Real Tigers by Mick Herron

The Blurb On The Back:

Catherine Standish knows that chance encounters never happen to spooks.

She’s worked in the Intelligence Service long enough to understand treachery, double-dealing and stabbing in the back.

What she doesn’t know is why anyone would target her: a recovering drunk pushing paper with the other lost causes in Jackson Lamb’s kingdom of exiles at Slough House.

Whoever it is holding her hostage, it can’t be personal. It must be about Slough House. Most likely, it is about Jackson Lamb.

And say what you like about Lamb, he’ll never leave a joe in the lurch.

He might even be someone you could trust with your life …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The third book in Mick Herron’s JACKSON LAMB SERIES is a tense, twisting thriller that shows the development of the Slough House crew, brings in some old faces, expands on Catherine’s back story and is peppered with black comic one-liners so good that I kept turning the pages until the ending, which promises changes for the next book. Catherine is at the centre of the book, which is fitting given how central she’s become to the Slough House team and all she’s done to pull them together (which explains why they’re so willing to get her back). I like how calm she is and her emotional strength, which makes her final conversation with Jackson so devastating given that Jackson can’t help behaving like a complete ass at the slightest provocation. I was a bit frustrated with River’s impetuousness because it’s like he’s learnt nothing from the previous books (although it is true to his character) but his scenes with Spider Webb (whose fate you discover) have a poignancy to them. I liked that Shirley and Marcus have more to do here and their chemistry works well and Louisa’s self-destruction is believable and heartbreaking. I welcomed the return of Peter Judd whose scenes with Ingrid Tearney (who finally makes an appearance) are deftly written duels and Lady Di hovers in the background of it all with her schemes and plots as she tries to secure First Chair for herself. The ending throws the future of the Slough House team up in the air and I will definitely be reading the next book to find out what happens next.

Spook Street by Mick Herron

The Blurb On The Back:

Never outlive your ability to survive a fight.

Twenty years retired, David Cartwright can still spot when the stoats are on his trail.

Jackson Lamb worked with Cartwright back in the day. He knows better than most that this is no vulnerable old man. ‘Nasty old spook with blood on his hands’ would be a more accurate description.

‘The old bastard’ has raised his grandson with a head full of guts and glory. But far from joining the myths and legends of Spook Street, River Cartwright is consigned to Lamb’s team of pen-pushing no-hopers at Slough House.

So it’s Lamb they call to identify the body when Cartwright’s panic button raises the alarm at Service HQ.

And Lamb who will do whatever he thinks necessary, to protect an agent in peril …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The fourth in Mick Herron’s JACKSON LAMB SERIES draws on the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the rise of the Islamist threat in another gripping read that’s packed with twists and turns, some shocking character deaths and a big reveal that promises to shape the coming books. The best thing about the book is the relationship between River and his grandfather and the implications for both because of the O.B.’s dementia and because of the revelations about both of their pasts. Being honest, the plot to kill the O.B. didn’t make a whole lot of sense given the way the story develops but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment. I was pleased to see Catherine return, although I wish that Moira had had more interaction with both her and Jackson because it would have been an interesting dynamic. Coe is a little too two-dimensional at the moment but it will be interesting to see how he develops in future books. The character deaths are genuinely shocking and while I’m surprised that Lady Di’s Machiavellian ploys haven’t seen her drummed out, it’ll be interesting to see what happens between her and the new First Desk, Claude Whelan (although Lamb is more than a match for both of them). I’m already impatient for the next book to come out but will check out Herron’s other work in the interim.

SPOOK STREET is released in the United Kingdom on 9th February 2017. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.