I'm a latecomer to Mick Herron's Slow Horses series but very quickly he's joined the list of my favourite authors ,along with such luminaries as Don Winslow, Ian Rankin and Jo Nesbo ,whose books always leave me in 2 minds when I've finished them,satisfied at having enjoyed a great read and frustrated that the next one is several months away. More so with this series as I've read them all back to back over a few weeks and now have to wait months for the next one like everyone else.

Slough House is the latest episode in the saga of the security service's dumping ground for the damaged and defective and named after the building where they're ,supposedly,kept out of trouble doing mundane and soul-destroying jobs in the hope that they'll take the hint and seek employment elsewhere. Led by the foul-mouthed ,disgusting,ignorant ,slothful and extremely flatulent Jackson Lamb,possibly the most damaged of them all,the motley crew find themselves puzzled and perturbed by what Roddy Ho discovered at the end of the previous book. When former Slow Horses start to die in suspicious circumstances it becomes apparent that they're being targeted by a crack team of Russian assassins on a revenge mission who have somehow got the idea that the Slow Horses are their British equivalent. Why that is leads to murky waters and dark deeds,game on.

What follows is the usual mix of thriller,satire, black humour and political shenanigans with a lot of current themes and Herron throwing in the odd titbit that has the reader wondering if it's gossip or something the media wouldn't dare report dropped in as a fictional aside,this time hints of court injunctions and a prominent national figure, while a comment Lamb makes about the Duke of Wessex had me laughing out loud , Prince Andrew gets off slightly lighter but not by much. As so often with this series the political scheming and dirty tricks, seem both over the top and scarily possible, When a book can be entertaining ,funny and at the same time thought-provoking it's hitting the spot.

Jackson Lamb fans will love this one but I'd advise anyone who hasn't read any of the series to begin with the first one, Slow Horses, and work their way through ,they'll get far more from the books that way and understand how the various characters tick.

My carefully organized reading list just took a direct hit. When I receive the latest in this series, there is zero chance it’s going to sit there patiently waiting its turn. Because I already know that lurking inside is an intricate plot wrapped around plenty of wit & humour. All that remains is to dive in & find out what fresh hell Jackson Lamb (AKA Mick Herron) & his crew stumble into this time.

The last book ended rather cryptically, leaving me a tad uneasy as to the fate of the Slow Horses. And after the first few chapters, that feeling was back. With bells on. At first there’s just a whisper, a fleeting glimpse of a stranger having a really bad day. Something odd is happening & it’s clear there’s been a subtle shift in the status quo.

But let’s be honest. When it comes to this gang of MI5 rejects, “something odd” is hardly breaking news. It’s just that this time, things are a bit more….um….fatal. The Horses need someone on top of their game, a seasoned agent with the smooth moves to seamlessly infiltrate those behind the heinous plot.

Or…they could turn to the Ho. Roddy Ho, that is. During one of his routine hacks of the HR department, he notices odd thing #1: all the Slow Horses have been erased from the files. It seems they no longer exist. Huh…maybe he’d better run this by boss Jackson Lamb.

I’m not going to get into the plot. Just know that Herron is playing the long game & the seeds for this were planted a few books ago. There’s a persistent creepiness from the beginning that only intensifies as it becomes clear someone is manipulating events like a chess master. Ghosts from the past, novichok poisonings & Lady Di’s latest machinations are just some of the obstacles thrown in the path of the regular cast.

Herron’s dialogue remains one of the most enjoyable aspects of these books & each of the characters has lines that make you giggle. But it’s Roddy Ho who really shines in this outing. He sees himself as the love child of James Bond & Jason Bourne, a legendary spook who’s irresistible to anything with ovaries. Mind you, nothing could be further from the truth but don’t worry. The “HotRod” is not one to let something as trivial as reality alter his world view.

River, Louisa, Lech, Catherine, Shirley…they’re all back. And though they may squabble like siblings, it’s a given they’ll have each other’s back as events around them spiral out of control. Their interactions are often loud, sometimes violent & always entertaining. But in separate chapters, we spend one-on-one time with each & it’s in these private, sometimes poignant moments we hear their thoughts & fears.

As usual, the author includes plenty of sly commentary about the state of the world we live in. And once again he ends things in a way that has me fearing what I’ll find in the next book. It can’t arrive soon enough.

I was delighted to receive the latest Slough House novel – seventh in a series which is current, political, clever, witty and realistic. Diana Taverner finds herself making some bad decisions in this novel; not the least her involvement with Peter Judd, who bears more than a little resemblance to our current Prime Minister. For there has been foreign agents spreading havoc, not least poisoning civilians, in a way that actually happened. Such events, on home turf, require a response and Taverner is keen enough to make that happen to allow Judd’s involvement.

Nothing happens without consequences though and, in a strange twist of fate, Slough House finds itself under threat. Their careers already buried, the Slow Horses now find their service records have been wiped. Still, someone is aware of their existence, as there are odd deaths and even stranger resurrections. With the Slow Horses in danger it is, again, up to Jackson Lamb to shuffle out of his lair and protect those who shuffle paper under his domain.

It is hard to say how much I love this series. From the recognition of having two of the Slow Horses trail around the familiar Old Street roundabout I know well, to Ho’s wonderfully delusional behaviour, or just Jackson Lamb accidentally throwing his lighter out of a window, this has some fantastically dry humour – mostly in Lamb’s sly, cruel and extremely politically incorrect language. Still, he shows, in this book, that he is more than capable of breaking bones and breaking into buildings. Underestimate him at your peril – he is not to be fooled, or fooled with.

One thing about this series is, despite the humour, the danger is real and the ending of this novel will pull the reader up short. Despite the emotional investment I have with this series, and the characters, I (gratefully) received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Another excellent outing for Slough House and its collection of misfits. Mick Herron is on top form here and the story line (the eradication of Sough House and its inhabitants) is brilliantly done. I felt that this book finally makes the characters ‘human’ in a way that perhaps has been lacking before. They are well-rounded characters now, dealing with the lot that life throws at them. Even Lamb, ferocious in his defence of ‘his’ spooks, shows some emotion by the end.
My only disappointment is having finished it and knowing there will be a long wait until the next instalment.
My thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

An excellent addition to a brilliant series. This book is edgier and more biting in its satire than the previous Slough House books but the wit and the fun is still there. The characters all feel real and that makes us care about them and worry about them even when what they are doing is reprehensible. I would highly recommend that anybody who has not yet read this series start from the beginning and enjoy them all in sequence. You will not be disappointed.

Slough House gets title billing in the seventh book of Mick Herron's Slough House series, and with good reason, as Slough House, the nondescript building close to the Barbican in the East of London that is currently occupied by the dregs, failures and misfits of the British Intelligence Device, has been wiped from the map. Not literally, although the kill rate there seems to be higher than the average - Darwin's Law in action - but rather wiped, deleted and expunged from the service records. It's as if it didn't exist, which of course officially it doesn't. Something is going down however and it's not going to be good for the physically and odorously repulsive but seemingly invulnerable Jackson Lamb and his crew of 'slow horses'.

It's become difficult for writers to satirise UK and world politics these days when the government do a much better job of it themselves, and I thought the world was one step up the absurd ladder ahead of Herron in his last few Slough House books (London Rules, Joe Country). The author stages a remarkable comeback here however, both in the contemporary relevance and absurdity stakes, showing that there are even worse off spooks than those in Slough House (see the last novella The Catch). Just as wonderfully, he's on top writing form, still managing to come up with amusing descriptions and similes, such as Lamb turning up at out-of-hours spooks club above a tobacconists shop attended by undesirables of all nationalities "a doss house for the weird and lonely', where "Lamb had found a bottle of malt and was in a corner smoking, looking like a bin someone had set fire to".

So Herron makes more use of the real world this time, and here the operative issue involving the Park - the headquarters of British Intelligence Services managed by First Desk Diana Taverner - is that they've taken out one of Putin's men on his own turf, "a hit on the hitter" who recently came over to the UK ostensibly as a tourist and left a few people in a bad way with the not particularly careful application of Novichok. Due to budgetary constraints and operational difficulties causes by the Brexit European withdrawal (which Herron compares to not so much a Dunkirk retreat dressed up as victory as more of a Titanic moment) there was a bit of private outsourcing involved and that turns out not to have been a great idea. Absurd? I'm not so sure the world isn't still one step ahead, but Herron certainly knows how to expose the humour of it.

As for Slough House, as unlikely as it seems, but you know how leaks and rumours tend to get around - sometimes intentionally - Putin's people have been led to believe that the British Secret Service have a hotshot squad of international assassins and ...you guessed it, someone has pointed the finger at Slough House. Ouch. Of all the fates that have befallen Lamb's team of underappreciated slobs and screw-ups, this is surely going to be the mother of all headaches for them yet. How many are we going to see whacked this time? Well, it's definitely bad news for one or two of them and, strange as it seems, one former slow horse is even in danger of being killed a second time.

Herron is on top form here. The last few Slough House books felt very insular with a lot of spy-on-spy rivalry and settling of scores. There's quite a bit of that here too of course, but this time it feels more connected to the world outside. There's always a degree of political satire in Herron's Slough House/Jackson Lamb series but here he touches upon some larger scale targets (or conspiracies if you like) involving the media, national sovereignty, business influence on government, social unrest, public protests and its manipulation by ambitious populist politicians to boost their own profile and further their career. More than that, even with all the humour and satire, Herron finds a way to make this feel very real and human; and not necessarily human in any positive sense.

I would like to thank Netgalley and John Murray Press for an advance copy of Slough House, the seventh novel to feature British Intelligence’s rejects, housed in the eponymous Slough House.

The denizens of Slough House discover that they have been erased from MI5’s records and some feel they are being followed, then they discover that some former members have died in mysterious circumstances. It’s enough to make a spook paranoid. Meanwhile the head of MI5, Diana Taverner, is still smarting from the novichok poisoning last year and goes off the books to mount a retaliatory operation, funded by “angels” and led by arch political manipulator Peter Judd. Has she bitten off more than she can chew?

I thoroughly enjoyed Slough House which often made me laugh out loud but still manages to make some serious points about life in the upper echelons of power. It may be satirical but it’s no less believable for it. I love the idea of the good guys being the discards from spy central and who, yet, despite their ignominious fate and treatment are the idealists prepared to put country above self. Ok, it’s blundering, quarrelsome, often rude and generally absurd but they do it their way and it’s very funny. Their counterpoint is the ever scheming Lady Diana as she’s known and boy, does she get hoist by her own petard in this one. Yay.

The plot is fairly complicated, weaving together various strands and treacheries, but it’s never difficult to follow or less than gobsmacking at the Machiavellian hubris of most of the non slow horses, notably Diana Taverner and Peter Judd, who is portrayed as a smart Boris. Of course, Jackson Lamb, head of Slough House, is in the mix too, but his machinations, designed to protect his people, are slow to get started. I kept waiting for him to fire up mentally while laughing at his unPC mouth.

Slough House is essentially a tale of incompetence besting political scheming and it’s an amusing journey. There are some surprises and a bit of a cliffhanger at the end so the next novel will be a long time coming. It held my attention throughout with its clever plot and sparkling dialogue (ha) so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

Having thoroughly enjoyed previous books in this series, I was rather disappointed in this effort.
First, I was uncomfortable with the inclusion of two ordinary members of the pubic in a fiction. I know they were treated respectfully and not named, but it just feels wrong to include innocent Novichok victims in this story.
I also think repeatedly referring to Brexit as "You-know-what" is rather arch. Is this to avoid triggering still-mourning Euro-philes ? Or does he think Leavers are too thick to know what he is talking about ?
Which character is supposed to be the evil BoJo - Judd or the PM ? I am confused.
There some very purple passages including the whimsical descriptions of the building itself and a few other phrases that should have been edited out. Lamb is just the same joke repeated and has not developed and neither have any of the other characters apart from River. The fight scene by the lake was very dull.
Apart from that, the story is very slow to get going - maybe it was me but it didn't take off until well over half way.
A generous 3* for old times' sake...

As usual in my reviews (and particularly reviews of the latest in a series!) I will not rehash the plot - I would not wish to give away any spoilers. My advice is to read this for yourself!

If you haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting the cast of "Slow Horses", headed by the incomparable (for many reasons - not all appealing!) Jackson Lamb, then take the time to read this series from the start.

I was delighted to be invited to read the latest in the Slough House series, been looking forward to it since I finished the previous title. As always with a series, one worries that it might lose its punch, but this book didn't disappoint. It was fabulous to re-engage with the cast of misfits - and some new characters - in an engaging multi-threaded plot.

We are left on something of a cliffhanger, so hopefully this means there is another book in the offing. Can't wait!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC, and to Mick Herron for another fabulous read. All opinions my own.

What is there to say? Mick Herron has created a winning formula and has simply continued with it n this, the seventh book in a wonderful series.

Beautifully written and researched, well drawn characters, funny, witty and wise.

What more can you ask for?

Wow! Mind Blown again by Mic Herron as he brings us Slough House Book 7 - Slough House.

One of the most outstanding series of books out there at the the moment, Herron and his razor sharp wit and protagonist Jackson Lamb are back in one of the best in the series yet. As ever Mick Herron writes his British Spy Stories with a blistering satire, His portrayal of the British way of life and his handling of the establishment Is on its own. Herron takes no prisoners as this current story mirrors events in our lives,

With Russian GRU agents loose, and Slough House under its biggest threat yet, Lamb enables his team of rag tag agents, Cartwright, Louisa Guy, Dander, Roddy Ho, new guy Lech and of course , Standish.

This is another whip smart offering, that is full of Lamb and his Brutal Rhetoric that makes you smile when you really really shouldn’t. This is Britain and its secret service laid bare.

Absolutely outstanding, but also this time very moving, and almost poignant with a finale and end to leave us fans on edge until the shadow of Jackson Lamb Darkens our path again.

Book of the year material

Slow horses is one of my absolute favourite series and Mick Herron’s brilliant, sharp-witted writing wins the day again with this new addition to the stable. Jackson Lamb the foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, chain-smoking slob of a boss is laugh out loud funny, but he’s also astute, scheming and always has the back of his motley crew of “horses”, even if they don’t have the foggiest. Casting Gary Oldman as Lamb in the forthcoming TV series is an inspired choice. I highly recommend reading the earlier books in order not only to appreciate the progression of the backstories and the skill of the author, but also because they are highly enjoyable.

Herron’s Slough House series is best read in order and this, the 7th opens in a slow, whimsical way which aficionados will tune into quite quickly but anyone who hasn’t been here before will wonder what on earth is going on. So if you’ve not read any before stop reading this and turn immediately to Slow Horses, the first in this quirky, irreverent series which cocks a snook at the establishment and all who think they are running it. Once the scene is set the action moves from 0-90 in a matter of sentences and doesn’t stop until the very last second of the book, where I was left desperately hoping that there would be more pages hidden somewhere behind the acknowledgments because I just didn’t want it to end, especially not there which I can’t comment on without too many spoilers. Jackson Lamb, that vile excuse for a human being who is the one character I would always want at my back in times of crisis no matter how much he professes to hates humanity, has assembled his hapless staff of spy misfits to stand and be berated at his regular staff briefing. Whilst there they discover that someone is following them, their personnel records have disappeared from the Park, where the real spies work under the evilly ambitious First Desk Diana Taverner and if only he’d share information they’d know that Jackson has been speaking to someone about Russian assassinations. All are linked of course and it’s up to our heroes to blunder their way through Jackson’s light touch directions to save themselves, each other and the world. Rules are broken, people are hurt, people are killed but as long as Di Taverner wants rid of them Jackson will do his damndest to protect his staff. Fabulous, irreverent spy drama with a firm base in current events with instantly recognisable politicians and enough wry north eastern humour to ease the tension.

