While this novel doesn't have the biting humor of the Slough House books, it is a propulsive unputdownable read. The police track down his estranged father, Tom Bettany, who's been living abroad for a few years working various manual labour jobs. In this book, readers discover what happened to JK Coe prior to becoming a slow horse and why he is a little, ahem, jumpy. The wheels within wheels of double-think seem obvious in retrospect, but would never be serious thoughts for me, a general member of the public. I am a huge fan of the Slough House series and, having devoured the main books, went back to discover more by him – those books, like his novellas, which touch on the series, but move parallel to it or, like this title, flesh out some of the character’s back stories – in this case, that of J.

K. Coe (unofficially) with a message: a “do not disturb” on one name, an implication of responsibility for another.If you are a fan of the Slough House series like me, you need to read this if you haven't, if for no other reason because it features JK Coe, and tells about his ordeal that landed him in Slough House. His menial routine cloaked an unusual skill set that he had once expertly wielded for the British Security Service (ie.

This is not like the Slough House series, except for some of the wonderful turns of phrase and some of the grittier action. Tearney] resembled the more benevolent kind of witch, the type to dish out helpful potions when love let you down. JK Coe – Coe learns the hard way that “Kill the messenger” is not just a turn of phrase when you work for MI5.Bettany might have thought he’d left it all behind when he first skipped town, but nobody ever really walks away. If you give up on this book, which some reviewers have suggested, you'll miss out on hauntingly beautiful prose, a stunningly crafted plot and the aching sadness of loss so subtly intertwined.

If you've read the novella The Catch, you'll recognize Herron reusing a device, that of a “retired" agent being put into play by a devious member of Regents Park.But the thing is, Tom used to be a spy, working undercover for MI5 for many years, then a short stint with the Dogs, before leaving to try to live a normal life with his wife and son. There is plenty of action, some unexpected twists and humour (albeit more subtle than in the Slough House series) before all the pieces slot into place for Tom. Herron's remarkable novel has enough suspense, action, and deductive dazzlement to keep genre fans happy. Although this is not an official Slough House book, it does live in the same universe and introduces some important characters that appear in later books.

JK Coes first appears in The List, and then in this, before finally appearing as one of the slow horses in Real Tigers. This is vintage Mick Herron displaying his incredible ear for dialogue - especially of East End villains - and descriptive passages gilded with lyricism.This is intense and emotionally powerful - and, as much as I love the Slough House books, this might just be my favourite Herron yet. Tearney has been mentioned in the Slough House novels but usually from the perspective of her envious subordinate Diana Taverner. This was the first glimpse into her head and it was in keeping with somebody as the leader of a spook agency. When my snoring lemon woke me last night, I made reading lemonade until I fell asleep with the book on my belly. The Angel neighborhood is where the folks in the tech company are located and it’s apparently a very hip area of London off of the canal.