I’m struggling to write a review of London Rules. On the one hand I love it so much I want to tell you all about it. On the other there are so many clever twists that I don’t want to give anything away at all.

If you’re new to this series, it features the ‘slow horses’, intelligence service staff who, for a variety of reasons – trauma, addiction or just temperament – have been deemed unsuitable for their occupation. They are kept on the payroll but are exiled to Slough House, a rundown building where they are expected to do mind-numbing tasks bereft of danger or challenge.

In London Rules, Britain is in the grip of Brexit madness, random terror events and most shocking of all, slow horse Roddy Ho, computer genius and social failure, has got a girlfriend. And slightly less shocking, someone is trying to kill him. The slow horses feel bound to intervene, and chaos ensues as they are not only up against killers, but their own employer.

From the stunning prologue to the long, leisurely first chapter worthy of Dickens, the prose is beautiful and creates a pleasing tension. You want to race ahead to what happens next but also to savour what you’re reading now. The political characters are brilliantly – if brutally – observed and would make you weep if you weren’t already laughing out loud.

Most of all, for me, it’s the series characters that keep me reading – their talents, their flaws, the endless machinations of the people in power and the bloodymindedness of those pushed out.

When I finished reading, I immediately felt bereft and eager to know what’s coming next.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

what a strange book with spooks, slough house with member of the secret service in disgrace just aimlessly doing mind numbing jobs as their careers stall

then there the honey trap and attempted murder of one of their own plus an horrendous attack on a village but its all based on a plan that has been released by our own government...

took me a while to understand the characters and their personalities..loved the one liners that crept out and so not pc at times which did amuse me
not a bad read though

Just superb and sublime! So good that I wished had more stars to give this ever improving series featuring the Slough House failures from the intelligence services, presided over by the grotesque, corpulent, repulsive and flatulent Jackson Lamb, a man who refers to himself as a pagan deity. This is outstanding espionage fiction, that sharply satirises the car crash that is contemporary British politics with Brexit, and the security services. The unwritten London rules are followed religiously in the world of spies, and the number one rule is covering one's arse at all costs, never letting the truth get in the way of the official version of events. It all begins with an attack on a village that I was sure was located in a developing nation, only to be shocked it was Abbotsfield in Derbyshire, that leaves 12 dead. ISIS are quick to claim responsibility, but all is not as it seems. A shell shocked nation and politicians look for answers and resolution from the security services, riven with rivalries, presided over nominally by Claude Whelan, although the real power behind the throne, is the Machiavellian Diana Taverner, biding her time before she skewers Whelan.

In the meantime, Roddy Ho, a wonder with a keyboard, but nothing else, has his life saved by Shirley, although he is blindingly unaware of this. None of the 'slow horses' have a problem with Ho being taken out, and Shirley is suitably repentant about her ill advised intervention that has Ho still breathing. Still, Slough House reluctantly come to Ho's aid, only to be alarmed when they learn there are connections to the Abbotsfield horror. The terrorists up the stakes by following up with an uspeakable massacre of penguins and a train bomb that luckily is foiled. A populist Brexit politician, Gimball, modeled on Nigel Farage, is the fierciest of critics of the intelligence services and a muslim mayoral candidate, with the expectation of benefiting from his machinations. I could not help laughing when he ends up being 'glossed'. With Slough House under lockdown, which Lamb and the slow horses are not going to take lying down as mayhem and accidents ensue. With Diana looking for any excuse to take out Lamb, she is to find that there are no rules that he will not break.

