Reviewing and collecting spy fiction and nonfiction. EEAAO star gives tearful speech after historic win, The best Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom deals, Shop Sky deals across TV, broadband and mobile, Finding My Own Rhythm: My Story by Motsi Mabuse, PS5 bundle with FIFA 23 and white DualSense controller with case, Shop EE's iPhone, Galaxy and more phone deals, Spider-Man: No Way Home (4K UHD) with MJ Funko Pop! However, during a scouting mission, when the two are stalking a right-wing journalist called Robert Hobden, Sid is shot by an unseen intruder. Constant budget constraints have left the Park unable to respond to Russian provocation. Hassan's kidnappers, Moe, Larry, Curly and Zeppo, hold him hostage in a London terrace basement, with it transpiring that Simmonds is behind the kidnapping. But Bad Actors, eighth in the series, has no connection to performance, despite the title that might immediately pop a stage into the back of an American readers mind. DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. Let's just make that clear from the start. Since Ashley is as paranoid as any other spy, and clueless as well, shes baffled by the interactions around her in Slough House. Slough House isnt the strongest novel of the series that remains Joe Country, a high-watermark which may never be matched but it is most definitely worth your time and money. The group have links to a disgraced journalist that Slough House have been investigating. I also really wanted to see Rivers mum make an appearance and will feel cheated if its just at his funeral. Her most recent novel is The Long Shadow (Five Star Publishing, 2018). I'm totally invested in the world of the slow horses of Slough House since starting the series in 2017. Herron won the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger for this novel, though for my money his debut is a better book.Buy now on Amazon, Catherine Standish is abducted by a disgraced soldier with service connections in his past. Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice*. (SH) Cartwright, River - Young, white, fair hair, grey eyes and a mole on his upper lip. With Bad Actors just a few short days away, Im ponder what we might see. For me the perfect Jackson Lamb would be Timothy Spall. It is also revealed that Standish narrowly escaped a treason charge through her links with Partner and his death. I was delighted to receive the latest Slough House novel seventh in a series which is current, political, clever, witty and realistic. i read the first 2 books then saw the series then dove back inseeing it enhances if have already read some of the books- how you imagine the environment will change once you see it and LAMB, but no matter. His kidnapping and intended rescue is an unsanctioned false flag operation masterminded by herself to potentially increase cooperation with Pakistan as well as neutralise and intimidate the far-right. It also lays the ground for the events of Joe Country, and at the same time introduces a series villain, ex-CIA operative Frank Harkness. Well that was an experience: high-speed foot chases, unexpected decapitations, incompetent spies and a lot of middle-aged flatulence. I love this series, but it does require starting at the beginning. Lamb meets with Nikolai Katinsky, an ex-KGB agent and defector. Lamb discovers Katinskys involvement as a triple agent; he agreed to assist the Russians and distract Lamb in exchange for facing no repercussions for his defection decades earlier. Thats not to say there isnt heartbreak. He is assigned by his superior Jackson Lamb to carry out surveillance on Robert Hobden, a journalist associated with far-right politicians Peter Judd MP and Roger Simmonds. With the 2022 release of the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses, however, it's come onto the radar of an entirely new set of people - many of them addicted to the twists and turns and delightful subterfuge . The Oxford Series and other Mick Herron novels, Barbican Station A Slough House Podcast. If you aren't reading the Slough House spy novels yet, what are you waiting for? Filming of the first season began on 30 November 2020, in England, and continued into February 2021, with Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas spotted on set in Westminster, London. Like all series of this vintage, the characters tend to come and go so a good way to start this review is the same way Herron does and begin with an update on who is currently active. Being a non-native speaker, reading this series is more than a pleasure, it's an invaluable treasure chest with the modern English, seasoned with wit, sarcasm and Englishness. Against a background of Brexit, Novichok poisonings and Yellow Vest protests, the remaining slow horses are dealing with the recent violent loss of two associates. Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, an up-and-coming MI5 agent shunted aside to Slough House after a very public training exercise mistake. His death and the deaths of Lamb's agents in Europe were what provoked Lamb to demand oversight of Slough House, a place where no one would ever again do anything significant, or get hurt. River is then instructed to deliver it to the service's Regent's Park Headquarters, much to his surprise. Taverner is forced to accept funds from disgraced politician Peter Judd a thinly disguised Boris Johnson in order to subcontract a tit-for-tat response. But there's more to the story than he reveals to Standish: we discover at the end of Slow Horses that Lamb in fact murdered Partner on the orders of David Cartwright, River's grandfather. So it's "the f**king wilderness" for him. For River Cartwright, however, all of this plays second fiddle to the fact that not only is Sidonie 'Sid' Baker still alive, but she's turned up at his dead grandfather's house in Kent because she needs his help. And in the end, when offered the carrot of a return to Regent's Park, he betrayed Jackson Lamb by pretending he'd seen him talking to Alan Black before the kidnapping. *Puts feet up on desk, lights ciggie, farts*. Pick up a copy of. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2021 Crime Fiction Lover. Roddy Ho, Shirley Dander and Lech Wicinski round out the team. Not with any bad actor, whether in the Service hes led or the government hed served. Catherine Standish 17 episodes, 2022-2023 Chris Reilly . Nick Duffy 14 episodes, 2022-2023 Required fields are marked *. From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels! Dead Lions - which went on to win the highly coveted Gold Dagger award for best novel of the year from the Crime Writers . There are a lot of characters and rapid changes of scene, and so you do have to pay attention - which I find harder while listening than eye-reading, but I did enjoy the narrators range of voices. These are such fun books that I have to drop everything and read them as soon as each one comes out. [19], Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 13:55, "Trailer for new Apple Original espionage drama "Slow Horses," starring Academy Award winner Gary Oldman, debuts ahead of global premiere on April 1, 2022", "Apple's hit espionage drama "Slow Horses" debuts season two trailer", "Gary Oldman To Star In Spy Drama 'Slow Horses' For Apple With 'Justified's Graham Yost Exec Producing", "U.K. What's Filming: 'The Essex Serpent' + 'Slow Horses', "A & A Taxis and Cafe Max used as the backdrop for Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas spy drama", "Apple Restarts UK Drama Production, As 'Suspicion' & 'Slow Horses' Prepare To Shoot", ""'Slow Horses' Renewed for Season 3 and Season 4 at Apple", "Mick Jagger's 'Slow Horses' Theme Song 'Strange Game' Released | Film Music Reporter", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slow_Horses&oldid=1142098131. The main series development is the return of Sid Baker, which was first teased in LONDON RULES but finally Herron reveals that yes, she did survive SLOW HORSES and has spent the last few years recuperating in a Service facility in the Lake District. Sid Baker - One of the most shocking reveals in Slow Horses was the fate of Sid Baker who a fellow agent sent to spy on Slough House but who River slowly got to know throughout the course of the book. Yet somehow, in book after book, Mick Herron finds highly plausible ways of putting these screwups in the cross-hairs of dangerous enemies. Lamb and his team are drawn into a complex and dangerous mess of Judd and Taverners making and, as usual, have to resolve things in their own inimitable style. Former field agent Richard Bough, aka Dickie Bow, recognizes a man who tortured him during the Cold War, follows him, and dies on a rail replacement bus of an apparent heart attack. Every spy assigned theredust binned might be a good term to addknows theyve made a mess somewhere in their recent past, and they wont be allowed back into the Park, the office of really performing agents, ever again. Leaving her house the two are apprehended by James Webb and head of security Nick Duffy, who force them into a car after searching Lamb. Slough House has been wiped from Service records, and fatal accidents keep happening. Herrons plot is packed with twists and delightfully sardonic conversations, and the books only major flaw is that at some point it ends and one must resume normal life.. Reviewing and collecting spy fiction and nonfiction. Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb? Joy is unbridled when each new book is announced. Taverner confronts Judd at his home, revealing that calls he made to his far-right contacts after Hobden visited resulted in the mission being compromised and Black's death. All we know about her on the show is that she's lonely and misses being part of a team. So they all get to stay put at Slough House, no prizes, no pats on the back, just a dismal career under Jackson Lamb's nicotine-stained thumb. Sid, alive but in critical condition, is taken to hospital by MI5 security operatives who detain Cartwright. All in all and nitpicks aside, I thought this was a great read in a series where theres been no let up in quality and I genuinely cannot wait to see what Herron does next with these characters. . Herron grounds his novels around notable real-life events for satirical purposes, and this time he concocts a story around Brexit, the Yellow Vest protests and the Russian Novichok assassinations. And like Ashley, most readers will rush a third of the way into the book, at least, before confirming that almost all the machinations taking place have Jackson Lamb behind them. She used to assist Charles Partner, who was First Desk at Regents Park until his suicide something its rumoured Lamb might have had a hand in arranging. edit descriptions of this character River Cartwright's photo gallery No photos have been uploaded yet. She is one of the most competent agents and appears in every book. I earn commission on any purchases made through these links. Slough House is the seventh book in the Slough House/Jackson Lamb series by award-winning British author, Mick Herron. Slow Horses is a spy thriller television series based on the Slough House series of novels by Mick Herron. To appreciate them fully requires an understanding of what they have gone through before. Min wasnt killed by her car, and she was not driving. Moody returns to Slough House and attacks Min and Louisa when they re-enter, but is killed when he breaks his neck falling down the stairs in a scuffle. Your email address will not be published. In the seventh installment of this series, Mick Herron returns to the convoluted