Katinsky specifically requested Lamb's team to be involved. They had their own neo-Nazi reasons for doing this but it turned out that the plot was initiated by MI5 Second Desk "Lady" Di Taverner (Kristin Scott-Thomas) as a false-flag operation to earn her Brownie points in her boss' absence. For River Cartwright, however, all of this plays second fiddle to the fact that not only is Sidonie 'Sid' Baker still alive, but she's turned up at his dead grandfather's house in Kent because she needs his help. Thats how I interpret it. His kidnapping and intended rescue is an unsanctioned false flag operation masterminded by herself to potentially increase cooperation with Pakistan as well as neutralise and intimidate the far-right. With a seasoned spy for a grandfather, his star in MI5 was expected to ascend into the stratosphere. White T," complains our hero, River Cartwright, played by Jack Lowden, to his co-working nemesis, "Spider" Webb, played by Freddie Fox. Roddy Ho is the computer whiz, uber-geek and the butt of everyones jokes, not just Lambs. Standish begins having flashbacks to the death of a former colleague of hers and Lamb's, Charles Partner. This novel is a series highlight for me, and went on to win the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award as well as being shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award, The British Book Awards and The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.Buy now on Amazon, A North Korean hit squad is conducting a terror operation on British soil, and one particular fly in the ointment is that the plan they are working to is one of the Parks own. (SH) Cartwright, River - Young, white, fair hair, grey eyes and a mole on his upper lip. River discovers the bomb left at the airfield and realizes the attack was a hoax, calling Taverner to have the Code September retracted. However, Larry frees Ahmed and attacks Curly with an axe, but flees which enables an injured Curly to recapture Hassan. Perpetually rueful Min left a top-secret dossier on the train. [3] It has received critical acclaim. When a Russian operative is killed, they think the slow horses who now appear to be off-the-books were responsible. Follow I Read, Therefore I Blog on WordPress.com. Slough House is Mick Herrons seventh novel about his team of unloved, incompetent though often marvellously effective MI6 spies. This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 13:55. But is the victim who he first appears to be? By the time River arrives at Tunbridge Wells by plane with Kelly Tropper, David has already ambushed and killed Chernitsky with a shotgun. There are hysterical episodes, ridiculous circumstances hard to accept and poignant moments for good measure. Louisa and Longridge pursue and kill Pashkin when he attempts to escape the Glasshouse, having betrayed and killed Piotr to steal an extra stash of diamonds along the way. 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. Taverner calls Standish several times to flip her allegiance, alleging that Lamb was involved with Charles Partner's death, but she remains loyal to him when he comes to extract her. The only clue he finds is an undelivered text Cicadas. 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. Sid in the books remains 'dead' for several books, and returns in Slough House, where it emerges that she suffered permanent brain damage and has been living in a safe house all along. love this series- absolutely brilliant. He alleges when stationed in East Berlin he overheard Popov demanding the cicada program remain funded after the fall of the Soviet Union. River Cartwright is positioned as Lamb's spiritual opposite. '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. Duncan and Kelly find and untie River, and he is eventually able to convince them of Alexs true identity. It also lays the ground for the events of Joe Country, and at the same time introduces a series villain, ex-CIA operative Frank Harkness. Slow Horses is a spy thriller television series based on the Slough House series of novels by Mick Herron. She directed MI5 undercover agent Alan Black to infiltrate the group and organise the kidnapping with the intention of then miraculously finding and capturing the gang and freeing Hassan, who, conveniently, was the nephew of Pakistan's Defence Minister, someone it would be useful to impress. He could see one of either breed breaking a lock, finessing a window; could see them working round the study, looking for clues. THE SITE FOR DIE HARD CRIME & THRILLER FANS. Will one of the slow horses die this book? Involving themselves in the drama, the slow horses soon realise that the machinations of The Park are even more twisted than they could ever have imagined. Lamb discovers Katinskys involvement as a triple agent; he agreed to assist the Russians and distract Lamb in exchange for facing no repercussions for his defection decades earlier. This series is perfect for those that want their humor dark and smart. THE SITE FOR DIE HARD CRIME & THRILLER FANS. Nobody is assigned to Slough House because of their skills they're all failures of one sort or another. And this series is one of my favorites. At base, Louisa Guy reports that she was tailed by an MI6 spy from Regents Park, the centre of MI6 operations and the hallowed turf to which all slow horses want to return. Her sometimes ally or enemy depending on which way the wind is blowing is Peter Judd, Tory politician and grandee. But Lady Di is slowly learning that the patriotism doesnt mean they dont have demands and YouTube billionaire-turned-new-channel owner Damien Cantor in particular would like Lady Di to come on his show and do an interview. Larry arrives at a seaport in Harwich, but is shot dead by "The Dogs" on the orders of Tierney, who plant a weapon on his corpse to justify the killing. Apple liked it so much that it made two seasons back-to-back. Despite giving every indication of wanting his team of slow horses to fail spectacularly, he never gives up on a Joe (spy), and its this trait which makes him such a popular character. 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. River Cartwright was sent to Slough House after a training exercise left King's Cross crashed. Cant think of any current heavy actors. I dunno. Taverner has her own problems to occupy her. Haunted office manager Catherine is seen attending AA meetings and is regularly taunted by Lamb about alcohol. As ever, Jackson Lamb heads the team. Filming of the first season began on 30 November 2020, in England, and continued into February 2021, with Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas spotted on set in Westminster, London. Standish beats Krymov in a game of chess, and he reveals it was Katinsky, not Pashkin he met with to set up the Webb meeting. EXCERPT: The study remained like a showroom in a vacant property - books, chairs, curtains; the shelf with its odd collection of trophies: a glass globe, a hunk of concrete, a lump of metal that had been a Luger; the desk with its sheet of blotting paper, like something out of Dickens, and the letter opener, which was an actual stiletto, and had once belonged to Beria - and if David Cartwright had left secrets in his wake they'd be somewhere in that room, on those shelves, among a billion other words. 