Another good offering from Mick Herron. Love the characters and their ongoing saga at Slough House. Quite tame in comparison to earlier books but still an adventurous read. Why isn't this a series on TV?

I cannot recommend this series highly enough - however, you must read the series in order or you will not only feel a little lost, but will miss out on the great characters and narrative of the preceding novels. Even when there is nothing happening, Herron still builds up an expectation that something just might and propels the reader ever onwards. I really did no want this read to end.

I could blather on and on about how good the Slough House series is - take my word for it - buy them / read them!

It is always a joy when a new addition to Mick Herron's superb Slow Horses series makes an appearance, and believe me when I say this one lives up to all my high expectations, smart, razor sharp satire and comic humour, unparalleled in its ability to follow and echo the nightmare that is our contemporary British politics. The Salisbury Novichok poisonings, Russian secret service interference on British soil, has not gone down well in political or intelligence circles, so much so that First Desk arch-manipulator Diana Taverner loses touch with her better instincts as she seeks revenge, making a deal with the devil that results in the Kazan episode. 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.

The rag tag bunch of our slow horses, still reeling from recent losses, led by the monstrous yet brilliant Lamb,find themselves erased from the intelligence service databases, but being regularly followed, and their ranks being further depleted, is it paranoia or are they being targeted? There are multiple threads, a government for whom everything is for sale, Lamb finds himself 'comforting' a gay American dwarf who believes the Russians murdered his partner, River finds someone seeking refuge and help at his grandfather's house whilst Shirley and Lech find themselves joining forces, and the slow horses are not going to leave their fate in the hands of others. Out on the streets of London, there are right wing populist protests that Judd hopes to manipulate in search of power and for his own ends, and as events turn perilous, the slow horses go dark, leading to a heartbreaking conclusion and cliffhanger.

Herron's series, and this addition make for unmissable reading, and once again the highlight is the revolting man mountain that is the politically incorrect Jackson Lamb, happy to abuse his slow horses, but woe betide anyone else who targets them. I understand there is going to a be TV series, with Gary Oldman as Lamb, something I am looking forward to but slightly apprehensive that all the glories of the books may not translate well to the screen. I adored how Herron parodied Boris and his government, although a recent American Democrat's insightful perception of Boris as a 'shapeshifting creep' has wormed itself into my head and it feels as if it is there to stay. This is high quality and hugely entertaining read, yet moving and so poignant, that I highly recommend to all of Herron's fans and to all those readers who have yet to discover this marvellous espionage series. Many thanks to John Murray Press for an ARC.

