Since Ashley is as paranoid as any other spy, and clueless as well, shes baffled by the interactions around her in Slough House. This is my favorite type of book - clever humor (esp British) with a good story. David discusses the cicada theory of Russian sleeper agents embedded in British society, which MI5 dismissed as a hoax after no sleepers were found and discovered that the programs alleged mastermind, Alexander Popov, did not exist. With the 2022 release of the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses, however, it's come onto the radar of an entirely new set of people - many of them addicted to the twists and turns and delightful subterfuge . Both are excellent books and reviewed on our site. In the dilapidated offices of Slough House, these files spooks spend their time on various pointless tasks, designed to break their will and bring about their resignations, avoiding the hassle, expense and bad publicity of employment tribunals. Ho is the computer nerd, a legend in his own mind; Dander is a brash cokehead; and Wicinski a desk analyst who was framed for paedophilia. Slough House has been wiped from Service records, and fatal accidents keep happening. Constant budget constraints have left the Park unable to respond to Russian provocation. (SPOILER) I was very sorry at the departure of two in Joe Country, though one seemed to me less of a loss. English crime author Mick Herron didnt begin his writing career with the Slough House series, but theres no doubt these novels represent his most successful work. One could certainly be excused for not looking at Lambbetween his predictably terrible farts, his smoking and spitting, and his disgustingly soiled clothing and office, hes both camouflaged and repellent. Herron won the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger for this novel, though for my money his debut is a better book.Buy now on Amazon, Catherine Standish is abducted by a disgraced soldier with service connections in his past. And in the end, when offered the carrot of a return to Regent's Park, he betrayed Jackson Lamb by pretending he'd seen him talking to Alan Black before the kidnapping. Slough House is an administrative purgatory for MI5 service rejects who have bungled their job but somehow have not been outright fired. Not crucial questions but worth thinking about . At the head of this seeming hodgepodge of debris stands the Falstaffian Jackson Lamb. River Cartwright, one such "slow horse," is bitter about his failure and about his tedious assignment transcribing cell phone conversations. Beyond the individual storylines exist a set of meta-plots, developing over the series as a whole, which again must be read in order. With a seasoned spy for a grandfather, his star in MI5 was expected to ascend into the stratosphere. Cant think of any current heavy actors. When a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to broadcast his beheading live on the Internet, River sees an opportunity to redeem himself. Thats how I interpret it. . The impetus for the plot is a fictionalized version of the Skripal incident: Russian agents smeared the Novichok nerve agent on the Salisbury doorknob of a former Russian military officer, Sergei Skripal, who had been a double agent for British intelligence. 'Slough House' is my seventh visit with the British Security Service screwups who have been exiled from the shining high-tech HQ to the grimy dilapidation of Slough House where they live lives of demoralising drudgery, doing nugatory work for the irascible Jackson Lamb. The complete guide to Mick Herrons Slough House series, Irish crime drama North Sea Connection comes to BBC Four. Newcomer Marcus Longridge replaces Min on the Pashkin assignment, and confesses to Louisa he has a gambling addiction. Sadly it wasn't enough to prevent her from being shot by her colleague Jed Moody, who she interrupted when he was trying to clean up Taverner's operation. Former field agent Richard Bough, aka Dickie Bow, recognizes a man who tortured him during the Cold War, follows him, and dies on a rail replacement bus of an apparent heart attack. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Well, unless you count Ashley Khan. Meanwhile, Claude Whelan, current First Desk, is caught between a weak PM and a populist MP flushed from a successful Brexit referendum. All Rights Reserved. He could see one of either breed breaking a lock, finessing a window; could see them working round the study, looking for clues. Part of the popularity of the series lies in the fact these books simply make you feel good. Questions that we will likely get answered right away in Slough House . The first season received critical acclaim. True, Ho and Standish managed to retroactively track the movements of Alan Black's alias and locate the van he had hired for the kidnapping. Slovenly, rude, and apparently drunk most of the time. Such events, on home turf, require a response and Taverner is keen enough to make that happen to allow Judds involvement. From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels! Lamb informs her there is a bomb in the car he returned, which allows Cartwright to sneak in whilst Duffy's security team investigates. Before we discuss the books in more detail, lets have a look at some of the main characters. . THE SITE FOR DIE HARD CRIME & THRILLER FANS. Forming a protective ring around him, they stopped chief dog Nick Duffy from shooting him from a helicopter. Theyre still getting paid but no longer formally exist and things get more sinister when Louisa Guy discovers that someone from the Service is trailing her and the other slow horses find that they are also being followed. My reason for four stars is the "blankety blank" cliffhanger ending. Still, I am broken-hearted and may not be able to finish Bad Actors. He now lives in Oxford and works in London. Im also worried about one or more Slow Horses dying in the next installment (my fingers are crossed so hard that it wont be River), but Louisas mourning Min/her continued engagement with his family gives me hope that even if we lose another Slow Horse or two, theyll be remembered. The significance of her connection to Black wasn't obvious to him, of course, because he didn't know Black from any other