Much of contemporary British politics surrounding Brexit are almost beyond parody, but Herron incisively does it with style and panache. We at long last come to understand how Lamb ended up at Slough House and why he bought alcoholic mother hen, Catherine, with him. Without doubt, Herron's ingenious caricature that is Jackson Lamb is the shining star of this series, and he is spectacular in this book. If you are an espionage and spy thriller aficionado, and even if you are not, I strongly urge you to read this book, you will not regret it. This is a fantastic and hilarious addition to the series, and I had a ball reading it! Many thanks to John Murray Press for an ARC.

his is the fifth of Mick Herron’s superb Jackson Lamb thrillers – two of them have featured on the blog, Spook Street and Real Tigers, and those posts explain more about the series and why I love it. So all there is to do now is to say that this one is well up to standard, and that Lamb is more hideous than ever. The plot is complicated (as always) and fortunately I don’t have to go into it too much, as that might be a spoiler. There are terrorists threatening domestic security, and the Slough House team – the slow horses - try their unofficial best to foil them, with very mixed results. As ever, the coverup at the end is going to be as big a deal as the various disastrous events…

So now, as a reminder of what a good writer Herron is, and how funny, I will list some of my favourite quotes (I highlighted dozens of them):

Like Ronnie and Reggie Kray before it, the Barbican had overcomethe drawback of being a brutal piece of shit to achieve iconic status.

[of an elderly man who has dementia] Every spook’s dream was to throw off all pursuers, and know himself unwatched. He was fast approaching that space; somewhere unknowable, unvisited, untagged by hostile eyes.

[The slow horses are trying to forestall some trouble] ‘If either of those pols are actually at risk, they should be under Protection Orders, not being surreptitiously babysat by the Teletubbies.’

It was difficult arguing a point when you had no reliable information or accurate knowledge. Unless you were online, obviously.

‘The winner’s the one with the pokerest face.’

‘Pokerest?’
‘It’s two in the morning, what do you want, Will Self?’


There’s never a wide wardrobe to pick from in Herron’s books (my only complaint), though I did like this description of a small meeting at Slough House:

It looked like a poetry reading, though, inasmuch as there were few people there, and none of them stylishly dressed. Well, Flyte was an exception, though River suspected she’d make a plaid skirt and woollen tights look good. As it was, she wore a dark business suit. Her hair was tied back, her eyes were unamused.
- the picture is one I chose for Emma Flyte for a post on a previous book.

And poor Dennis and his worries seemed to suggest we get out Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in Some Like it Hot.

I've read all the Slough House books and thoroughly enjoyed them. This one popped up and I grabbed the chance to keep up with the characters. And I did enjoy it but... It felt a bit forced. I found myself putting it down again and again rather than being gripped by it. Maybe it was me but it didn't feel as engaging. I also found all the philosophical dawn, dusk descriptions irritating - just get on with the story!

But, it was current and funny in places and I enjoyed the plot.

Official (Mick Herron Avoider of Spoilers) Secrets Act Signed!

Mick Herron’s marvellously funny, horribly plausible, politically too close for comfort, twisty, turny sequence of spooks-on-the-prowl novels continues, all guns effortlessly blazing for another 5 star review with this one.

For those new to Herron’s ‘Slough House, Jackson Lamb’ series, good though Book 5 (this one) is, and despite the fact that yes, each book can be read as a stand-alone, I would strongly, strongly suggest you race away and get the book in the series, Slow Horses, and then, with increasing immersion and enjoyment, book on book, work your way through Dead Lions, Real Tigers and Spook Street, in order. This one will still be waiting for you, and you will enjoy it even more as you will be meeting old friends and foes, and come to this one with even more pleasure than would have been the case if you began in the middle.

Herron with each book is rather taking on the changing political events that have happened since he wrote the previous book.

His books follow MI5 (his version of it) here cited as ‘Regent’s Park, and the various power struggles that might exist between M15 and the Home Office, not to mention the Prime Minister, and the police, in defence of the Realm.

However – don’t think anything like the glamour world of espionage. Rather, what goes on at the grubby (very grubby) edges. ‘Slough House’ is where those who failed, spectacularly, to make the grade, get shunted, to carry out the tedious work which the glamorous ones will need – the checking of licence plates, the trawl through electoral registers, the watching of hours of video footage. These are the sorry Z listers of MI5. Each of them has a back story, each a present which seems hopeless, each still hopes, somehow, to get back to the cutting edge of spookiness.

The band of marvellous failures are led by a gargantuan figure. Jackson Lamb is Falstaff without the joy, cruel as a shark, savage in his wit, - he comes out of the same reprehensible mould as another much loved monster Gene Hunt from Life of Mars – except, Jackson is far far sharper in devious intelligence.

In this series Herron has a chilling finger on the button of the dangerous society we are sometimes aware we are living in, whilst managing to crack open the kind of back stabbing, juggles for power and position which we know goes on in large organisations, all wrapped up with cutting edge humour. And a delicious number of twists, turns, feints and dives to have the readers’ jaws dropping over and over. Nothing will be quite what it seems, and Herron will have done something coming out of left field again. And will get this reader, almost every time. Sometimes with an ‘oh no, oh NO’ moment – the life of a spook is a dangerous one, after all – sometimes with a shout of joy at the audaciousness of an event.

For firm fans of the series – the Slow Horse in the spotlight here is geeky Roderick Ho. Against the odds, Ho, imagining himself as the cool, sexy Rodster (this one really does think he is James Bond) has acquired a girl friend. The other horses in the field at the end of book 4, Spook Street, are all in place. And back at ‘Regent Park’ Lady Di, still second desk, is plotting and planning as only she can…….

In the world of Westminster and party politics are various figures who might seem more than a little familiar, or conglomerates of such figures. For example, the hail fellow-well met leader of a populist party and a vituperative columnist on a tabloid newspaper who is not at all averse to the spinning of fake news, especially if it will help her man into power. Any resemblance to any real figure is probably quite deliberate………

I received this, very gratefully, as a digital ARC via NetGalley and the publisher, John Murray Books, and sincerely hope Mr Herron is well along with book 6.

I always approach a new Slough House book with a certain sense of trepidation, wondering whether Mick Herron can maintain the high standards he has set in earlier novels. I really should have more confidence because this, the 5th in the series is just as good, just as funny and just as enthralling as the first four. When the leading candidates to replace the Prime Minister are described as “having been brought low by a frenzy of backstabbing, treachery and double-dealing on a scale not seen since the Spice Girls reunion”, you know that Mr Herron is bang on form.

Whilst the book can be read as a standalone, I would urge new readers to start at the beginning of the series with Slow Horses and they will appreciate much more how the writing and the characters have evolved. For those new to the books, the plots revolve around the premise that failed spooks are not quietly let go or disposed of but are banished to an appalling building in East London where they are asked to perform tasks of mind-numbing boredom in the hope that they will resign, thereby avoiding the embarrassing possibility of Industrial Tribunals. Around that amusing concept, Herron has built a world ripe for satire and at times, outright schoolboy humour.

If Mick Herron was simply the Tom Sharpe of the espionage world, these books would be an enjoyable but light-weight read. However, he is much more. He creates the most outrageous plots and then persuades you to believe them and slips easily from word plays and double entendres into action passages of genuine excitement which can rate alongside the very best thriller writers. But above all he has got inside the heads of this dissolute group of characters in ways that allow us to understand and empathise with them, warts and all. By the end of the book, I was even starting to feel sorry for Rodney Ho.

Of course, in this post-Brexit era, Mr Herron couldn’t miss the opportunity to throw a few barbs and in Dennis Gimball, a cross-dressing hybrid of Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson, he has created a character of ghastly proportions to sit alongside the other double-dealing politicians and Service chiefs.

I am always reticent to give a book 5 stars because it suggests perfection, but in this case, I will make an exception. Bring on the next one in the series please Mr Herron.

I am very grateful to Net Gallery and John Murray books for sending me a pre-publication copy of this book in return for an honest review.

In this politically correct world where every word has to be weighed before it’s uttered, where even a harmless salutation such as, “Good morning” or “Good night” could offend either vampires or plagiarise Dylan Thomas, it’s refreshing to stumble over the slumbering, corporeal, lone wolf known as Jackson Lamb. For if he wakes, he’ll take no prisoners as he’s the antithesis of everything ‘establishment’. That’s not to say that this iconoclastic figure hasn’t got a good centre. He administers the jockey’s whip to his chargers known as the Slow Horses but keeps a watchful eye for horse thieves.
Yet again we are met with Herron’s device to refresh old hands and introduce newbies to Slough House: Dawn! No, not the Dawn of #MeToo (Lamb would describe the movement as a coming out parade for closet lesbians) but dawn, which succeeds night. At this point I luxuriate in Herron’s skills for every time he does it, it is with a new messenger and always from a different viewpoint.
In London Rules the characters and humour are stronger than the plot. I think the rationale behind this is to show there is a degree of incompetency in every organisation and life in general. Put a joe on scaffolding in the dark and he’s either going fall off or kick a stray, rusty, scaffold clamp or paint tin over the edge. In this novel it’s Trade Gloss!
In real life it could be losing the target whilst having a pee, with deadly consequences.

No spoilers but in conclusion:
Molly Duran keeps her job wheeling through the Park’s back passages and Jackson Lamb, ever knowing, looks out over his stables, breaking wind with the satisfied grin of a job well done. They both understand their stock in trade and how to keep the lid on the sewer.

Sadly I am now suffering withdrawal symptoms until the next book, gone are the chuckles and the re-reads; ‘did he really say that’? How does ‘defiant regret’ work? Herron makes it work, that’s how!

I was tempted to abandon this book early in but decided to persist- to no avail. The characters are dysfunctional and bizarre. No espionage system would operate in this way. The plot is confused and the writing poor. I rarely find a book so unlikely. It is hard to find anything positive to say.

Without doubt, Mick Herron has created the best, modern spy series, in his Slough House books and this, latest instalment, is a wonderful addition. It begins with what seems to be a terrorist outrage, with us readers falling into line and imagining we know who is behind it. However, this is Mick Herron, these are the Slow Horses, and plots do not go in straight lines here – they meander, double back, peer around corners and call your bluff.

So, things are not what they seem and our current batch of Slow Horses are eager to be involved with events. Except, without even realising it, they are, in fact, already involved. If not central, to what is going on. At least Roderick Ho (‘the Rodster’) is. However, so deluded is he – so blindly self assured – that he is not questioning much, including the fact that he has a beautiful new girlfriend; even if she does make excuses at the end of the evening, but too much of a good thing, right? Oh, nor does he realise that someone is trying to kill him. For Roddy Ho is up to his neck in trouble and it is up to Jackson Lamb, who, whatever his faults, will always do his best to protect his Slow Horses, to work out what is going on.

The real joy about Mick Herron is his writing. He makes all his characters human and sympathetic; even those who are doing very bad things. His books are full of deft plotting, dry one liners and bizarre events (the ‘paint’ scene will stay with me forever). Along the way, we have ambitious politicians with secrets, the wonderful Diana Taverner, longing to be in power and, central to everything, Jackson Lamb. Lamb, who rarely moves from his shadowy lair, but who everyone is wary of, and always seems to be around at the right moment – in fact, we see some of his impeccable timing in this novel.

This series is a joy. The latest instalment is intelligent, witty, and will make you long to read more by Mick Herron. He is an author on top of his game and, like Jackson Lamb, he can do no wrong in my eyes. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

(I was kindly given the opportunity to read an advance copy by NetGalley and will be posting this review on Amazon.co.uk on 1 Feb 2018 when they allow such comments to be made.).
I’ve enjoyed the previous books in this series and London Rules has kept up the standard. Without spoiling the plot it is good to see stability in the ‘cast list’ and that offers an opportunity for some character development. Hopefully that trend will continue!
The story is highly topical and addresses realistic current security threats. It strikes me that the series would lend itself very well to a TV dramatisation. I have to admit that in reading the books I visualise Ken Stott as a shoe-in for the Jackson Lamb role. No reflection whatsoever on Mr Stott’s own personal hygiene or habits!
A great read and highly recommended.

Once you start reading a book by Mick Herron, it’s very hard to stop. I did try rationing myself, so as to prolong the reading pleasure, but it was no good. London Rules is the fifth Jackson Lamb mystery, about the failed secret service agents, known as Slow Horses, who work in Slough House (great name), under the supervision of the superb Jackson Lamb, a man of repulsive habits and apparent laziness, who nevertheless is always in the right place at the right time. He constantly abuses his minions yet will defend them against the might of Regent’s Park, where the top spooks work.

