With thanks to John Murray Press & NetGalley for the ARC.

Jackson Lamb and his team of 'slow horses' are back for another adventure.

To a backdrop of Brexit and in the aftermath of the Russian novichok poisonings in England, things are on edge in Slough House.

Lambs team discover that they've been written out of the departments data base.

Then a couple of ex Slow Horses die in suspicious circumstances.

Diana Taverner, the Regents Park number 1, may have painted herself into a corner with putting her trust in a politician and cosying up to a news TV mogul.

The story rocks along, brilliantly told, funny, serious and poignant in all the right places.

A great read.

This is the seventh full novel in the Slough House series, and they just keep getting better.

The story uses the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury as a springboard for the events that affect the slow horses with a retaliatory attack being carried out on foreign soil backed by private investors. As you'd expect, this doesn't go down too well and foreign agents are ordered to start killing the slow horses. This leads to a chain of events that encompasses the usual political meddling and clashes between Diana Taverner and Jackson Lamb.

The slow horses themselves are as eloquently written as ever, there are moments that genuinely make me laugh but pages later, there can be a sucker punch which leaves me reeling.
Lamb is, as always, someone I want to know more about. He seems like such a repulsive character but his loyalty is as fierce as his insults and we're never really shown what has led him to be like he is. I'm especially intrigued to see how he'll translate to TV.

Something I've enjoyed about the previous books is the way Herron writes about London and this book is no exception. He captures it so well and it's almost as though it's another character.

I'd thoroughly recommend this book and would suggest you read the prior books beforehand if you can.

Humour, Heartbreak Happenstance, Horror

In my review of the previous outing in this series ( Number 6, Joe Country) I wondered how on earth Herron manages to avoid writs from our present prime minister, given the close modelling of a look, character and certain history-alike of one of the more villainous characters in the series. Now I know.

Herron is as adept at feinting, doubling back on himself, creating illusions, false trails and throwing off shadowy trackers on his trail as any of his spooks needs to be.

I remain in awe. Not to mention, possessed of a racing, aching heart. Herron’s series is a mix of much humour, twistier plots than Spaghetti Junction, sharp finger on the political and cultural pulse, understanding of office politics which is a mixture of The Office and the office as run by The Mafia, and, running darkly through, the knowledge that characters we grow to know and love may be those we discover will be lost and cruelly taken from us

Number 7 (which Herron finished writing shortly before the first lockdown) is therefore a virus free zone. At its heart and genesis is the real events of the Salisbury poisonings, that reality giving Herron’s imagination its starting gun. Also in place is the shocking revelation at the end of the previous book of a discovery by Roderick Ho. Side by side are two journeys, one somewhat farcical, office politics stab in the back offering varieties of prat fall, the other journey inexorably Heart of Darkness

There were/are aspects of the series which are delighting me a little less on each outing, which are to do with the more caricatured elements of certain characters, so that, for example the gross, so far from woke as to be in an induced coma aspects of Jackson Lamb, and, at times Roderick Ho’s self-delusion of his ‘Rodster-Cool’ fantasies. There is also dialogue which sometimes seems an overdone wit-on-wit in the encounters between First Desk Lady Di Taverner and her are-they-in-allegiance-are-they-the-deadliest-of-enemies-equally-power-hungry Peter Judd. But just as I think I am seeing an unfolding of the formulaic, Herron rips the rug out from under foot and delivers dark, perfectly aimed blows to the gut, the heart and the zeitgeist

As ever, though each book could be read as a standalone, best enjoyment is to start the series at the first book. I am minded to go back to the very first, to see what long shadows Herron was casting there which have had daylight revealed here…..

I am enormously grateful to NetGalley for the Digital Arc of this.

As for the writer himself, I am both even more grateful, whilst also thinking ‘How could you, How Could You!!’

I have dragged this out as long as possible. It is time to finally write up my views on Slough House, thus bringing an end to my time, at present, with Jackson Lamb and his crew of misfits. As with all the previous books in this series, I find this book superb. It's a spy novel but not a flashy, adrenaline-filled ticking time bomb ready to explode. But, rather, a calmer, more calculated real-world view of the spy game. It's subtle, sharp as a knife's edge and complex. Its (sometimes) deftly handled political wrangling and positioning, as performed by Diana Taverner and Jackson Lamb, puts Mick Herron in the orbit of espionage writers held in highest esteem. This is the long game at its best.

