Slough House is the one you want to find out about River. Desperate Measures reaches nailbiting conclusion. So, what connects the oligarch with an old rumour of Russian sleeper agents? Plus it would be interesting if the focus moved onto Louisa who has never really reckoned with taking those diamonds and who is also quietly competent at the back. This one seemed like the best so far, but maybe it was the wait for it to come out, or just that I'm getting to know the characters better. Someone more like Warren Clarke or Sidney Greenstreet is more in keeping with how he is portrayed. Slough House isnt the strongest novel of the series that remains Joe Country, a high-watermark which may never be matched but it is most definitely worth your time and money. Since Ashley is as paranoid as any other spy, and clueless as well, shes baffled by the interactions around her in Slough House. Lamb really is an appalling character and I can easily understand those who don't like him but he is bloody funny too! Now, like his fellow slow horses, he keeps looking for new ways to revive his career. But the trail leads straight back to the Park itself, with Diana Taverner as chief suspect. Theyre not allowed anywhere near MI5 HQ, which is referred to as Regents Park although the organisation is no longer based there. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. What the Slow Horses did manage to do was foil Di Taverner's plan to mop up her mess by executing the remaining kidnapper. Rebecca recounts that Min was attacked and run over by Pitor and Kyril, and finished off by Chernitsky before his death was staged. You probably do need to have read the earlier books to understand the character dynamics, and previous events are referenced throughout - we listened to the audiobook and The Cats Father, who hasnt read the previous books, was able to follow but missed a lot of the jokes & plot points. ps the casting in the series on screen is wonderful. Every spy assigned theredust binned might be a good term to addknows theyve made a mess somewhere in their recent past, and they wont be allowed back into the Park, the office of really performing agents, ever again. [10] In July 2021, filming continued in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Being a non-native speaker, reading this series is more than a pleasure, it's an invaluable treasure chest with the modern English, seasoned with wit, sarcasm and Englishness. Such events, on home turf, require a response and Taverner is keen enough to make that happen to allow Judds involvement. Please let River live. Well, as Jackson Lamb was delighted to point out, they actually didn't. She clawed her way to the top but was David Cartwrights choice to be the perpetual number two the smarter move? But Bad Actors, eighth in the series, has no connection to performance, despite the title that might immediately pop a stage into the back of an American readers mind. He was nobodys idea of an avenging knight. To do so, however, shes had to strike up an alliance with ex-politician turned PR guru Peter Judd who has put together a group of patriotically minded billionaires willing to fund operations that the British state may balk at. Also interesting in this context are the continued allusions to Lambs poor health, which seems to be worsening, and does not bode well for future books, although we also see more of Lambs ruthless side here as well as his loyalty to his joes and to those who help his joes (one scene at the end where a side character who said something revolting to Molly gets his dues is particularly satisfying). Right from the first book, Herron shows hes not afraid to kill off his creations and some of those deaths hit very hard indeed. Lamb meets with Taverner and discusses Katinsky's story, and convinces her to fund a fake ID and cover package for River, who he then meets and instructs to investigate the airfield, and its owner Duncan Tropper, further. Hes overweight, frequently drunk and appears dishevelled, but many enemies make the mistake of underestimating him. The Oxford Series and other Mick Herron novels, Barbican Station A Slough House Podcast. Nobody Walks is even set in the same espionage world as a retired spy digs in to his sons mysterious death. River Cartwright was sent to Slough House after a training exercise left Kings Cross crashed. Herrons plot is packed with twists and delightfully sardonic conversations, and the books only major flaw is that at some point it ends and one must resume normal life. They had their own neo-Nazi reasons for doing this but it turned out that the plot was initiated by MI5 Second Desk "Lady" Di Taverner (Kristin Scott-Thomas) as a false-flag operation to earn her Brownie points in her boss' absence. Bu the slow horses arent famed for making wise decisions. The devils in this case are Peter Judd, a thinly veiled Boris Johnson, and young, wealthy new tech and online Channel Go media owner, Damien Cantor, looking to outwit and own Diana, who frankly admits to the corpulent and flatulent Jackson Lamb that she has made an error. However, one of the business men behind the deal, looking to make contacts in Russia, passes on sensitive information to the GRU who are looking to escalate matters. I agree. River Cartwright, is away in Kent, mourning the death of the OB, short for the Old Bastard who was Cartwright's grandfather, surrogate father and was a service legend. Herron has provided another winning entry in what is becoming both a critical and commercial hit. Warning Spoilers ahead for all books in the series! The impetus for the plot is a fictionalized version of the Skripal incident: Russian agents smeared the Novichok nerve agent on the Salisbury doorknob of a former Russian military officer, Sergei Skripal, who had been a double agent for British intelligence. [17], The second season also received critical acclaim. Only the intervention of his MI5-legend. On the other hand, having waited so bloody long to find out what happened to Sid and have her come back I would be pissed off if the two couldnt resume a friendship just to see where it goes. Over the course of the Slough House series, there have been a number of plot threads that have been left open