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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The third book in Herron's Slough House series, featuring a crew of screw-up British spies who have been relegated to a division so disrespected that it is supposed to be motivation for these losers to quit, under the rude and gross leadership of wiley creep Jackson Lamb. In this book, a member of the team is kidnapped and the effort to save them inevitably uncovers a multilayered conspiracy of corruption and cynical backstabbing. These books continue to be twisty and fun and clever, and I plan to keep reading them. I am getting a little tired of Lamb as a character. This depiction of a racist, sexist creep, in a way that I assume we are meant to be laughing *at* rather than *with*, feels very 2016 - "haha this guy is the worst, surely no one enjoys this without understanding that, right?" I'm curious if that will evolve in later books. Also this and the last book were bookended with these weird sections of purple prose, like "a wind sweeps through an office on a quiet street, and if that wind had eyes, it would see...", and I find them to be just awful, very much at odds with the crisp, efficient, wry tone of the rest of the book. Why hasn't an editor cut these? Anyway, those complaints aside, these are delightful little spy thrillers, with lots of humor and clever schemes.
I listened to the audio book, as I have with the earlier books in the series. I can't always follow who they are talking about because I get characters mixed but but follow the general story and enjoy it. Again, this team could be so much better if they just trusted each other! This was the first time that I thought maybe River belongs in Slough House. Likely that Lamb would have seen through the message that River received about a kidnapping of one of their own. Lamb continues to know what his whole team is up to and who they really are without being overly engaged with them. Remarkable to think what type of agent he had been or could be without the current skeletons in his closet.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
excellent third book in the series - builds on the characters we have come to know and expands the world in interesting ways. I thought it was a more interesting premise than the second book and it reaffirmed my desire to keep reading the series
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced