Slough House: A Masterpost (so far)

I thought I'd do a masterpost on the Slough House series by Mick Herron (at least at the point I've gotten to which is to the 4th book). If you're a fan of the spy thriller genre then this is a real fun time. (Thanks to the patron who recommended it to me!) Full transparency: I read the first two books a couple of months ago so I'm copying over my reviews from other sites. 😁

Source: StoryGraph

In Slow Horses we are introduced to the characters of Slough House (basically MI5 rejects for a variety of reasons) who have been relegated to paperwork and other drudgery under the watchful eye of their supervisor Jackson Lamb (a unique character for sure). While all of the inhabitants of Slough House (called slow horses by their erstwhile colleagues in Regent's Park) are featured at different points in the story we mainly follow the newest arrival, Robin Cartwright, as he tries to come to terms with his new situation. [A/N: Because this is the first in a series, there's a lot of information about how The Service operates as well as introductions on all of the main characters (some more fleshed out than others to keep up the mystique).] Robin begins to suspect that something is afoot when he is sent on his first assignment outside since his transfer more than 6 months before. The story builds and builds upon itself adding layer upon layer of mystery with many moving parts. But because it's so compelling and fast-paced readers should be able to follow the threads easily (and finish super quickly). If you like fast-paced spy thrillers with a host of complicated characters (not all likable) then this book will definitely fit the bill.

Source: StoryGraph

Dead Lions finds us once again among the slow horses of Slough House as they complete their day-to-day meaningless tasks. But then a spy who has been out of the game for years turns up dead and Jackson Lamb is on the case...if there is one. While Lamb, Ho, Cartwright, and Standish try to unravel the mystery of this death Harper and Guy are tasked with babysitting a visiting Russian who could prove to be an asset. [A/N: I personally found the dead man's death much more interesting than the Russian diplomat (it felt forced).] It wasn't quite as electrifying as the first in the series but I really liked that it picks up right after the conclusion of the previous book (even if there are still loose threads).

Source: StoryGraph

The List is a novella length story which revisits our friends in Slough House but focuses primarily on some new recruits to the team as well as the fallout from the bombshell that occurred in the previous book (don't worry no spoilers here). The best bits were inevitably those revolving around Jackson Lamb, the fearless leader of this ragtag gang of misfits. When a spy/informant from the old days dies, it is discovered that he had been playing shadow games and keeping secrets from his handler. Can this mistake be hushed up and rectified or are they all in greater danger than they originally feared? Lots of talk about the 'craft' of being a spy in this one which was interesting but I think its short length hampered the storyline.

Source: StoryGraph

This book started out really strong with the kidnapping of maybe my favorite character (can you guess who this is?). All hands are on deck to try and recover their erstwhile colleague but it's Cartwright that really goes above and beyond by making his way through the defenses of Regent's Park to get classified information for the kidnappers. This one gave me the same feeling as the first in the series like a proper 'spy thriller' with all of the intrigue and suspense. Super high stakes that had me gritting my teeth at the ending so of course I immediately ordered Spook Street. 😬

What I'm currently reading: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (reread) and Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

**If you're interested in buying any of these books or any books really, you can click here. This will re-direct you to AbeBooks which is a site I use all of the time to find used books at an excellent price. A lot of the time I don't even pay for shipping! Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made through this link. You will not be charged anything additional for my commission. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

I continue to be drawn in by beautiful cover art

The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox is another prime example of an eye-catching cover which I couldn't resist. It evokes a certain gothic mysteriousness which I'm happy to say was delivered. From the very beginning,  the reader is launched into a tale of magic, wickedness, desperation, and all-consuming power. The story follows a family of children who are sent to stay at an estate in the country during the Blitz of WWII. However, all is not what it seems at this country school as the oldest daughter, Kate, quickly realizes after meeting the lady of the house. Much of the drama is tied to a chatelaine (a chain decorated with different items used around a house and usually worn by the woman in charge of the household affairs) worn by this woman. There are a lot of different threads to follow in this narrative which made it a little challenging to follow at times. The reader is sent back in time to follow this woman's history and then suddenly we're back with Kate in the present. That was a bit jarring but easily overcome. I'd say that the book's biggest strength was its originality in using magical artifacts of an unusual sort (I don't want to give it away entirely). If you are a fan of boarding school mysteries with a healthy heaping of dark magic then you'll most likely enjoy this book. It's a 6/10 for me but it would have been higher if the narrative thread had been a bit tighter.

