great addition to the series. I'm really enjoying these crazy characters and the twists and turns. Go Lamb! ( )

This is your classic slow burner of a book, please don't get me wrong in no way is the book boring. Clever engaging and interesting from the start, but about half way through I could not turn the pages quick enough, as the mystery suspense and tension ratcheted up. Quality writing and superb characterisation throughout.
Completely and utterly recommended. ( )

Third in the Slough House series (I've read the first so far) which I discovered thanks to the Apple TV+ adaptations. I love the series, and am equally impressed by the source material. In this volume the Slow Horses once again become pawns in the game of the high and mighty in Regents Square and Whitehall. ...and once again the unlikely rag tag band of failed spies come out ahead. A little grittier and more local than the adaptation, this is beautifully written, a seedy world inhabited by flawed characters. I think Mick Herron is the 21st Century's answer to John LeCarre. Highly recommended. ( )

Because I enjoy the Slow House series on AppleTV so much, I decided to try reading the books. This is the second in the series. I absolutely love the books, and they are better than the series, which I love as well. In this book Jackson Lamb and his intrepid fleet of misfits, are on the tail of an old Soviet spy from the Cold War. Each member of the team is on their own separate mission to determine what is going on after an old spy is found dead on a London bus, apparently the victim of a heart attack. Based on the piece of paper that is found on the body, Jackson Lamb knows that there is much more to this story than what it appears. He sends River Cartwright to the Cotswolds near an old, probably defunct air base. Two other "slow horses" are sent into the heart of London to try to track an old Soviet spy that no one is convinced is still alive. Jackson Lamb, meanwhile, digs deep into his prodigious memory from the Cold War, and taps into some old allies that were familiar with the politics and spy craft from that time. Far be it for Lamb to tell his band of reprobates what it is he's looking for, so it's not a surprise when they all find themselves in all kinds of trouble. But, misfits that they are, this crew of Lamb's finds themselves in very scary situations, and they manage to turn it all around, spin it inside out, until they get to the heart of the problem. I highly recommend this series. The characters are believable and the plots have more twists and turns than you really expect going in. Wonderful series, and the television series manages to get very close to the original intent of the author. Highly recommend. ( )

Better than Slow Horses ( )