Slough House

Slough House, Book 7

By: Mick Herron

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

*Now a major TV series starring Gary Oldman*

*THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*

**THE TIMES THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR**

***WINNER OF THE THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022***

The seventh book in the Sunday Times bestselling, award-winning, Slough House series, featuring Mick Herron's much loved band of disgraced spies and their notorious leader, Jackson Lamb.

'Kill us? They've never needed to kill us,' said Lamb. 'I mean, look at us. What would be the point?'

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. What seems a gutless response from the government has pushed the Service's First Desk into mounting her own counter-offensive—but she's had to make a deal with the devil first. And given that the devil in question is arch-manipulator Peter Judd, she could be about to lose control of everything she's fought for.

Meanwhile, still reeling from recent losses, the slow horses are worried they've been pushed further into the cold. Slough House has been wiped from Service records, and fatal accidents keep happening. No wonder Jackson Lamb's crew are feeling paranoid. But have they actually been targeted?

With a new populist movement taking a grip on London's streets, and the old order ensuring that everything's for sale to the highest bidder, the world's an uncomfortable place for those deemed surplus to requirements. The wise move would be to find a safe place and wait for the troubles to pass.

But the slow horses aren't famed for making wise decisions.

©2021 Mick Herron (P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic Reviews

"The new king of the spy thriller." (Mail on Sunday)

"Razor-sharp prose, fully formed characters and an underlying pathos make this series the most exciting development in spy fiction since the Cold War." (The Times)

"As a master of wit, satire, insight...Herron is difficult to overpraise." (Daily Telegraph)

Wonderful

Everything that you expect from Slough House novel and more. Like a Porsche, which over time has enhanced almost every aspect of the sorts car without deviating from the basic design, this series of books have improved over time and leave you longing for more.

Spies – smart, and deluded

Mick Herron writes great stories, but
If his books are small miracles it’s because of his virtuosity in telling them. I dare anybody to read or listen to just 10 minutes without being delighted.

Everything You Could Want But Doubted You'd Find.

A tour de force rendition by an actor at the top of his game; a labyrinthine plot that you can't put down and nail-biting action thrown in. What more could you ask for. Excellent!

Engrossing and completely entertaining

This series feels in many ways like the inheritance from John Le Carre because it has many similarities of style, plotting, setting, cynicism, pacing and realism. But MH definitely does it all very, very well and with such humour that he is creating what seems a wholly original genre. Hard to stop listening.

Another awesome addition.

Very enjoyable listen, Mick Herron never lets me down. I have never been a person to read or in this case listen to a whole series one after the other, but in this case I have not been able to put any of them down. I will quietly await another adventure with the Slow Horses. Sean Barrett you are a true legend, and make Jackson Lamb and the other characters three dimensional. If you read this review, join the team and enjoy the journey.

Do your editing people.

They have not cut out Sean's rereads. other than that, great addition to the series

Edit errors in this - duplication and reworking of sentences

Story and narrator as good as ever - just annoying that edit not done correctly with several sentences repeated, including at one stage narrator saying “ that’s not quite right” then rereading sentence
Given book requires concentration to enjoy this is distracting and disappointing by audible not to have better quality control on new releases

Excellent edition to the series

More of the same - and delightful for it. No disappointment in this edition to the series. Excellent narration as always and many familiar faces.

If you're new to the series, this is not a book that will make sense if you've not read at least some of the others. But they're so good - start at the beginning.

only small quibble is that the editing isn't great. There are at leat four or five repeat lines as sean barrat redoes them. They should have been caught and edited out. Rather sloppy that they haven't been. I read it the day it came out - so hopefully when you listen to it, these small missteps will have been fixed.

Gloriously incorrect!

Slough House is a gripping addition to the series which exercises the full range of emotions and provides the cliffhanger ending which guarantees that I will listen to the next installment.

To my mind Sean Barrett is Jackson Lamb as Alec Guinness is George Smiley.

Read the books including the novellas, in sequence, for maximum impact.

Seemed to end quite abruptly

I've enjoyed all the Jackson Lamb series and this is not a disappointment but it did seem to end a bit suddenly, perhaps the rest of the story to come in the next book? Sean Barrett, as ever, is superb at bringing Mick Herron's characters to life.

Unputdownable!

Having looked forward to its release for months, there is always a worry that Mr Herron will be unable to keep up the excellence of the series.
Happily the worry was unjustified and, consumed in just 2 inexorably hilarious and enjoyable sittings, Slough House matches and exceeds every expectation.
Every Jackson Lamb utterance invokes the uncontrollable, tell-tale titter which, in pre-Covid times; when being enjoyed, for example, on public transport; produces strange looks from fellow travellers.
This latest helping is pure genius.
I'm off to re-listen to it all again.

Worth the wait

It seems like ages since the last instalment so it was an unadulterated pleasure to settle into the world of Jackson Lamb once more.
I’m really not sure how the tv series will work without the brilliant Sean Barrett.
It takes a while to untangle the various plot threads but, once again, it’s a carefully worked tale of grievances, scheming and fallout.
It’s almost Le Carré for quite some time but then Lamb and The Rodster remind you where you are.
It’s a typically dark tale but some of the lines and descriptions are laugh-out-loud funny, and I felt like cheering on at least one occasion.
With cagey references to recent events, this instalment feels quite ‘real’ however, I’m perplexed by the gender of the first victim.

Story Fab u lous! Narration even more FAB U LOUS!

No more needs to be said. Moving on to the next book. Just downloaded it. Can't wait!!!

Gripping

Having waited months for the latest instalment I was not disappointed to hear the adventures of Jackson Lamb and his Slow Horses.
Could not stop listening and have finished it in a day.
Very much looking forward to the screen version starring Gary Oldman and I could easily visualise how this will pan out.
Fantastic listen.

Great story

Great reading of an interesting story. I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who likes spy stories.

Wonderful read

Sean is a fantastic actor and brings the wonderful story to life. It’s a great listen and can’t wait for the next one. Thank you