I mean how could I have turned down this cover?!

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: Some Writer!: The Story of E.B. White by Melissa Sweet

What I'm Currently Reading: The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Gotta love a good adventure story (especially when it's true)

Reading Operation Mincemeat has just convinced me that there are 1. Many more spy novels out there that I have yet to read (example: Ian Fleming) and 2. My obsession with World War II is completely justified because it was so convoluted, intriguing, and shrouded in secrecy (many of these secrets remain today). As the title suggests, this book focused on a singular operation which in itself was just a piece of a much bigger operation entitled Operation Husky (attached to another called Operation Barclay + others that were mere decoys). If nothing else, once you've finished reading this book you come away with an appreciation for the skills and ingenuity of those involved in fighting a war which for the majority of its duration seemed absolutely impossible to win. The taking of Sicily, however, proved to be a turning point in the war and Ewen Montagu and his team had a hand in the victory because they pulled off what many still believe to be the greatest feat of deception ever. If you've ever read The Man Who Never Was or seen the film version of it then you're aware of this story...except it's not the entire story because Montagu was censored by the British government (you'll see why when you read Operation Mincemeat). Sufficed to say, if you've ever fancied yourself a spy then you should read this to find out just exactly what that means. Hint: It's a lot more bureaucracy than James Bond has led you to believe.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann has been on my TRL for a while now. It's the story of a man's quest to figure out what really happened to Percy Fawcett and his expedition party. This question has haunted hundreds of people who have tried to discover the truth by following the clues left behind by the man into the very place that seems to have swallowed him alive. In 1925 Fawcett and his team (including his 21 year old son) set off on a quest to locate the lost city of El Dorado, aka Z. Now it's David Grann's turn to be enthralled by the mystery as he seeks to discover just what happened to Fawcett and his team and maybe find El Dorado himself...

It always comes back to death and WWII with me

I practically sped through The Removers by Andrew Meredith. As I had suspected (and you probably did too based on the synopsis), this is a memoir fraught with melancholy. After his world was turned on its head at the age of 14, Andrew was adrift without purpose...that is until he found that he was quite good at the business of death. (I made that sound like he was an expert assassin but in reality he was ensconced in the world of corpse removal and cremation.)  For twenty years, this was his livelihood and it seemed that even when he moved clear across the country he couldn't escape it. Was this his destiny? Was the ability to remove himself emotionally from all that went on around him what made him the perfect fit for dealing day in and day out with mortality? Will he rise like the phoenix out of the ashes of cadavers to find himself formed into something utterly unrecognizable from his former self?  What exactly is his former self? To find out the answers to these questions and to learn more about what some might think to be a morbid profession, take a crack at this book.

Because apparently I'm obsessed with WWII and death, I've decided to read Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory by Ben Macintyre. As I mentioned in a previous post regarding Alan Turing, Britain was a major player in the intelligence game during the war. This particular book focuses on a strategic plan to fool the Nazis into thinking that the Allies would be entering Italy through Greece when in fact they would be coming in through Sicily. The problem was that it was known to all parties that Sicily was the most logical choice for an entry point so the ruse had to be very, very good. It was a multifaceted plan but one of the key elements was Operation Mincemeat. The plan was cooked up by two intelligence offers who had very little in common: Ewan Montagu & Charles Cholmondeley (pronounced Chumley if you're wondering). The plan was to drop a dead body disguised as an officer with falsified documents that would hopefully be turned over to the Germans. Does this sound like a James Bond movie? Well, that's because it was originally thought up by Ian Fleming himself. Yeah, now you're getting why I had to read this book aren't you?

Author's Note: I've read another book by Ben Macintyre and if you're interested in reading about that one you can go here.