A review by rotheche
Slow Horses by Mick Herron

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 I did have a slightly hard time getting into this one; aside from River's 'crashing' of Kings Cross, the introduction feels quite stylised, with a theoretical passenger on a theoretical bus observing the street and building in which Slough House is located, followed by chapters of introductions of characters ruminating on what they (or their colleagues) did to be consigned to the purgatory of Slough House. 

And there are a few of them, which makes the parade a bit overwhelming at first. They do eventually sort themselves out into individual characters over coming chapters, but it does take a little bit to get everyone ordered in your head. 

Once the plot is up and running, though, things start to move along at a fairly decent clip — not super-fast, but the chapters are short and the writing is pretty punchy, so no getting bogged down. 

I think the characters are the main attraction for me. The plot is interesting, with some nice twists and turns, but the characters are what make it work. Everyone is flawed — River Cartwright is probably the closest we get to a traditional 'hero' in terms of competence — and not always endearingly so (Roddy Ho, looking at you), but they're still engaging and their flaws are what make the story work. 

Herron reveals information in dribs and drabs, and writes short chapters that end on little moments of "what next", which makes it easy to keep on reading once the action kicks in. The plot is complex enough to be engaging but not hard to follow, and it's leavened with some very dry, deadpan humour. 

I got this book from my local library. I put it on reserve in November, and was something like 16th in line for it. It took until March to actually get the book, so it's pretty popular, and I can see why.