Slough House by Mick Herron
Another book about the spy rejects from Slough House is always a joy and this is no exception. I love the humour in the books and the swipes which are made at the real people who are currently running (ruining?) our country.
The team from Slough House appear to be disappearing at a faster rate than usual and it appears that they are being used as target practice for trainee spies from Regents Park. Thrown into the mix are the events in Salisbury with the Novichok poisoning and as usual Diana Taverner, First Desk, is at the heart of it but this time not quite in control.
Jackson Lamb is a fantastic character and the descriptions of him are brilliant:-
A door banged; not one form the yard, but the toilet on the floor below. So Lamb had floated in and up several flights of stairs without fluttering a cobweb on his way. It was unnerving to picture him doing this, like imagining a tapir playing hopscotch.
Jackson Lamb takes being obnoxious to new heights and his encounter with the American trying to find out what happened to his Russian partner is his piece de resistance.
The author interweaves many contemporary references and the wonderful description of the current prime minister as ‘a cross between a game show host and a cartoon yeti’ is perfect.
The interference of Peter Judd and Damian, of Channel Go the new online news channel, has dropped Diana in the proverbial from a great height.
It is his descriptions of people which are so close to the mark that you can imagine them sweating beside you:-
His guest was a man in early middle age, running to fat, and with sweaty jowls which weren’t shave too closely; less a style statement than a lack of car. His hair hadn’t been washed of late, and his shirt was too snug for a bystander’s comfort, so God knew what it felt like wearing it.
The final pages are incredibly touching as we veer from London to the countryside and from one ‘slow horse’ to another. A fantastic addition to the series and I eagerly await the next instalment. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and the entire series.
Many thanks to Mick Herron, John Murray,the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Another superb tale of Slough House’s Jackson Lamb and his collection of spy rejects – ‘slow horses’. In the latest, simply named ‘Slough House’, the group is in more danger of being eradicated than ever before. Not only do they appear to be target practice for the trainees over at Regent’s Park but, far more concerning, a pair of foreign interlopers are intent on picking them off, one by one.
Lady Di Taverner, First Deck at Regent’s Park is taking revenge for foreign operatives poisoning on British soil – sounds familiar? However, she’s not quite as in control as usual. Peter Judd, a career bureaucrat, and his media mogul sidekick have compromised her. Can Jackson Lamb actually be her ally for a change?
As the plots intertwine and the Slough House team (maybe too presumptuous a choice of noun in this case!) either run away from or chase after their attackers, Mick Herron gives us yet another clever, gripping, brilliantly told episode in the lives of Jackson and his people. And if you like your humour dark, then there is no better place to lurk. Herron weaves in plenty of contemporary references; a particular choice description of the current prime minister as ‘a cross between a game show host and a cartoon yeti’ had me laughing out loud.
In contrast, as in the rest of this series, Herron introduces moments of genuine compassion amongst the ‘slow horses’ and the characters are further developed so that, despite their strange situations, they are credible, fascinating individuals. Other than perhaps IT nerd Roddy Ho – the Rodster. But maybe we can conjure up a little pity for one so lacking in self-awareness! There are some heart-in-the-mouth sections because Herron can be ruthless with his cast; occupants of Slough House are dispensable. However, these are balanced against some unexpectedly moving moments. The final pages of the novel are incredibly touching and beautifully written as the narrator moves from the countryside to city, from ‘horse’ to ‘horse’ taking the reader from despair to dismay at the thought of having to wait a while longer for the outcome, hoping against hope…
My thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

I'm totally invested in the world of the slow horses of Slough House since starting the series in 2017. Joy is unbridled when each new book is announced . The only slight nagging doubt is whether it will maintain the sky high quality standards.

I was lucky enough to be allowed to read Slough House (Slough House #7) prior to its official publication on 4 February 2021. In the unlikely event that you are reading this and have yet to read previous books in the series, then stop what you are doing and read the previous six novels (and ideally the novellas too which add further levels of richness to the Slough House world).

Regular readers know that the sense of jeopardy in this series is very real. Favourite characters can, and do, die. In Slough House this process goes into overdrive as Slough House has been wiped from Service records, and fatal "accidents" keep happening to associates.

As always Mick Herron uses contemporary events to inform his plots which gives them the feel of a highly credible parallel universe. Slough House is another top notch tale.

The star of the show continues to be Jackson Lamb, the Slough House boss. As obnoxious as ever, complete with a range of disgusting personal habits which he wears as a badge of honour. Underestimate him at your peril though.

Saying anything more about the plot might ruin the magic, suffice to say Mick Herron delivers, as always.

4/5

Probably all that really need be said about Slough House is that it’s well up to the standard of the rest of this brilliant series. It is difficult to elaborate more without any spoilers, but…

Slough House has everything one expects from Mick Herron: a complex but comprehensible plot involving the usual political chicanery involving Diana Taverner and Peter Judd (who, disclaimers about resemblance to real people living or dead notwithstanding, is a brilliant parody of the current Prime Minister). There is genuine threat from foreign agents, too, with some very exciting passages and sometimes wholly unexpected developments. The occupants of Slough House are their customary brilliant character studies with Roddy Ho’s wonderful self-delusion and Shirley Dander’s impatient, drug-fuelled rage especially prominent this time – and, of course, Jackson Lamb is on magnificently sharp, repellent form.

In short, this is another cracker from Mick Herron. It’s gripping, involving, very funny in places and has a very shrewd take on contemporary events. Very warmly recommended indeed. (And how long until the next one…?)

(My thanks to John Murray for an ARC vis NetGalley.)