Slow Horses (Deluxe Edition) (Slough House)

Slough House—Slough rhymes with cow—is where Britain’s MI5 sends intelligence officers it doesn’t want but won’t fire, in hope that the sheer drudgery of their assignments, combined with the dreadfulness of their boss, will lead those agents to quit. Some do. The ones who stick around are called “slow horses,” hence the title of this book. Slow Horses opens with MI5 officer River Cartwright tracking a suspected terrorist through King’s Cross, one of Lond’s major railway stations. Unfortunately, the terrorist detonates a suicide vest before he can be apprehended, killing scores and causing millions in damage, billions in lost tourism revenue. Just not in reality. The entire episode was a training episode taking place at King’s Cross. Yes, thousands of commuters were actually evacuated from the station, but other than that, no harm, no foul—except that Cartwright gets sent down to Slough House for crashing King’s Cross. There, we might other denizens of this realm, which is governed by the rude, crude Cold War spymaster Jackson Lamb, who inherited his dominion for reasons that become clear only later in the novel. The plot of Slow Horses centers on the kidnapping of a British subject, though by whom and for what reason is not immediately apparent. All that is known is that the kidnappers will decapitate him in 48 hours. Everyone naturally expects Muslim terrorists. But here’s the thing: the victim is Muslim, but the terrorists are not. With everyone’s assumptions turned upside down, MI5 has the job of finding the victim before the kidnappers separate his head from his shoulders. Then Slough House gets dragged into the mess in more ways than one, putting them in the crosshairs. The only solution? The slow horses need to outrace the Park—that is, Regent’s Park, where MI5 is headquartered—before they get stabbed in the back. Slow Horses is the first in a series of novels by Mick Herron that focus on Slough House. It is a brilliant introduction to the characters and the series, and its plots are filled with enough twists to induce motion sickness. It’s a page-turner that keeps you in suspense to the end, marveling at the depths of deception spies are capable of. The dialogue is razor sharp. And the characters—especially Jackson Lamb—are sharply and hilariously drawn. So, five stars from me. Read this book, then keep reading the entire series!

Concise and compact, this stuffs a lot of plot, action and a great cast of characters into a surprisingly short book. It moves fast and jumps around, mostly in an endearing way (but see the last paragraph). The characters shine through anyway, especially Jackson Lamb. The twists and turns are great and the arrogance of the powerful is sort of classic here. If you've seen the brilliant TV series, this is still worth a read, even though the series Season 1 is rather close to this direct-line plot, which often seems perfectly written for the screen. It is easy to see Gary Oldman speaking when Jackson Lamb is on the page here. The TV version admittedly does make this book a lot less essential. It's common for readers to say "The book is better," but I don't think that is true here. The TV series is notably more fleshed out (while remaining faithful to the book and characters) and frankly more interesting, given how good the cast is and the length of time they have to work. They bring this book to life in a way this short book can't quite equal. If I had a quibble, it related less to the book--so, I'm not dinging another star--and more to the Kindle formatting of the book. As noted, it moves around fast. There are quick cuts within chapters, minor scene changes, that are not set off in any way. For example, there aren't caps beginning a new segment. (Some major cuts/scene changes have caps at the beginning of the new segment, but these quicker cuts do not.) Nor for these quick cuts do they use characters to space things out (like ##, whatever and so on). They just make a routine line break of no consequence--not even a double line break--and are then onto the next character's short scene. For example, on page 198 of my Kindle edition (as displayed on my phone) the last line of a conversation between Lamb and Taverner is: "How could this get worse?" Line break. The next sentence is: "'Because it's got to be stopped,' Hobden said." If anything, that cut gives a clue since Hobden is not part of the Lamb-Taverner conversation, but it at first looks like it is part of that conversation. Having to re-orient so quickly as the text blends into one scene after another is a little disorienting. Some formatting help would be nice.

Having read the latest book in this spy series, I went back to read the first to see if it was as enjoyable. The answer is yes. This first book introduces the reader to a cast of characters, most of them British spies (MI5) who have been sidelined for various mistakes they made in field operations. They have been relegated to Slough House, a run-down building compared to the other agents’ lodgings in Regent’s Park. Jackson Lamb is the head of the Slough House group, derisively known as the “slow horses.” Lamb is opposed to personal hygiene and is challenging to get along with. He is, however, a formidable spy. His team gets the clerical drudgery work. All his group yearns to be back in action in the field and to be taken seriously. River Cartwright is a relatively new team member. He arrived at Slough House after a professional rival sabotaged an assignment he was running. Cartwright was blamed. His latest task has been to collect the household trash of a retired investigative journalist, Robert Hobden. Cartwright upends the garbage in his office, rooting through eggshells, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps, and used tissues to find clues. Of what, he’s not sure. Lamb wasn’t specific. His attractive officemate, Sid, however, has bested him by copying a flash drive of Hobden’s computer files. Cartwright is both maddened and energized. Then Lamb sends him to deliver Sid’s prize to his nemesis at Regent’s Park, the one who got him sent to Slough House. He is not well pleased. Meanwhile, a critical situation is developing that has British intelligence’s attention. A boy named Hassan Ahmed has been abducted off the street on his way to a comedy club. In a live feed, the kidnappers show Ahmed bound to a chair and state they will behead Ahmed in 48 hours. No other information is given. Another party listening to the live feed is Robert Hobden, whose journalistic instincts kick in, and he begins chasing the story. He has inside information. Cartwright and Sid are on Hobden’s trail, sure that he has information that could help their efforts. While they watch Hobden, intruders break into Hobden’s apartment. The two agents move into action. One of them is shot and doesn’t get up. In the chaos that follows, Lamb and his team start looking much closer to home rather than at an unknown terrorist or neo-fascist group. The author, Mick Herron, has a unique writing style that is both sharply witty and observant of human weaknesses. He offers a fast-paced plot and fleshed-out POV characters packaged with a generous dollop of British humor. If you’re looking for a supremely entertaining spy story, you need to read this one.