Slough House follows swiftly on the heels of Joe Country, where our beloved joes saw action in the Welsh countryside. The Salisbury novichok attacks have happened in the book and reprisals have been dealt on Russian soil, with private UK funding. Now, the Russians are retaliating, against our reprisal, and things are getting out of hand. Bring on the steadying hand of Jackson Lamb. Jackson is in good form here. Sarcastic as ever but I do wonder if the liberal application of sarcasm may be a touch much? Nary a conversation occurs without a rude put down but my unflinching admiration can take the overdose of flippancy. Part of the charm of this series and Jackson's genius.

We have a welcomed surprise development which brought a smile to my face. It will change the dynamic of the team going forward. Mick Herron is on point, as ever, adding depth to a handful of characters in his oh so subtly, crafty way. I appreciate the build up of tension and the direction it went. A cliffhanger that's left me anxious but isn't that the goal? I was caught of guard by the reference to my talented artist friend and his work. I am dying to know which piece it was on the wall at the OB's house?

I hope it isn't inappropriate to burst with excitement that the Slough House series is being adapted for tv by Apple? It will be titled Slow Horses; I only just found out and, heartily believe, it is the perfect character driven drama in the spy realm located in London. And who better than Gary Oldman to play Jackson Lamb! I am overjoyed and looking forward to reliving the early exploits of our slow horses through the small screen.

I read an article about Mick Herron on the publication of this book and decided to read the first in the series, Slow Horses. Two weeks later having devoured the first six novels I began this latest installment. I loved it. and am writing this review less than 24 hours after being approved for a review copy which shows how much I enjoyed it.

Once again Jackson Lamb and the lacklustre Slough House team are in trouble - with the usual line of unpleasant foes lined up - Diana Taverner, Peter Judd and various foreign assassins. As ever the most troublesome are the closest. Throw Novichok poisoning and a new populist leader into the mix and we have the start of another gripping, dark but oh so very funny outing for the slow horses. Roddy Ho's mental musings are even more hilarious than ever - as he wonders whether a baseball cap with 'Spook at work' would be an appropriate buy. Lamb is as revolting as ever and the rest of the team perform their roles - for me River is always the central character after Lamb - the inheritor of his grandfather's skills and as quietly competent as Lamb is, but with more morals - for the moment at least.

I almost dropped a star because of the cliffhanger ending - I never like these, and in particular when we will have to wait some time for the next in the series. But overall this is such a delight that it is worth 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.

Having read a number of books in this series , I thought I knew what to expect .. Although similar with humour and the leader of the failed agents (Jackson Lamb) as obnoxious as ever this book seems more politically relevant than previous ones . The fallout from the Russian Novichok poisonings in Salisbury starts a tit for tat retaliation battle , which inevitably drags the agents from Slough House into the picture after someone has released their files to the Russians . Plenty of humour still there though , with great characters throughout..

5★
“For a city is an impermanent thing, its surface ever shifting, like the sea. And like the sea, a city has its sharks.”

London is full of sharks and spooks and, in this case, hit squads. There is a war going on between Russian and English spies, and as the book opens, the Russians are retaliating against the assassination of one of theirs.

There’s a fair bit of politics in this one, where Peter Judd, a former Parliamentary minister, “a politician whose greed for power was so naked it required a parental advisory sticker” has plans to raise his public profile by stirring up the Yellow Vests behind the scenes. You know, fuelling the fires of dissent. Brexit is never named but is occasionally referred to only in phrases such as “budgetary fallout from You-Know-What”.

“Even unelected, Judd remained a big beast in the political jungle. But Diana had done her growing up on Spook Street, where big beasts numbered among the daily kill.”

Judd and Diana Taverner have had a longstanding acquaintance. Possibly an earlier affair? I don’t remember. She is First Desk at “Park”, which is Regent’s Park, Secret Service headquarters. She is the supreme boss – except when her budget is at stake, when she may resort to outsourcing “funding”.

