This Is What Happened

By: Mick Herron

Narrated by: Imogen Church

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

From CWA Gold Dagger winner Mick Herron comes a shocking, twisted novel of psychological suspense about one woman's attempt to be better than ordinary. 

Something's happened. 

A lot of things have happened. 

If she could turn back time, she wondered how far she would go.

Twenty-six-year-old Maggie Barnes is someone you would never look at twice. Living alone in a month-to-month sublet in the huge city of London, with no family but an estranged sister, no boyfriend or partner, and not much in the way of friends, Maggie is just the kind of person who could vanish from the face of the earth without anyone taking notice. 

Or just the kind of person MI5 needs to infiltrate the establishment and thwart an international plot that puts all of Britain at risk. 

Now one young woman has the chance to be a hero - if she can think quickly enough to stay alive. 

©2018 Mick Herron (P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

The worst book that Mick Herron has written.

Monty Python once released an album called “Contractual Obligation”. It was this that I thought of while listening to the fraction of this book that I managed to get through before giving up. Having listened to or read all of Mick Herron’s other books and enjoyed them enormously, I was dismayed by the flat prose, the lack of wit and the banal, slightly incredible plotting.

Avoid like the plague.

So disappointed

After the magnificent Slow Horses series I looked forward to another page turner from Mick Herron. This is without a doubt the worst audiobook I have bought in over 250 titles. Returned for a refund

Fell asleep and didn't rewind

Like many others I was introduced to Mick Herron's books through his Slow Horses series; whilst not expecting the same style I did expect a story to grab my imagination and to engage me, in this case unfortunately not.

However I will continue to look forward to his books but perhaps be a little more cautious or choosy

Not happy

I had listened to the Slough House stories with great enjoyment. When I saw this story was available I realised it would be different but had high hopes. In the blurb it clearly says “ just the kind of person MI5 needs ....” so I had an expectation of a storyline about espionage or counter-terrorism.
What I got was a story of a misogynistic psychopath who exploits the gullibility of a decent woman to psychologically and emotionally abuse her. Horrible!
Had there been clarity about the nature of this story I wouldn’t have touched it with a barge pole.

So disappointing

I've listened to five or six Herron novels, having devoured the Slough House series in a rush so bought his latest on the day of release. After five dreary chapters I'm giving up. I think it's supposed to be a psychological thriller but its psychology is banal and there hasn't been a thrill yet. The prose is dull, the characterisation one dimensional. So unlike previous work.

Audible at its best

Excellent narration, full of drama and passion. Really helped bring a good story to life.
A great example of why I have become an audible convert!

This is what we're used to

I'm a great fan of Mick Herron's writing. Any book by him is worth 5 stars and this one is no exception. Imogen Church has just the right voice to tell Maggie's story. I loved it!

A Disaster

Impossible to believe this is the same man that wrote the Sloane House books, some of the best crime fiction I’ve ever read. An improbable story line and uninteresting characters. A waste of time. Sorry Mick but you should never have published this crap.

A real chore to finish

After the excitement and dry humour of the Slough House novels (each definitely worth 5 stars) I couldn’t wait to listen to Mick Herron’s latest book. Maybe my expectations were unrealistic, given that this book was a different genre, billed as a “psychological thriller”. Thrilling it was not - it was dreary and humourless. I only persevered because I was convinced it had to spring into action eventually but instead it ground to a rather predictable ending. I also thought the narrator’s interpretation of the different characters’ voices was very unconvincing. Disappointing.

not for me.

Struggled with this-didnt enjoy story or narration. I like Herron mostly - Slough House and Zoe Boehm but the couple outside of those - not worked well. The premise sounded okay. But a big let down.