What happens when an old spook loses his mind? Does the Service have a retirement home for those who know too many secrets but don’t remember they’re secret? Or does someone take care of the senile spy for good? These are the paranoid concerns of David Cartwright, a Cold War–era operative and one-time head of MI5 who is sliding into dementia, and questions his grandson, River, must figure … River, must figure out answers to now that the spy who raised him has started to forget to wear pants. But River, himself an agent at Slough House, MI5’s outpost for disgraced spies, has other things to worry about. A bomb has detonated in the middle of a busy shopping center and killed forty innocent civilians. The “slow horses” of Slough House must figure out who is behind this act of terror before the situation escalates.
more
I’m listening to these audiobooks in order. Each story stands on its own but if you want to understand the many characters more fully, I recommend taking it in order. This book opens with a flash mob at a London shopping center interrupted by a suicide bomber. The Slow Horses, MI 5 agents shuttled aside to the unit housed in Slough House, don’t “do ops” so they are not assigned to the case and they are basically twiddling their thumbs. After Slow Horse River Cartwright goes to visit his senile grandfather, a former heavy weight in MI 5, a body is found in the old man’s house and the old man disappears. “The Dogs” MI 5’s internal enforcement unit, calls upon Jackson Lamb to identify the body. He identifies it as River’s. The “don’t do ops” unit then begins investigating the disappearance of the OB, River’s grandfather, leading them to uncover secrets men have died to protect.
As always, Gerard Doyle narrates multiple characters giving each a distinct voice. Mick Herron’s prose is breathtakingly beautiful and sardonically funny. I’m on to book #5!
Love his books!
A group of spooks who have screwed up in one way or another have been banished to the obscurity of Slough House. The story begins with an innocent flash mob event that is targeted by a suicide bomber. Meanwhile an elderly former spy is almost murdered and we slowly learn how the two events are connected.
I’m a fan of Mick Heron’s Jackson Lamb thrillers and this one didn’t disappoint. A series of books can begin to lose originality and energy but in this case I think Heron’s writing and the cleverness of the plot made this one even better than the first 3. (less)
Twenty years retired, David Cartwright can still spot when the stoats are on his trail.
Jackson Lamb worked with Cartwright years ago. He knows better than most that this is no vulnerable old man. ‘Nasty old spook with blood on his hands’ would be a more accurate description.
‘The old bastard’ has raised his grandson with a head full of guts and glory. But far from joining the myths and legends of Spook Street, River Cartwright is consigned to Lamb’s team of pen-pushing no-hopers at Slough House.
Another slow start but the pace did pick up. I enjoyed the dialogue & have come to like Lamb. The other characters were well portrayed.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
I cannot speak highly enough about this series and SPOOK STREET by Mick Herron has risen to the top as my favourite book in the series to date.
There is a lot more focus on the resident screw-ups of Slough House in this book, and we get to delve into their lives and thoughts more than in previous books. But don’t get too maudlin, they are as exasperating and trying as ever. Yet it’s difficult to be too critical of them because I think many of us can see little pieces of ourselves in some of these characters. And they provide humour whether that is the intent or not.
In this book, recent atrocities are linked to past secret service deeds, and River Cartwright’s grandfather is mixed up in it. The grandfather whose reputation is that of the real behind-the-scenes leader of the service in his day; the grandfather who now is rapidly aging and has dementia.
As the Park (secret service head office) and the Slough House team work towards uncovering the mystery and stopping the criminals, we are taken on a tension-filled and suspenseful ride. This was definitely a page-turner of a book. There were plenty of twists and particular revelations shocked me. Herron is certainly not afraid to mix things up and with Spook Street everything and everyone is in store for a big shakeup.
I found Spook Street a gripping read from start to finish and it’s cemented itself into my Top 5 reads of 2018.