Judd is applying pressure and telling her how he wants her to appear and what he wants her to say on a TV broadcast that he hopes will rattle some cages for his benefit.

“‘You hardly need me to write your script.’

‘I’m starting to get the impression that that’s exactly what you think I need,’ Diana said.

‘If you prefer, we could shoot you behind a screen.’

‘I could probably arrange something similar for you.’”

And we know she could. In fact, we almost wish she would. But Herron doesn’t keep us in one scene for very long. The action moves between Slough House, the Park, Diana Taverner and her crew, Judd and a TV guy, River out in the field, Shirley drunk and drugged, and weird, funny Roddy Ho.

But – just as we’re in a dark alley with a torch flickering at the other end or on a back road at night with headlights suddenly appearing – BOOM! We are moved to the club where Judd and Taverner are conversing or back to Jackson Lamb, being his disgusting self somewhere.

Lamb is the boss of Slough House, theoretically working for Taverner, but even she doubts it. In each book he becomes more repugnant and more clever. He seems to appear without apparently arriving. More like the apparition of a homeless man from a dumpster. In one scene, at a kind of party where he is smoking a particularly fragrant Russian cigarette:

“Lamb had found a bottle of malt and was in a corner smoking, looking like a bin someone had set fire to.”

He smokes constantly, farts, throws butts on the floor, lighters out the window, and demeans his people.

“Lamb rolled his eyes. ‘God, you’re a drag to have around. Moan moan moan. It’s like being shackled to the ghost of Bob Marley.’

‘I think you mean Jacob.’

‘Depends,’ said Lamb. ‘Which was the one surrounded by wailers?’”

He is protective of his joes – his spooks – when they’re on missions, but he gets his money’s worth.

“ ’And if you’re now serving two purposes instead of one, it’s like I’ve just halved all your salaries.’ He beamed. ‘Win win.’”

You get the idea. I’ll make no attempt to discuss the plot, but there certainly is one and it’s up-to-date, post-Brexit but pre-Covid.

Fans will enjoy seeing favourite characters.

Drinker and coke user Shirley Dander: “Shirley could handle criticism as well as the next guy, but the next guy was a touchy bastard.
. . .
. . . a thing about Shirley Dander’s partners was that they tended to die; their brains misted against an office wall, or their insides spilt on snowy Welsh hillsides.”

Kinda takes the shine off wanting to work with her.

Roddy Ho, about himself: “ Roddy Ho was the Duke of Digital; everyone knew that. He was Master of the Monitor, Lord of the Laptop, but that was only half the story. Take him away from his screens and he was also King of the Kerb, Sultan of the Streets, the something of the Pavements.”

Roddy does know how to hack into almost everything, but that’s where it stops, long before the kerb or the streets. His boss has no filters. “‘It’s like having my own personal Yellow Pages,’ said Lamb. ‘Or, you know. Just Pages in his case’”

I am not cherry-picking quotable quotes. If you went through Herron’s books with a rake you’d end up with an enormous pile of excellent, quirky phrases, put-downs and descriptions.

I was delighted to see River Cartwright back, the first Slow Horse we ever met, I think, but he is in terrible peril, and the tension builds. I will warn you only that Herron does kill people off – see the reference to Shirley’s past partners.

Such good writing, such memorable characters, and such timely stories. Loved it! Thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for the preview copy. More please!

p.s. Great interview with the author here:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/15/mick-herron-i-look-at-jackson-lamb-and-think-my-god-did-i-write-that-my-mother-reads-this-stuff

This is the seventh full-length visit to Slough House (there are also three novellas, The Drop, The List, and The Catch). And it is more of the same, which is good news for fans and probably very confusing for anyone who is picking up a Mick Herron novel for the first time. Note to the publishers: Please put a precis of the previous novel at least at the beginning of each new book it would stop a lot of head scratching.

In Slough House, Herron tries to gather up several current political concerns: Nerve-agent poisonings, private money bankrolling public services, populist​ leaders and who controls them and how the media underpins what we think. It is questionable whether all this can sit happily in one novel and whether any of it is dealt with particularly well. I am not convinced that as a writer Herron possesses the intellectual heft and the necessary lightness of touch to handle any of these elements at all, leave alone all of them very well.