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. Nobody Walks is even set in the same espionage world as a retired spy digs in to his sons mysterious death. 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. This one seemed like the best so far, but maybe it was the wait for it to come out, or just that I'm getting to know the characters better. Yet somehow, in book after book, Mick Herron finds highly plausible ways of putting these screwups in the cross-hairs of dangerous enemies. All that remains is to dive in & find out what fresh hell Jackson Lamb (AKA Mick Herron) & his crew stumble into this time. What is known about Cartwright's death and what the two cases have in common. Curly prepares to kill Hassan outside what he believes is a Norman castle, which Ahmed points out is actually a folly. . 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. Warning Spoilers ahead for all books in the series! Digital Spy participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Your email address will not be published. The wise move would be to find a safe place and wait for the troubles to pass. But in the end, he takes the high road and lies to him, saying that according to his grandfather, Ho was just so awesome that he was making everyone else look bad, so had to be disposed of. Sid, alive but in critical condition, is taken to hospital by MI5 security operatives who detain Cartwright. Who is the new Head Dog? He now lives in Oxford and works in London. Is dead, we know why Jackson whacked him and we have met Rivers spy daddy and had him whacked too, I can understand if Herron thinks he has served his purpose. 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. The group have links to a disgraced journalist that Slough House have been investigating. Jackson Lamb is the head of Slough House and a former Joe, or field agent in Slough House slang. 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. Louisa interrogates a dying Kyril and learns that Pashkin and his associates were meant to drain Nevsky's accounts from the Glasshouse while it was evacuated. (He returns in Slough House, books fans.). Beyond the individual storylines exist a set of meta-plots, developing over the series as a whole, which again must be read in order. The central conceit of the books is that MI5, like any large organisation, needs somewhere to place its most hopeless employees, and this place is Slough House, a building just around the corner from the Barbican Centre. At the same time, Lamb is out in Oxford looking into the suspicious death of a retired agent. He talks to a team which guides him, telling him to look for an Asian male. 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. Not crucial questions but worth thinking about . Something is brewing at the Park, and Diana Taverner, First Desk, and enemy of Lamb from way back, is probably behind it. Hes ineffectual, arrogant and completely unaware of his failings. Based on the Seas o n 2 trailer that ran after Season 1 Episode 6 on Apple TV+, most of the key cast will be back, including Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, Kristin . Can't praise enough the writing and the way Mr Herron has with words. 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. She used to assist Charles Partner, who was First Desk at Regents Park until his suicide something its rumoured Lamb might have had a hand in arranging. While she obsesses on punishing Lamb, the team is actually in crisis mode. 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. What would be the point?. He deduces Katinsky is the spymaster behind the Cicada program (passing himself off as a junior bureaucrat when defecting to avoid suspicion) and was the handler of a traitor in the service. These are such fun books that I have to drop everything and read them as soon as each one comes out. Will we ever see WW Henderson return to his Aldergate building? Both are excellent books and reviewed on our site. Required fields are marked *. Thanks for the review. Skripal and his daughter were badly poisoned, but eventually recovered. 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. Molly Dornan is there waiting to extract her pound of flesh from Jackson Lamb for an earlier favor. Only the intervention of his MI5-legend. One of the first things to appreciate is that each novel is an underdog story a group of individuals, under-qualified and under-resourced, who have to beat their better-off cousins at The Park to save the day. that ex-spy Claude Whelan, a tool in use by Taverner, is muddying all possible waters with a notion of payback on Lamb, and hes more effective than young Ashley: Where did Whelans loyalties lie? Lamb theorises that Slough House is going to be blamed for whatever operation Regent's Park is running and be disavowed if it fails. My carefully organized reading list just took a direct hit. I know you dont want spoilers so I wont name the character but I feel Herron has made a big mistake re their demise as the character had really become the moral center of the series, much more than Jackson Lamb. In some cases, we earn commissions from affiliate links in our posts. Louisa Guy, perhaps, has most focus but this novel felt much more like a genuine ensemble cast - and benefited from that, too. "The Dogs" arrive, but the group prevent them from killing the detained Curly. 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. As I did before the release of Slough House, I look at some of the burning questions ahead of the next book. It is revealed that Moe (real name Alan Black) was Taverner's mole, but was found out and murdered by Curly, who then fled with Zeppo, Larry and Hassan. A year after a calamitous blunder by the Russian secret service left a British citizen dead from novichok poisoning, Diana Taverner is on the warpath. She was announced as having died, but Roddy Ho inferred from her sudden online invisibility that she had been 'disappeared'. On a recent assignment, Lamb caught her following one of his spies. Finnish crime drama Man in Room 301 coming to BBC Four, Fans of realistic spy fiction will enjoy David McCloskeys debut thriller Damascus Station, newly available in paperback in the UK. Top 9 Burning Questions going in to Slough House, The Oxford Series and other Mick Herron novels, Barbican Station A Slough House Podcast. Herron builds his characters and reveals more about them perhaps as the series unfolds. Fans will scour Bad Actors for news of River Cartwright, . Slough House is the seventh book in the brilliantly unique Slow Horses British spy thriller series - soon to be seen on TV in a star-studded adaptation. He is as corrupt as any of the villains in the series. How is River handling patricide? Eventually Lamb reveals that he's guilt-stricken because he gave Partner the gun that he used to shoot himself. 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