This book, like the others, opens with a terrorist incident which totally misleads the reader about its perpetrators and their aims. It then moves, in what has become a familiar Dickensian trick in these novels, of positing some entity, perhaps a cat but in this case dawn, which explores and describes Slough House. This takes time and sets the pattern for the contradiction in the novels: the apparently slow narration of what are action-packed stories. Someone is out to murder Roddy Ho, the computer genius of Slough House, who is a walking deluded giant ego, generally loathed by his colleagues. What has he got mixed up in? The Slow Horses work out what it is and follow the trail but needless to say, they mess (euphemism) things up as usual. It’s so enjoyable to see Lamb yet again taking on ‘Lady Di’ and other grandees of the Service, and winning. As I’ve said before, one of the great pleasures of these books is that they are both exciting spy stories and funny; Lamb is very funny.

London Rules? They vary throughout the book but the first seems to be ‘cover your arse’. There’s a lot of covering to do, as the Service seems to be an institution based on back stabbing and looking after number one. If you’re new to these books, I recommend starting with the first, Slow Horses. What a treat it is to come to them for the first time. I read this book courtesy of the publishers and NetGalley and it’s out on 15th February.

Sadly I was not able to really get into these, lauded though they have been. The odd quirky character is fine but going OTT on the bizarre characters filling this ensemble detracted from what could have been a great plot, really contemporary.

The premise is that flawed spies are no longer exiled to off-shore prisons, but are made to work out their careers sorting paperclips. What happens when these 'slow horses' feel they are called into action? And perhaps some of the slow horses are in this department for reasons of their own? Along with being laugh out loud funny, this spy thriller/drama series has built a tremendous back story for each (surviving) character.
I am a huge fan of Mick Herron's Slow Horses series and this is one of the best. His political satire, slapstick and screwball conversations are all first rate, and he knows when to let go of some of the threads in favour of action.

Would be a five star review except I don't think you can jump into the series with London Rules, so please go back to Slow Horses to start. Oh, and don't be put off by the odd intros :-)

It was a recommendation from Sarah Hilary that set me on the road to reading Mick Herron, and goodness, am I grateful. London Rules is such a class act, I now have to go back and read others in this Slough House series.

I tend to be more of a crime than a spy reader, but Mick Herron has opened my eyes to the beauty of the contemporary spy series. It works perfectly well as a stand-alone, but I really do want to know more about the oddballs who make up the Slough House crew; the Slow Horses are a group of disreputable, dysfunctional misfits who have committed sins as spies that have caused them to be relegated to desk jobs in Slough House, presided over by the inimitable Jackson Lamb. Not, you understand, that they ever stay at their desks…

Herron’s writing is sublime. Rich, descriptive, dry and full of sarcastic wit, it has some extremely funny, laugh out loud moments, whilst simultaneously managing to make wry observations about the absurdities of MI5 and it’s interaction with politicians.

His plotting is astute, tight and intricate and some of the characters in this book are, well let’s just say, they may ring some recognition bells – especially the politicians and the media columnist.

In London Rules, there’s a Brexit background, lots of political machinations and an emphasis on the relationship between MI5’s Regent House, where all the real spies are housed and Slough House, where Jackson Lamb survives to rule his roost because of his skill and ingenuity in being able to predict, outthink and outmanoeuvre his masters.

Lamb is an outrageous character. Slovenly, scabrous, contemptuous, obnoxious – these are all his best character traits yet you can't help but like him.

London is on high alert. The public are unforgiving and seriously divided over Brexit. Politicians too are equally divided, jockeying for position and falling over themselves to implicate each other in the mire of whatever is the unpopular political issue of the day.

Into the midst of this, a group of armed men set off a hail of bullets in the small village of Abbotsfield, Derbyshire, killing several people. IS have claimed responsibility, but the motive for this attack is unclear.

Meanwhile, the computer genius at Slough House – Roddy Ho, is the subject of an attempted hit-and-run, foiled by his colleague Shirley. While Lamb could understand pretty much anyone wanting to kill Roddy, he can’t fathom what the reason for this attack might be. Roddy has a high opinion of himself, seeing himself as a combination of James Bond and Q. This is just as well, because no-one else of knows him thinks of him in anything like such a kind light. The Rodster, as he likes to call himself, is in reality an IT geek with an absence of personality and no social skills at all.

The Slow Horses become entangled in tracking down the terrorists in an effort to find out who was gunning for Ho and as they wreak their own brand of havoc throughout London and beyond, one or two of them find themselves for once in the right place at the right time.

What makes this book work is the way that the narrative is focused on the Slough House characters; how they are thinking and feeling, and how that impacts on their actions - though from Jackson Lamb you get none of that, which makes him altogether a more complex character.

From accidental killings to terrorist outrages, the Slow horses view everything through their own prism as they make it through another day at the coalface.

A terrific and addictive read with sparkling wit, satisfying dialogue and a great plot. Very highly recommended.

This is the fifth book in an exceptional series that just seems to get better with every title.

Originally perceived as a spoof on the intelligence services, the "slow horses" retain all their idiosyncrasies and weaknesses but still manage, perhaps despite themselves to get the job done.

Behind the humour a serious plot lurks with a number roof terrorist atrocities to be investigated.

The plot is credible and well-thought through but where the book really shines is in the sheer quality of the writing, and the interaction between the different characters as well as the politics between the various factions.

I read this through in one go and loved it.

Thanks firstly for the opportunity to read and review this book.
So the book starts with a terrorist atrocity, so what's new? So many run of the mill thrillers start with one. However this is a Jackson Lamb story by Mick Herron. the fifth in the series, so you know it will be far from 'run of the mill.'. It would be unfair to say the best so far, because they are all so good. The skulduggery between 'Regents Park' and 'Slough House', as well as up to date politics, thinly disguised politicians, twitter users with elaborate 'comb overs' are all there, but above all Jackson Lamb and his slow horses shine through. The conversations crackle and sparkle with humour and innuendo. As with all the Jackson Lamb stories, all is not what it seems and we learn a little more about Jackson's past with each new book.
Read it you will not be disappointed, in fact read all 5. Sadly time will no doubt drag, as it it does in Slough House, until story number 6 arrives, I will try to be patient!

Wonderful. The Slough House series of novels just gets better and better. London Rules is the fifth in the series.

When a friend suggested that Mick Herron was up there with John Le Carré, I was dubious. John Le Carré is an all time great, a titan, however she is quite correct. Not only does Mick Herron achieve similar levels of literary greatness, he has also managed to update Le Carré’s Cold War settings into a recognisable and contemporary 21st century. It’s an extraordinary achievement. Herron’s irreverent Slough House series breathes new life into the spying and espionage genre.

Slough House is the dumping ground for MI5’s misfits and failures, rather than risk unfair dismissal, the hope and expectation is that the soul destroying work at Slough House will eventually result in resignation. Needless to say this makes for a marvellous collection of eclectic and memorable characters. Jackson Lamb, the Slough House boss, being the most memorable of the lot. What a magnificent creation. Think of a brutal Falstaff in charge of a bunch of misfits and losers: “I don’t think of you as a team, I think of you as collateral damage”. Instantly dislikeable, he wears his obnoxiousness, and disgusting personal habits, as a badge of honour. Underestimate him at your peril though. And, beneath that gruff exterior perhaps he does ultimately look out for each and every slow horse? They are all his "Joes" after all.

London Rules opens with a now familiar plot idea - a terrorist atrocity in the UK - with ISIS claiming responsibility, however it then veers off into a more unexpected direction.

Although each of the Slough House books is a standalone novel, part of the pleasure (and pain) of these books is the ongoing narrative and character development. People can, and do, suffer and die during the course of these tales.