For many readers though, most of these themes are neither that interesting nor important. They will be making regular trips to Archway for the characters, especially Jackson Lamb, who needs to be read to be believed. It has now reached a point where a real relationship has been formed between readers and the Slough House crew, but this is more down to the sheer number of visits than anything else. As a reader I have long wanted more of the interiority of these characters, and I am still left wanting seven novels on.

And it is Lamb more than any of his team who is only described from the outside. Whilst we get some idea of the moral compass and talents that lie within, any sense of who Lamb is and what he really thinks and how (or, indeed, if) he feels is informed guess work at best, a random stab in the dark at worst. For this reason more than very other I will be intrigued to see how Jackson Lamb is brought to life by Gary Oldman for TV.

I have started to wonder how many more times Herron will push open Slough House's dodgy back door - I'm not sure it can stand much more being shoved open but I will be sad when it is boarded up for good.

Mick Herron's Slough House series is one of the finest modern spy series written. This latest episode draws on the use of nerve agents as a weapon and the repercussions as the spy sides clash. Someone is tailing and targetting the slow horses. Someone is trying to kill them. But who? and as Jackson Lamb Says "look at us, why would they bother?". Tight writing with a cast of superb characters and political machinations a plenty. With the promise of a television series in the near future this series which has been a bit of a secret pleasure may well be about to shed the overcoat and step out of the shadows. Highly Recommended.

This is the 7th book in the Slough House series and another well-written page-turner. It was a pleasure to read.
Set in temporary London, the Slough House series always incorporates real events; this time Brexit.

Jackson Lamb is an aged spy with a love for cigarettes and snide remarks, yet he always defends his shunned slow horses. But when mysterious fatal accidents befall several slow horses and Slough House is wiped from records at the Service, it marks an uncertain future for the dilapidated building in central London and its peculiar inhabitants.

As usual, the plot is complex and intricately tied to the meddling of foreign and domestic spies, as well as London’s political infighting utilising spies to push agendas or tighten the grip on power.

I received the 6th book from NetGalley two years ago and loved the series so much that I went back to read every single book in the series. As such, I was very happy to receive this ARC.

It is not necessary to have read other books in the series, but it definitely helps to understand the different characters’ backgrounds and the Slough House team’s journey.

Thanks to NetGalley, John Murray and Mick Herron for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So here we are, book 7 in the Jackson Lamb/Slough House series of books. Book 6, Joe Country ended somewhat precipitously and I have to admit to worrying about the motley crew of MI5 spies over the past 18 months or so. Upon opening Slough House it seems that my fears were not completely unfounded.

Losing one ex-member of Slough House is an accident but when a second is murdered it appears that somebody has it in for Jackson Lamb’s band of exiled spies. They also seem to have all been removed from the database and Diana Taverner – First Desk at MI5 – may or may not have a hand in it. Throw in some tussling between the UK and Russia over novichok poisonings in our fair land and a retaliation which seems to have waved a red rag at a bull and well, things are not rosy in spy-land.

Bubbling away in the background are political manoeuvres by Peter Judd, a power hungry Etonian Machiavelli with a penchant for using complicated and old fashioned words to sound intelligent (familiar?) and his new ally Damien Cantor a media genius who owns his own TV Channel, Channel Go. The dance between Peter and Diana is a joy to read with skilled word play and one-upmanship between two people who both want to come out on top. Peter is using Channel Go to push his own agenda and, due to a rare misstep by Diana, he has her well and truly under his thumb, leading her to confide in her old adversary Jackson Lamb.

Lamb is his usual grotesque, flatulent, sharp-witted and deceptively agile man with a sharp tongue and quick mind. Protective over his group of spies (just don’t tell them that) when he discovers they are being followed and are potentially in danger he sets wheels in motion and lays traps. Always one step ahead with an eye on a knife hurtling towards his back he is not to be underestimated.

This book feels very current, from the references to Brexit, Russian spies, and the rise of the right to the harnessing of TV and social media for political gains. The members of Slough House are merely the pawns in the larger game being played with River, the fabulous Roddy, Shirley, Louisa, Catherine and newest member Lec working against Regent’s Park, the home of MI5.

Of course, the star of the show is the writing. Nobody writes like Mick Herron. This is a tense and taut spy thriller but is also political satire with its tongue firmly in cheek. Writing a book which deals with Russian spies, novichok poisoning, right wing uprisings, illicit gains, grief and death and keeping moments of humour is a difficult balancing act, but as ever, Mick Herron deftly handles it. I found myself laughing out loud one moment whilst being pole-axed the next on more than occasion with one event in particular taking my breath away. It is another winner for me.

What more is there to say about Mick Herron’s sharp, witty, satirical and incisive series? Seriously, if you are not reading this series you are missing out. Slough House is the latest and my goodness its wit does not miss and hit the wall.

Horribly echoing contemporary politics (pre-pandemic) Herron takes all the most implausible elements of our actual political scenario and takes them one tiny step forward until the blurring of fact and fiction is all too real and nothing seems unlikely at all.

Lady Di Taverner, current occupant of the First Desk has not responded well to the Russians planting Novichok in Salisbury and in her whiter hot anger she makes a terrible mistake and seals a deal with the devil, in the form of politician Peter Judd. ‘There were those who’d said of Peter Judd, during his years as a contender for the highest office in the land, that his clowning masked a laser-like focus on his own best interests’. It’s not long before she realises that if you sleep with foxes, you get fleas. And Lady Di is itching all over. Right wing politics and an ambitious rich media owner have combined to be her nemesis as knowledge and power are the only currencies that matter in today’s Britain.

Taverner thinks she has it under control, but one of her tidbits of knowledge that she deliberately lets slip is the wiping out of the Slough House employees from the digital intelligence database.

Roddy Ho, idly hacking into the database as is his wont, notices first that they have all been deleted from the files. That’s not something that the foul-mouthed Jackson Lamb is going to overlook and as he moves his corpulent body around London, rather faster and with more stealth than anyone would expect he begins to discover an astonishing scenario playing out that is the inevitable consequence of everything that has happened to date.

Bringing into play everything from Boris Johnson to Nigel Farage; Brexit to Russian interference in political democracies and even the Gilet Jaunes, Herron’s razor sharp wit dissects the current political absurdities with the sharpest of filleting knives.

The Slow Horses themselves are still in a bit of shock after the events of the last book and the knowledge that they are once more invisible, but for a reason, makes them feel more unsettled than ever.

But the Slow Horses work best when under threat and this strange and unruly bunch are not yet ready to give up. As privatisation creeps into the Intelligence Services by the back door, Lamb is not going to put up with such nonsense any longer than he has to.

With some memorable scenes, Lamb goes dark with the Slow Horses in order to find and face down the forces of darkness, and once again Slough House is under serious threat.

There are many laugh- out-loud moments in this exhilarating and penetratingly sharp prose that just touch perfection: ‘This was the spook trade, and when things went awry on Spook Street, they generally went the full Chris Grayling.’ And the mental picture created when Lamb is in the flat of a gay American person of restricted growth listening to him claim that his Russian partner has been murdered by Putin’s death squad is just beautiful.

Herron makes you care about these misfits; you hurt when they hurt and this book is as heart-breaking and touching as its predecessors. It also feels a bit darker, but I think that’s because it is so close to the bone – so plausible it hurts.

Verdict: An immense, brilliant book in a fantastic and beautifully written series. Herron is a razor sharp writer whose descriptions make you sit up and take notice and his wit is scathing and so well directed. And that prose: rich, dark, intense and utterly, completely, wonderful. Just brilliant. All the stars, each of the books.

As an avid follower of the slow horses and head jockey Jackson Lamb I read this book with great anticipation. Ever engaged in not so friendly fire from the Park the wary Mr Lamb finds himself also engaged on the Russian Front as a couple of ex “joe’s” are terminated with the prospect of more to follow. Never letting his brand of sartorial elegance drop or wit be dimmed he uncovers the truth hidden behind the politics and ego’s whilst his team endeavour to prove their true worth, taking out an assassination team and him meting out a bit of justice to an ex “dog”. With another enemy team unaccounted for they are not safe yet and the life of a joe hangs in the balance…
As one of the shorter characters says “ I like to keep my ears close to the ground” so will I, waiting to hear when the follow on book is due.