for future stories. All in all and nitpicks aside, I thought this was a great read in a series where theres been no let up in quality and I genuinely cannot wait to see what Herron does next with these characters. She claims to have an operative embedded with the Sons of Albion who organised the kidnapping, but will also facilitate the rescue. Ah yes, and that I am doing, but unfortunately not enough e-copies at the library, so have ended up in the most recent book (Bad Actors). He could see one of either breed breaking a lock, finessing a window; could see them working round the study, looking for clues. Any trail his dead grandfather had left, no one was going to follow but him. Required fields are marked *. Alex Tropper diverts her course, defusing the situation once the Glasshouse has been closed long enough for the heist. Herron grounds his novels around notable real-life events for satirical purposes, and this time he concocts a story around Brexit, the Yellow Vest protests and the Russian Novichok assassinations. River didn't know if he really believed that, but he knew for sure that he didn't know he didn't, and if River thought that way others might too, and act upon the possibility. But I think hes got too old and too thin. Not crucial questions but worth thinking about . love this series- absolutely brilliant. Its not universally true no-one likes the character Roddy Ho, for example but River Cartwright and Catherine Standish form a bond, as do Louisa Guy and Min Harper, and Shirley Dander and Marcus Longridge. His kidnapping and intended rescue is an unsanctioned false flag operation masterminded by herself to potentially increase cooperation with Pakistan as well as neutralise and intimidate the far-right. Skripal and his daughter were badly poisoned, but eventually recovered. . Here, Herron introduces a new slow horse, Ashley Khan, and further develops his subplot of Russian interference in the British establishment.Buy now on Amazon. What seems a gutless response from the government has pushed the Services First Desk into mounting her own counter-offensive but shes had to make a deal with the devil fist. I particularly liked one scene between Lamb and Lady Di that showed the frustration she feels towards him but also the grudging respect she also has for his opinion and how that comes with Lambs utter contempt for what she stands for. Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.Buy now on Amazon. All Rights Reserved. And given that the devil in question is arch-manipulator Peter Judd, she could be about to lose control of everything shes fought for. A handful of engaging spy thrillers followed before the author paused his novels to focus on journalism, although its also worth noting that he has freelanced. Slough House is Mick Herrons seventh novel about his team of unloved, incompetent though often marvellously effective MI6 spies. Before we discuss the books in more detail, lets have a look at some of the main characters. Her sometimes ally or enemy depending on which way the wind is blowing is Peter Judd, Tory politician and grandee. I listened to the audio version narrated by Andrew B Wehrlen and found it an utterly engaging tale. But they have they actually been targeted? . (LogOut/ Unfortunately for Black, one of the racist loons, Curly (Brian Vernel), rumbled him and decided to go through with the decapitation plan for real, beginning with the undercover agent himself. Its hard to miss the promotion on television and online for Slow Horses, as the earliest in Mick Herrons Slough House spy novels jumps genre into an Apple TV+ show featuring Gary Oldman. Involving themselves in the drama, the slow horses soon realise that the machinations of The Park are even more twisted than they could ever have imagined. Louisa Guy, perhaps, has most focus but this novel felt much more like a genuine ensemble cast - and benefited from that, too. The series was given a straight to series order by Apple TV+ in October 2019, with Gary Oldman announced to star. On that subject. I have waited patiently for this seventh book in the series to be released and, yes, I did zip right through it because I didn't dare put it down. The Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman is playing Lamb, Kristin Scott Thomas the steely apparatchik Diana Taverner, and Jack Lowden the disgraced young agent River Cartwright. As far as Catherine is concerned, Charles shot himself, an event that apparently led to her renouncing alcohol and being sent to Slough House. So I just read it all in one somewhat elongated gulp. Standish beats Krymov in a game of chess, and he reveals it was Katinsky, not Pashkin he met with to set up the Webb meeting. This series is perfect for those that want their humor dark and smart. It turns out that the British term bad actor means a person whos done things that are harmful, illegal, or immoral. Hoped my favorite character would return. So they all get to stay put at Slough House, no prizes, no pats on the back, just a dismal career under Jackson Lamb's nicotine-stained thumb. On a recent assignment, Lamb caught her following one of his spies. (SPOILER) I was very sorry at the departure of two in Joe Country, though one seemed to me less of a loss. Its clear that shes changed due to the shooting, a little slower and less bright, but theres an excellent set-piece towards the end that shows shes not out of the game. Catherine Standish 17 episodes, 2022-2023 Chris Reilly . Cokehead Shirley Dander's been send to a sanitarium to dry out; narcissist Roddy Ho is creating avatar girlfriends for himself as a distraction; River Cartwright, the most potentially sane of the Slough House discards, isn't even around, presumed dead or permanently missing. It is also revealed that Standish narrowly escaped a treason charge through her links with Partner and his death. [12][10], In June 2022, ahead of the second season premiere, the series was renewed for third and fourth seasons, which will be based on the next novels in the series, Real Tigers and Spook Street. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2021 Crime Fiction Lover. . It wasnt really him, he knew that. 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