London Rules (Slough House #5) continues the now familiar combination of clever prose, memorable characters, action, humour, and deftly handled, twist-laden plots. As usual, Mick Herron takes the world of John Le Carré's espionage, but updates it for a very contemporary story which, in this instance, includes Brexit, a Farage-esque politician, a Daily Mail columnist, a modern and moderate Muslim standing for major, security alerts, Twitter, and an incessant swirl of political manoeuvring.

In common with the previous books in the series, London Rules is funny, dramatic, tense, and awash with wonderful, believable, and all too human characters.

London Rules (Slough House #5) will be published on 15 February 2018. I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

This is another absolutely brilliant book from Mick Herron. It is rare for me to rave so unreservedly about a book, never mind a series, but Herron's Slough House series has been outstanding. London Rules is the fifth; its predecessor, Spook Street, was perhaps not quite as good as the others (which still meant it was at least as good as anything else I read last year), but this is possibly the best so far. It can be read as a stand alone book, but for maximum enjoyment I would recommend reading the books in order, beginning with Slow Horses.

In London Rules, the Slow Horses become semi-officially involved in trying to track down a terrorist cell on the loose following a number of outrages committed by them. Slough House is recovering from its own bloodbath, including Lamb's expense returns for repairs: "Catherine waded through the day's work…replacing his justifications ("because I blanking say so") with her own more diplomatic phrasing." (I have substituted the word "blanking" for a considerably more robust copulatory term which would be unacceptable in an review here.) This sets the tone for the first half of the book, with Jackson Lamb in magnificently offensive, repellent form. I highlighted lots of gems; this is one of the more printable ones:
Flyte looked at Lamb. 'Ever consider disciplining your staff?
'All the time. I favour the carrot and stick approach.'
'Carrot or stick'
'Nope. I use the stick to ram the carrot up their arses. That generally gets results.'

It is truly laugh-out-loud funny in lots and lots of places; I read some of it over breakfast and nearly did myself some serious internal damage trying not to spray mouthfuls of muesli over my Kindle. Herron also creates a very good, tense story which he develops with skill, wit and real tension in the second half.

What makes Herron's books so good is this brilliant combination of excellent storytelling, a lot of genuinely hilarious moments and a very shrewd skewering of many of the absurdities and hypocrisies of our time. The tense internal politics of MI5, political opportunism, ludicrous Twitter theories based on no knowledge and so on all come in for excoriating comment, often from Jackson Lamb whom I regard as one of the truly great creations of 21st-Century literature.

I don't think I can give London Rules any higher praise than to say it is one of Herron's best. Very, very warmly recommended.

(I received an ARC via NetGalley.)

I would like to thank Netgalley and John Murray Press for an advance copy of London Rules, the fifth novel to feature Jackson Lamb and his team of MI5 misfits, the Slow Horses.

It's all go at Slough House or maybe not as the team get on with their busy work which probably won't help the Service save the nation but even they are puzzled as to why anyone except them would want to kill the obnoxious Roddy Ho, not once but twice. Still it takes their minds off not being involved in the hunt for the terrorists who shot up a Derbyshire village, killing 18. In the meantime MI5's First Desk, Claude Whelan is allowing his deputy "Lady Di" Taverner run rings round him.

I thoroughly enjoyed London Rules which had me laughing out loud in parts and marvelling at the cleverness and slapstick of the plot in others. The first and main unwritten London Rule is "cover your arse". The hows and whys of this rule form the meat of the novel but Jackson Lamb's ability to manipulate it to his own ends are breathtaking in their imagination and scope.

It would be really easy to dismiss London Rules as a figment of Mr Herron's vivid imagination but, unfortunately, much of it has the ring of if not authenticity very likely to bear some resemblance to actuality. The self interest and efforts to further it by both the spooks and politicians is staggering as they weigh up the pros and cons of every situation but very accurate if the past few years are to be believed. These are definitely not waters for the naïve. The incompetence of the Slow Horses is in stark relief to these machinations and while extremely funny the net result is the same, it all gets covered up.

London Rules is another excellent addition to a must read series so I have no hesitation in recommending it.