In general, I tend to stay away from books that are part of a series. I find that it is all too easy for these to settle into a pattern…which is both good and bad. The 4th book in a series should remind you of what hooked you in the first book of the series, but if it starts repeating too many of the same tricks from that first book…well, then you start to lose your audience. I read “Slow Horses” after a teaser for the Apple TV show piqued my curiosity. I am one that usually likes to have read the source material before watching the show or movie. The praise this book has earned is definitely warranted. The characters have some depth (knowing it is the first in a series means that you expect only a certain amount of development). By the end you have a solid grasp of who each character is, but there is ample room for backstory. Herron’s style take a little bit to grab you, but as the main plot starts to kick in, you’ll find yourself flying through the pages. What I enjoyed most is the melding of elements. There is all of the traditional “spy stuff” that you’re wanting after reading the jacket cover of the book. There’s suspense, twists and turns to the story, and a surprising amount of humor. I found myself chuckling out loud a few times as the slow horses rose to the occasion. That said, Herron never makes them feel like super heroes — they are just normal people that have an untapped or forgotten gear. They still have their faults and they still make mistakes alog the way. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good espionage tale. I am not sure if I’ll end up devoting my reading time to the full series, but the first installment was great and has me looking forward to giving the next book a try, and I can easily imagine that these characters will lend themselves to making this a series worth keeping up with. Even if devoting hours to a series is not your thing, spending a little time with these characters is something you won’t regret.

There's a place where disgraced spies go. It's called Slough House and it's ruled by Jackson Lamb, a former top spy. If you're a spy, several things can get you assigned to Slough House. Maybe you messed up an assignment so badly that no one trusts you to ever get it right. Maybe you slept with the wrong person. Maybe you were done in by a coworker who wanted that promotion you were about to get and sabotaged you. Regardless, once you're there, you're not leaving. In London, everyone is transfixed to their television or laptops. A young man has been kidnapped and a group of men say they are going to behead him online. Who could he be and who are the group behind the kidnapping? The young man is named Hassan and he is from a Pakistani immigrant family; his uncle who stayed behind is high up in the government. As to who kidnapped him, the group claiming credit is called Sons Of Albion but who are they? Back at Slough House, several of the agents get caught up in the event. River Cartwright has a family history of working for the government as a spy but failed his assessment and ended up stealing trash of a character of interest and going through it for clues. Sid shares an office with him and there are some sparks between her and River. Catherine is the oldest resident of Slough House and is the former secretary of the former head of MI5 before he was disgraced and she became an alcoholic. There is a computer whiz and an agent who left classified material on a train. But all see the event as a chance to make good and maybe make it back into the ranks of MI5. Except Lamb. He sees through the plot to what is really going on behind the scenes. Although he hates to get involved, he hasn't forgotten his skills or his ability to protect himself and those around him when he can be bothered to. This is the first in the Slough House series of which there are currently nine novels. In this one, we are introduced to the series characters, especially Lamb and Cartwright. The plotting is tight and the language is spot on and full of wry reserved English humor. Readers who read this one will turn the last page determined to start the next in the series and find out what's in store for the Slough House characters. This book is recommended for spy and thriller readers.

The story was absolutely fun! The characters were so well-written and full of life. The TV show did a pretty good job of following the book, except for the ending. I would recommend reading the book first, though. I knew what was coming and it wasn’t as fun to discover the big twists. It also took a bit to get the plot going, but overall, it was a great book.

This is the opening book in the Slough House series, Slough House being the (fictional) place where the British MI5 relegates agents no longer approved for active duty. I resisted reading it for quite a while, despite repeated endorsements, but finally succumbed. A good decision. This is a very good, very entertaining book. The prose is always well crafted, occasionally artful, often funny. The plot builds toward a riveting final third, achieving this without threats of nuclear bombs or a hefty body count. I anticipated various developments while being satisfactorily surprised by others. It's neither science fiction nor fantasy, my usual reading diet, yet it is a type of fantasy. A fantasy of a world of sidelined heroes and glamorous espionage. I loved that this story's heroes are rejects of one form or another. I loved that the book made me want to believe the best of them, and the points when it let me do so. I loved the resolution of the thread with Hassan. Five out of five slow stars. P.S. The edition I read had a bonus short story, also very good. About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

I watched this series on TV before reading the books and the books are even better! I love the series. Gary Oldman IS Jackson Lamb. The plot is interesting and convoluted. The characters are fully developed. I love the writing although I admit I have to stop and look up some British slang words. Kindle is a great help. I find the writing tight and even though there is backstory and a look inside what a character is thinking, it doesn't drag on for page after page, my pet peeve. Herron isn't afraid to kill off characters. But Jackson Lamb! He's worth the price of admission. I cannot speak to whether this really reflects what goes on in the spook world of MI5 but I can say that in my long career experience I've met the Diana Traveners and Spider Webbs of the world so their characters ring true to me.

Well written, both serious and funny. If the rest of the series is this good I'll be happy.

Excellent

One of the best books i have ever read

A non-stop read. With fascinating characters, this vibrant, exciting novel is hard to put down. Looking forward to book 2

A great read. Love the unusual humour and the fantastic character development. Great writing.