If you have read any of the earlier books from this series (I read 'Joe Country'). I believe it is much easier to follow "Slough House" being more able to understand the previous events and the weird mix of characters especially as I found the book did not really get going until about 45% of the way through - some considerable time. While appreciating it is both humorous and tongue-in-cheek satire was it really necessary to include the tragedy and death of real-life people at Salisbury and the sniping at both Brexit (not mentioned in name) and the current PM. I am not sure what this added.
Nevertheless a lot of humour in places and we wait to see if the author can squeeze any more stories from the remaining characters.
My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm afraid I didn't get on with this book. As a previously staunch supporter of all books written by Mick Herron, I"m disappointed to have to write this and say I can't write a public review. I've stopped reading at 45% as it still feels as though it's still setting up. Nothing has really happened. I don't know what the story is. I have ADORED all the books in the rest of the series and love Mick's writing. But this just doesn't hold my attention. It may be that I'm recovering from Covid and that has affected my reading mojo. But at this time I am unable to finish reading or review this book.

I was so excited for the latest edition of Slough House that I read the last two Novella’s (that I somehow missed) as a prelude to the series namesake. But let me tell you, that little taster took nothing away from the moment that I was re-introduced to the Slow Horses and more specifically that larger than life (excuse the pun) first interaction with the larger than life (yes, he deserves a fat joke) Jackson Lamb. Damn have I missed that guy!

The new edition of Slough House doesn’t disappoint. It actually does it utmost at negatively disappointing, if that was ever a concept to aim for. I loved re-uniting with the Slow Horses, and loved the underlying story line equally. The inclusion of ‘fictional’ current events, with the Novichok poisoning and current cabinet and PM (“…..regard him as a cross between a game show host and a cartoon yeti”) was brillaint.

If you love Slough House, you’ll love Slough House!
If you are new to Jackson Lamb and his team of colourful misfits, do yourself a favour and start from the beginning.

Thank you NetGalley and John Murray Press for a review copy.

“’We’re Slough House’, he said. Then added, ‘Hasta la vista baby,’ before following the others down the stairs”

As a big fan of Mick Herron's previous Slough House books I had high expectations but I think they might even have been exceeded in this latest installment. Brilliant pacing, familiar characters and his own distinctive style of atmospheric scene setting. Cannot WAIT for the next one now.

I wasn’t sure about this book at first-the style,is definitely an acquired taste-but as I went on reading it,I became completely gripped by the clever ,intricately woven plot and cast of mainly unlikeable characters,led by the horrendous but wonderful Jackson Lamb.
I think I’ll go back now and read the earlier books ,as it would have been much easier to follow this book if I had had a better understanding of the characters’ relationship to each other and events that had gone before.
Definitely one to recommend for readers of the previous books in the series. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

What can I say, I absolutely loved this book!!

The 'slow horses' are back with a vengeance, even though they have all disappeared from the Park's data base and no one seems to know why. There have also been two suspicious deaths of two old slow horses, are they being targeted? In the mix is the reappearance of an old character, risen from the dead!

The book is brlliant, the shenanigans with Diane Taverner and the oily Peter Judd are just amazing, add to that Jackson Lamb, who has to be one of my book heroes (maybe anti hero?) and you have a book that you can't put down. Great characters, interactions, this has every thing.

Highly recommended and so looking forward to the next one, please make it soon!

As the last book ended, Slough house and all the slow horses were wiped off all official records, but it now seems that they are still on the payroll with Slough house up for sale. How Diana the front desk falls into the clutches of political interests that results in the slow horses being hunted makes a complex story of plots and counter plots. When Lamb leans of two retired ones murdered, he realises that for some reason the slow horses have been targeted for assassination and that they must act. How they discover why and manage to survive, killing one of the teams at the cost of Rivers in hospital struggling for his life makes a great story With a second assassination team still at large, Diana left on a string in the clutches of the obnoxious Peter and Rivers hovering between life and death, it seems that there is another instalment to come. Can’t wait to read it.