and devious world of the British Secret Service and the inhabitants of Slough House.These Joes are the disgraced of the secret world, shunted aside and relegated to meaningless tasks that underscore their irrelevance. Louisa Guy goes to Pembrokeshire to find him; after all she had been in a relationship with Min, another slow horse and Lucas father. Jackson Lamb investigates, finding Bough's hidden phone under the seat with the message cicada, and gets the team to look deeper. He now lives in Oxford and works in London. . Better Call Saul ending What happened to Saul? Just get ready for a jaw-dropping development at the start - and a poignant ending. However, she is soon reminded there is no such thing as a free lunch and we observe that there are no limits to Judds ambition. Thanks for the review. River calls in a Code September, prompting Taverner to evacuate Judd from his speech at The Royal Exchange and the immediate area around The Glasshouse. His wife's divorcing him and even the people who like him (pretty much only Louisa) think he's still a bit of an idiot. It is difficult to elaborate more without any spoilers, but. One of them has been used to commit a terrorist atrocity in a London shopping centre. On that subject. Slough House is the one you want to find out about River. Beyond the individual storylines exist a set of meta-plots, developing over the series as a whole, which again must be read in order. Your email address will not be published. The London setting, cast of memorable characters and espionage storylines have made the series ripe for adaptation, and its no surprise Apple pulled all the stops, casting such famous names as Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jonathan Pryce and Sophie Okonedo with the production of Slow Horses, which you can now watch on Apple TV+. The series was given a straight to series order by Apple TV+ in October 2019, with Gary Oldman announced to star. Taverner is dealing with intelligence and now Home Secretary Peter Judd MP regarding a large upcoming anti-capitalist protest in London. Lamb retains all of his old skills and is a fearsome operator. She offers him a way out that will result in him being fired but not charged, but also threatens Standish and tells him Sid has died in hospital. As we know, however, Freddie Fox's "Spider" Webb had fed him false information, and River is, in fact, a highly competent, if over-eager agent. that ex-spy Claude Whelan, a tool in use by Taverner, is muddying all possible waters with a notion of payback on Lamb, and hes more effective than young Ashley: Where did Whelans loyalties lie? Fans will scour Bad Actors for news of River Cartwright, . Judd is delivering a speech in the City of London on the day of the anti-capitalist protest. Please let River live. Slow Horses is available to watch on Apple TV+. Herrons plot is packed with twists and delightfully sardonic conversations, and the books only major flaw is that at some point it ends and one must resume normal life. EXCERPT: The study remained like a showroom in a vacant property - books, chairs, curtains; the shelf with its odd collection of trophies: a glass globe, a hunk of concrete, a lump of metal that had been a Luger; the desk with its sheet of blotting paper, like something out of Dickens, and the letter opener, which was an actual stiletto, and had once belonged to Beria - and if David Cartwright had left secrets in his wake they'd be somewhere in that room, on those shelves, among a billion other words. A governmental think-tank, whose remit is to curb the independence of the intelligence service, has lost one of its key members, and Claude Whelanone-time head of MI5's Regent's Parkis tasked with tracking her down. Catherine Standish is a middle-aged recovering alcoholic whose misfortune it was to be the personal assistant to a traitor. Cartwright, having copied the contents of Hobden's USB drive before delivering it to Regent's Park, realises it contains no information and manipulates a rival, James 'Spider' Webb, into confirming the same. River speaks with his grandfather about Bough's death. Several other members of the team think that it may have happened to them too, though their incompetence makes it difficult to be sure. All that remains is to dive in & find out what fresh hell Jackson Lamb (AKA Mick Herron) & his crew stumble into this time. Has Louisa finally been able to put her past with Min behind her? Louisa and Longridge pursue and kill Pashkin when he attempts to escape the Glasshouse, having betrayed and killed Piotr to steal an extra stash of diamonds along the way. Wannabe free spirit. The significance of her connection to Black wasn't obvious to him, of course, because he didn't know Black from any other random thug, but she knew that the connection was something she needed to bury. (Perhaps with the offensive "socially inept Asian tech nerd" clich, which really should have been long buried by now.). Finish it. Warning Spoilers ahead for all books in the series! River Cartwright is a main character played by Jack Lowden in in Season 1 and Season 2 of Apple TV+ 's Slow Horses . The mortality rate for Head Dog is nearly as bad as being a slow horse. A handful of engaging spy thrillers followed before the author paused his novels to focus on journalism, although its also worth noting that he has freelanced. Screwups in the City of London on the Slough House Podcast you waiting for photo gallery No have. Round out the team notice * might see, Shirley Dander and Lech Wicinski round out team!, what are you waiting for a few short days away, ponder. And gets the team government hed served Russian provocation farts * a fearsome operator Dander Lech. For Head Dog is nearly as Bad as being a slow horse condition! 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