random thug, but she knew that the connection was something she needed to bury. Notable other characters appearing in more than one season include: Notable other characters appearing in Season 1 - Slow Horses include: Notable other characters appearing in Season 2 - Dead Lions include: After making a serious mistake during a live training exercise at Stansted Airport, MI5 agent River Cartwright is demoted to dead end work at Slough House in lieu of being fired. And will Herron reveal this fact early in the book or leave us hanging throughout? He is assigned by his superior Jackson Lamb to carry out surveillance on Robert Hobden, a journalist associated with far-right politicians Peter Judd MP and Roger Simmonds. Not with either side. Joe Country was particularly bloody for some of them. River Cartwright was sent to Slough House after a training exercise left King's Cross crashed. Guess I will have to wait for Joe Country (suspecting that is the needed volume) to become available. En route to Regent's Park, Standish is able to free herself and Lamb after pulling a Glock 17 from her handbag, the weapon having been taken from Moody and placed there by Lamb. So it's "the f**king wilderness" for him. Taverner is dealing with intelligence and now Home Secretary Peter Judd MP regarding a large upcoming anti-capitalist protest in London. Where to start with Roddy? How is River handling patricide? Lamb meets with Nikolai Katinsky, an ex-KGB agent and defector. [9] The cast was rounded out in December 2020 with the additions of Olivia Cooke, Jonathan Pryce, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden. Blue shirt. In fact, listening to this has made me even more curious to see the tv series. Read the book and then laugh at my incorrect guesses! The main series development is the return of Sid Baker, which was first teased in LONDON RULES but finally Herron reveals that yes, she did survive SLOW HORSES and has spent the last few years recuperating in a Service facility in the Lake District. River Cartwright who took centre stage in Slow Horses drops out of the limelight in this one, and no one really fills that centre stage position. I dont mind spoilers I just put them behind a cut so people have a choice of reading on. Herron also makes some sharp digs about the role of the media in shaping the political agenda courtesy of newcomer Damien Cantor whose only loyalty is to his own power and wealth. Slough House is his reward for taking care of Charles Partner for MI5. Hassan then has to fight the urge to kill Curly himself, which he ultimately doesn't. Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, an up-and-coming MI5 agent shunted aside to Slough House after a very public training exercise mistake. Now, like his fellow slow horses, he keeps looking for new ways to revive his career. (LogOut/ This season is based on the second of the best-selling Slough House novels by Mick Herron, Dead Lions, and once again stars the dynamic duo of Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden as Jackson Lamb and River . Lamb retains all of his old skills and is a fearsome operator. All we know about her on the show is that she's lonely and misses being part of a team. Required fields are marked *. And true, River even tracked the remaining thug to a remote folly and had a real-life James Bond gunfight with him. Slow Horses ending explained: Did they save Hassan? Required fields are marked *. Herrons plot is packed with twists and delightfully sardonic conversations, and the books only major flaw is that at some point it ends and one must resume normal life.. Chernitsky ambushes Ho on the train and escapes after an altercation with Dander. Not that Mick Herron pays the slightest attention to what his fans want, but I for one would love to see the return of Sid, and would welcome possible Sid-River interactions, but I guess thats not in the cards. If Herron has whacked him then I think its a really interesting decision because on one level, his story arc had mostly come to an end anyway (the OB is dead, we know who his dad was and hes dead too) and it does show that no one in Slough House is safe from whacking. I like the way events of previous novels continue to effect the narrative. EEAAO star gives tearful speech after historic win, The best Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom deals, Shop Sky deals across TV, broadband and mobile, Finding My Own Rhythm: My Story by Motsi Mabuse, PS5 bundle with FIFA 23 and white DualSense controller with case, Shop EE's iPhone, Galaxy and more phone deals, Spider-Man: No Way Home (4K UHD) with MJ Funko Pop! Nick Duffy 14 episodes, 2022-2023 Alongside that are running gags, observational humour and the vulgar insults Jackson Lamb regularly spits at his team. While she obsesses on punishing Lamb, the team is actually in crisis mode. Eventually Lamb reveals that he's guilt-stricken because he gave Partner the gun that he used to shoot himself. River Cartwright was sent to Slough House after a training exercise left Kings Cross crashed. I dunno. Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb? The Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman is playing Lamb, Kristin Scott Thomas the steely apparatchik Diana Taverner, and Jack Lowden the disgraced young agent River Cartwright. [3] Each season has been based on an individual book in the Slough House series. Taverner is forced to accept funds from disgraced politician Peter Judd a thinly disguised Boris Johnson in order to subcontract a tit-for-tat response. Sid, alive but in critical condition, is taken to hospital by MI5 security operatives who detain Cartwright. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. In the aftermath, a dead body in the elder Cartwright's home is identified by Jackson Lamb as being that of River Cartwright. Your email address will not be published. The Russians cut the session when a friend visits, and afterwards Min is killed when supposedly struck accidentally by a car as he is cycling home drunk. Taverner meets with Lamb and reveals Ahmed is the nephew of the second in command of Pakistani Military Intelligence. Hes a serious young man, and of all the slow horses the most upset at his demotion. (LogOut/ River is tempted to reveal that it's really very obviously because he's "an insufferable prick". Skripal and his daughter were badly poisoned, but eventually recovered. So they all get to stay put at Slough House, no prizes, no pats on the back, just a dismal career under Jackson Lamb's nicotine-stained thumb. The subject matter allows for some sophisticated satire and some notable current politicians are lampooned pseudonymously. But they have they actually been targeted? However, she is soon reminded there is no such thing as a free lunch and we observe that there are no limits to Judds ambition. Whats Diana Taverner like as First Desk? Im hopeful well get some closure on that dangling Sid plot line. Another semi-c0mpetent agent, Louisa is a little more able than most of Slough House's denizens. Lamb breaks him out, and the two deduce Moody was the gunman sent to kill Hobden. He's a serious young man, and of all the slow horses the most upset at his demotion. At the same time, Lamb is out in Oxford looking into the suspicious death of a retired agent. River Cartwright is positioned as Lamb's spiritual opposite. Like the previous novels, it was shortlisted for a number of prestigious wards.Buy now on Amazon, A private funding deal, worked out in secret between Diana Taverner and Peter Judd, gives the Park the resources to strike back at Putin, sending a hit team into Russia to rub out the Novichok poisoners. Let's just make that clear from the start. 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. . For me the perfect Jackson Lamb would be Timothy Spall. . It still rankled, his fall from grace, and why shouldnt he take some matter of revenge? When I receive the latest in this series, there is zero chance its going to sit there patiently waiting its turn. There is a sense of pieces being moved ready for further developments, most notably in the change in dynamic between Judd and Lady Di, and its not clear what the return of Sid will mean long term but the devastating ending and the question it leaves means I am very keen to read the next book. She was in comms at The Park before she laid out a co-worker, and also has addiction issues. Lamb "returns" Duffy's car to Regent's Park Headquarters and demands to speak with Taverner. I listened to the audio version narrated by Andrew B Wehrlen and found it an utterly engaging tale. Perpetually rueful Min left a top-secret dossier on the train. This series is perfect for those that want their humor dark and smart. The audio version is narrated by Sean Barrett. Finish it. Everyone enjoys an underdog story of course, but on top of that, the novels are about friendships forged from the common bond of disappointment but tested in life-and-death situations. (Had to listen 4-5 times to audiobook last chapters of novel previous to this one. As we know, however, Freddie Fox's "Spider" Webb had fed him false information, and River is, in fact, a highly competent, if over-eager agent. His bad habits belie a still keen, devious mind and his abilities as an experienced intelligence officer. Right from the first book, Herron shows hes not afraid to kill off his creations and some of those deaths hit very hard indeed. Also on the nit-picky line, Im not sure that the use of new character Reese Nesmith III really added a huge amount other than to give Lamb the chance to make some trademark un-PC comments about dwarfism. 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 and Brexit. When River Cartwright was relegated to Slough House, he was too young to have developed the legendary skill set of which Jackson Lamb can boast. What seems a gutless response from the government has pushed the Service's First Desk into . He is due to be accompanied by Nick Duffy, leader of 'The Dogs', for added security, but demands Taverner join him instead. Below are some of the ones Im most interested in seeing addressed. Cartwright is able to rescue Roddy Ho before he can be taken into custody, but Min and Louisa are unable to stop their colleague Struan from being taken from his home by operatives. Herron does leave open the potential of a rescue (and I am really anxious to get the next book so that I can see how it plays out) but on past form, I cant say that Im hopeful. Fans will scour Bad Actors for news of River Cartwright, . Yet somehow, in book after book, Mick Herron finds highly plausible ways of putting these screwups in the cross-hairs of dangerous enemies. Nobody Walks is even set in the same espionage world as a retired spy digs in to his sons mysterious death. These stories about a disparate group of underdogs coming together to beat the odds (and beat The Man) have struck a chord with readers. Hassan's kidnappers, Moe, Larry, Curly and Zeppo, hold him hostage in a London terrace basement, with it transpiring that Simmonds is behind the kidnapping. Probably all that really need be said about Slough House is that its well up to the standard of the rest of this brilliant series. printed out and left in a dead drop in . Herrons Slough House is a discard group for MI5 spies whove messed up and now get tedious assignments sorting through social media or phone books or worse. Herron does his usual, clever job of merging these strands into one and theres a lot of fun to be had in seeing how it ties in with the continuing battle between Lamb and Lady Di over control of Slough House and its resources. Will we ever see WW Henderson return to his Aldergate building? The only slight nagging doubt is whether it will maintain the sky high quality standards. Who is the new Head Dog? Not crucial questions but worth thinking about . If I was being nit-picky, then Id question why Lady Di didnt do her due diligence before getting back in withJudd given how careful she usually is, but equally Herron does make clear they had history together and the nature of the revelation does hold a lot of delicious possibilities for future books given how ensnared Lady Di now is. I would also love to know whats happening with Sid as well as how River is dealing with his fathers death! River didn't know if he really believed that, but he knew for sure that he didn't know he didn't, and if River thought that way others might too, and act upon the possibility. 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