"Recent years had seen a recalibration of political lunacy", Mick Herron observes quite early on in London Rules and, watching our political leaders on the TV News most nights, you'd begin to worry that, like political satire elsewhere, Herron's Jackson Lamb/Slough House series might lose something of an edge in what has up to now managed to be both uproariously funny and deadly serious. In the real world, the balance hasn't always been quite as favourable.

Mick Herron then has no option but to introduce a few more lunatics into London Rules in addition to the cognitively challenged crew in the dump heap of the Secret Service in Slough House. They however all have good reasons why they've ended up monitoring library records across the country for anyone reading "extremist literature" or cross-checking electoral rolls against properties as an unlikely way of listing potential terrorist safe houses; incompetence, personality failings and various addictions. While not valued in the Secret Service, there are careers where such qualities could be considered an advantage; notably politics, being Prime Minister of the UK or President of the United States.

Mick Herron's recalibration of the limits of political lunacy in London Rules however include a Nigel Farage-influenced character, who loves to keep himself in the limelight and has recently been instrumental in swaying public opinion over to favouring a self-destructive Brexit in a recent referendum. He has a Katie Hopkins/Sarah Vine-like wife, Dodie, who writes inflammatory articles that further Dennis's political aspirations, and at present the target of their ire is a popular Muslim politician close to the PM, who they intent to denounce for apparent connections to terrorism.

There's another kind of political lunacy that has become more immediate even since the last Jackson Lamb novel, Spook Street, and that's the frequency of terror attacks on the streets of the UK. There's a terrorist unit operating in this latest book, following a plan that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense - from wiping out a small village in Derbyshire to blowing up penguins in an enclosure at the zoo - but perhaps their most unfathomable action is an attempted hit to take out Roderick Ho, one of Jackson Lamb's unhappy little team in Slough House.

Now, anyone who has read previous Jackson Lamb books will understand the implications of that revelation and connected it optimistically to the fact that Slough House personnel have a tendency to get whacked every now and again - but I would caution against getting your hopes up just yet. For the uninitiated, Roderick Ho is, well, not to put too fine a point on it, a bit of an arsehole, but a useful one, since he is also something of a wizard on the computer. Unfortunately both those characteristics come into play here, and clearly Roderick Ho has hacked into somewhere he shouldn't have. The fact that he has been boasting of dating a hot Asian girlfriend Kim should also have raised not just disbelief, but suspicion, but then, the Slough House crew aren't called 'slow horses' for nothing.

That's the plot of London Rules in very basic outline. To say much more would be to spoil the delights, thrills, spills and twists of that follow, although the real delights are not so much in the plotting and satire as principally in Herron's writing, in the language, in the humour and in the profanity-laden and politically incorrect one-liners generously scattered throughout. The insight into the ways of the political mindset, manoeuvring is just as acute as ever, Herron refining them into the unwritten 'London rules' where rule one is "cover your arse". Speaking of which, Jackson Lamb is as foul as ever, and is actually a lot more active than his pestilent corpulent form usually permits. Then again, he's particularly challenged in this latest adventure when the actions of his staff result in an accidental death that takes their incompetence to a new level.

While there's still a great deal to enjoy in Mick Herron's wicked satire of the UK political establishment and the intelligence services, it does appear that the Jackson Lamb series has slowed down a little here, or, as I speculated at the start of the review, it could be a case where the absurdity and turmoil in current world affairs is really far beyond anything even Mick Herron could parody. If you've been following the series, London Rules might not register as much of an impact as some of the previous books - you can't whack a major character in the series every book, although Herron certainly tries - but another visit to Slough House is always welcome and it's still more comedy and up-to-the minute satire than just about anything else out there. Apart from what the UK government are giving us in real-life, of course.

