of Slough House, for people supposedly relegated to clerical make-work, see a lot of exciting (and very dangerous) action. For which, as usual, they receive no accolades and plenty of blame. Because their real function is to be scapegoats for Regents Park.
The cast of the previous volume reappears, along with some new players. The Slow Horses include those of the previous crew still in play. This group consists of the abusive, unhygienic, and very cagey Jackson Lamb; River Cartwright, grandson of a legendary retired spy; Catherine Standish, reformed alcoholic and Lamb’s conscience and unofficial right hand; Louisa Guy and Min Harper, who are an item; and the obnoxious geek and hacker Roderick Ho. There are two new faces at Slough House: the dykey Shirley Dander; and Marcus Longridge, black, inquisitive, highly competent in an emergency, and deadly if he needs to be.
Familiar faces from Regents Park include Second Desk Diana Taverner, Lamb’s wily adversary (who claims that one of the new Slow Horses is reporting to her); the ambitious James “Spider” Webb, who double crossed River Cartwright in the last book; and Nick Duffy, head Dog.
We are introduced to a bunch of new characters, including a gaggle of Russians and some locals in a quiet English village called Upshott.
The action starts when an old associate of River’s granddad is murdered on a bus, in a way that’s mistaken for a heart attack.
The tangled web is woven and then unravels rapidly.
If you like spy novels, you’ll probably enjoy this.
Unfortunately a more recent audio narrated by English actor Gerard Doyle was not available at my library, so I was stuck with an older version narrated by Michael Healy. Healy was a terrible narrator. He read the whole thing in an obviously fake British aristo accent. He didn’t give all the characters distinctive voices. His reading lacked emotion. If you’re going to listen to this get the Gerard Doyle version instead.
In this volume the Slow Horses of Slough House, for people supposedly relegated to clerical make-work, see a lot of exciting (and very dangerous) action. For which, as usual, they receive no accolades and plenty of blame. Because their real function is to be scapegoats for Regents Park.
The cast of the previous volume reappears, along with some new players. The Slow Horses include those of the previous crew still in play. This group consists of the abusive, unhygienic, and very cagey Jackson Lamb; River Cartwright, grandson of a legendary retired spy; Catherine Standish, reformed alcoholic and Lamb’s conscience and unofficial right hand; Louisa Guy and Min Harper, who are an item; and the obnoxious geek and hacker Roderick Ho. There are two new faces at Slough House: the dykey Shirley Dander; and Marcus Longridge, black, inquisitive, highly competent in an emergency, and deadly if he needs to be.
Familiar faces from Regents Park include Second Desk Diana Taverner, Lamb’s wily adversary (who claims that one of the new Slow Horses is reporting to her); the ambitious James “Spider” Webb, who double crossed River Cartwright in the last book; and Nick Duffy, head Dog.
We are introduced to a bunch of new characters, including a gaggle of Russians and some locals in a quiet English village called Upshott.
The action starts when an old associate of River’s granddad is murdered on a bus, in a way that’s mistaken for a heart attack.
The tangled web is woven and then unravels rapidly.
If you like spy novels, you’ll probably enjoy this.
Unfortunately a more recent audio narrated by English actor Gerard Doyle was not available at my library, so I was stuck with an older version narrated by Michael Healy. Healy was a terrible narrator. He read the whole thing in an obviously fake British aristo accent. He didn’t give all the characters distinctive voices. His reading lacked emotion. If you’re going to listen to this get the Gerard Doyle version instead.
September 23, 2022
I had to do a fair bit of re-winding while listening to this book of intrigue, as I needed to pay attention to the details to understand what was going on! Great writing and a narrator with a nuanced voice meant re-listening was a joy rather than a chore.
Here are some examples of the writing that truly flowed and held my interest:
"His gaze turned towards the windows. These overlooked the park across the road, and because it was mid-morning there was a lot of pre-school traffic out there: women, prams, toddlers exploring grass verges. A car backfired and a flock of pigeons erupted, swam a figure eight through the air and resettled on the lawn."
"Dark night air rushed in eager to explore this brand new space."
"What's left of our careers will be spent sorting the post. That's what keeps life interesting on the hub."
Here are some examples of the writing that truly flowed and held my interest:
"His gaze turned towards the windows. These overlooked the park across the road, and because it was mid-morning there was a lot of pre-school traffic out there: women, prams, toddlers exploring grass verges. A car backfired and a flock of pigeons erupted, swam a figure eight through the air and resettled on the lawn."
"Dark night air rushed in eager to explore this brand new space."
"What's left of our careers will be spent sorting the post. That's what keeps life interesting on the hub."
September 19, 2020
Una verdadera gozada. Novela de espías con el toque de humor británico que te hace devorar las páginas con una continua sonrisa. Para pasar un buen rato, galería de personajes maravillosos encabezados por un Jackson Lamb sublime . Muy recomendable.
July 27, 2022
Segunda parte de la saga de los 'caballos lentos', esos espías metepatas que han sido confinados a una especie de oficina siniestra, Slough House (la Casa de la Ciénaga), donde su principal función es no hacer nada. Aquí los vamos conociendo más a fondo, algunos que ya aparecían en la primera parte, Caballos lentos, y otros son nuevos fichajes.
También en este caso los caballos lentos se implicarán en la resolución de una conspiración, que aquí implica a antiguos espías soviéticos de los años de la Guerra Fría.
Me ha resultado entretenida y a ratos muy divertida, con un humor muy British; casi me ha gustado más que la primera parte.
3,5*
También en este caso los caballos lentos se implicarán en la resolución de una conspiración, que aquí implica a antiguos espías soviéticos de los años de la Guerra Fría.
Me ha resultado entretenida y a ratos muy divertida, con un humor muy British; casi me ha gustado más que la primera parte.
3,5*
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