This was the last book from my six-book box set. Having read the other five and watched the TV adaptation of the first three, I was keen to get on with this one before Apple overtook me! I haven't enjoyed a set of books this much since Christopher Brookmyer burst onto the scene with his Jack Parlabane series. His first book, "Quite Ugly One Morning", is simply brilliant. I picked it by chance before boarding a long-haul flight to Australia and think I'd finished it before I landed.
I've grown to love all of Herron's characters and enjoyed watching how he has developed and expanded them. AppleTV have done an excellent job with their adaptations too. Slough House is for the rejects, failures and misfits from MI5. They've been sent there to get them "out of the way", in the hope that they'll get fed up and leave. A cheaper option than sacking them. But they all believe they've got a route back to the "The Park", if only they can "prove" themselves to be worthy. This book sees some of the team rush off to Wales in the middle of a snow storm to find the mysterious person who recently crashed a former spooks funeral. As always, expect some plot twists along the way and the usual cover ups from The Park!
The books build beautifully on each other. You really need to read them in the correct order if you want to get the most out of them. Otherwise, you will lose the continuity, nuance and character backstories. Despite this being the last book in the original set, the ending sets the reader up for more and, as it happens, Herron has written two further books in the series. I've got a lot of other books to get through before I buy them though, so they are not at the top of the list right now. I've heard some mixed reports on them too, but will judge that for myself.
This book starts with an introductory chapter describing a scene that comes much later in the story. It grabs your attention immediately and makes you want to know what has happened to get to that point. I like the technique and wonder if he thought to do that after the book was complete or if he had always planned to write it that way.
In Jackson Lamb, Herron has crafted a unique and unlikely hero. Absolutely horrible on the outside, with an apparent contempt and disregard for everything and anyone, but totally loyal to his team. Heaven help anyone who crosses him or any of his "Joes". Herron crafts multiple storylines through this novel and brings them all together wonderfully with the pace building markedly towards the end. Like all good novels, it becomes ever harder to put it down the more you read it and I found myself pinching time from other things I should be doing in order to finish it.
I can't praise this series highly enough. It took me a long time to start them, but I've found them compelling from start to finish. Slough House and Bad Actors are the two books published since my box set. Watch this space for further reviews.
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