I just finished reading Slough House, Mick Herron's latest "Slow Horses" spy thriller. I really like this series, which is about British MI5 spies that have screwed up so badly that they are sent to Slough House, where under the control of the eccentric, vulgar, but brilliant Jackson Lamb, they are given mind-numbing desk assignments to keep them out of trouble. Of course, this never works, and they always seem to be in the middle of every major operation. Although I enjoy reading these books, and recommend the series, I am somewhat surprised that Herron kills off one of his main characters in what seems like every book, always replaced by a new screw-up banished to Slough House. What's the deal with that? However, it does make his books more exciting to read, since unlike other mystery series, you know one of the team is a goner. In any case, this time, both current and ex-Slough House spies are being targeted for death as revenge for an MI5 hit on a Russian spy. It is an exciting and often humorous read, and I recommend picking up a copy from your local library. I also am looking forward to reading Bad Actors, Herron's next book, scheduled to be released in May. I just hope he doesn't wind up killing one of the characters I like.
Slow Horses is a great read and best read before watching it on TV. It's an "anti-Bond" masterpiece and the film is captivating too. Raw noir espionage of this quality is rare, whether or not accompanied by occasional splashes of sardonic hilarity. Slow Horses is an "anti-Bond" classic from the same genre of thoroughbred stables as the fictional Harry Palmer, Carter or Cole, based on Len Deighton's spy novels or the fact based Edward Burlington, the protagonist in The Burlington Files espionage series. If you enjoyed any of these you should delight in Slow Horses and vice versa ... and to think I thought Kompromat was the name of a Silovik or FSB Colonel until I finished my MI6 induction program by authoring a thesis on the Slough House series and studying The Burlington Files series. Why mention these you might ask? Both series were rejected by risk averse publishers who didn't think espionage existed unless it was fictional and created by Ian Fleming or David Cornwell aka John Le Carré.
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