This is the 5th book in the 'Slough House' series by author Mick Herron. Slough House is a dumping ground for British intelligence agents who have messed up a case. The "slow horses," are given menial tasks rather than be trusted on bigger cases.
I found the 1st book I read in this series OK but although loving the idea of Slough House and the relegated spies was not fully committed to reading further books. In spite of my doubts I decided to carry on regardless and I am so pleased I did. For me the series has developed and the characters have become endearing. The more I read of this series the more I like it and I never anticipated when I started book 1 that I would be looking forward to more of authors Mick Herron's work. This is yet another successful novel following the adventures of the rejected spies .
I would like to thank Net Galley and John Murray Press for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I found some aspects of London Rules disappointing.

The scene-setting device that he started in an earlier volume with a cat creeping through the rooms of Slough House was continued here with the dawn, the dusk and the dark used at various points in the narrative and I found it very irritating an unoriginal. Enough of that please.

I also found that the setting in a period where we are clearly modern day (obligatory sneer at Brexit, thankfully only 1 egregious example), but the UK still has a male PM a bit silly, and the PM is such a marginal figure that his/her gender could have easily been skated over with a tiny bit of invention.

The central plot idea of the list was also very thin - what exactly would SSD have proved if they'd pulled it off ? Rather unbelievable as were several other happenings.

And finally on the complaints side I found there was very little continued development of the established characters which I found surprising, especially with River who seems to be going backwards if anything especially as he doesn't really deserve to be a slow horse anyway. I don't really care much for the other characters either, except the one we're left wondering about at the end...

OTOH the satire is biting and very relevant for today's Britain and the dialogue is brilliant. Jackson Lamb is an inspired creation and some of his exchanges with Flyte, Taverner and especially Molly are comic genius that had me laughing out loud.

From the complaints you might think I hated it, but that's far from true as you can see from my 4* rating. I've loved the series and just think that the standards have dropped a bit. Maybe with success he's been asked to produce the next volume more quickly and is edited less thoroughly, so let's hope the next one is back to full 5* standard.

London Rules might not be written down, but everyone knows rule one.
Cover your arse.
Regent's Park's First Desk, Claude Whelan, is learning this the hard way. Tasked with protecting a beleaguered prime minister, he's facing attack from all directions himself.
Meanwhile, the country's being rocked by an apparently random string of terror attacks, and someone's trying to kill Roddy Ho.
Over at Slough House, the crew are struggling with personal problems: repressed grief, various addictions, retail paralysis, and the nagging suspicion that their newest colleague is a psychopath. #.
It's a good job Jackson Lamb knows the rules. Because those things aren't going to break themselves.
Another good read, it’s taken me a while to warm to the series but I’ve finally got there & really enjoyed this book the fifth in the series. A well written novel that ‘got going’ faster than the previous books & I found myself absorbed. Well portrayed characters added to my enjoyment. Whilst it could be read as a stand alone book I’d recommend reading the earlier books so you can appreciate the characters & wit

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I’m struggling to write a review of London Rules. On the one hand I love it so much I want to tell you all about it. On the other there are so many clever twists that I don’t want to give anything away at all.

If you’re new to this series, it features the ‘slow horses’, intelligence service staff who, for a variety of reasons – trauma, addiction or just temperament – have been deemed unsuitable for their occupation. They are kept on the payroll but are exiled to Slough House, a rundown building where they are expected to do mind-numbing tasks bereft of danger or challenge.

In London Rules, Britain is in the grip of Brexit madness, random terror events and most shocking of all, slow horse Roddy Ho, computer genius and social failure, has got a girlfriend. And slightly less shocking, someone is trying to kill him. The slow horses feel bound to intervene, and chaos ensues as they are not only up against killers, but their own employer.

From the stunning prologue to the long, leisurely first chapter worthy of Dickens, the prose is beautiful and creates a pleasing tension. You want to race ahead to what happens next but also to savour what you’re reading now. The political characters are brilliantly – if brutally – observed and would make you weep if you weren’t already laughing out loud.

Most of all, for me, it’s the series characters that keep me reading – their talents, their flaws, the endless machinations of the people in power and the bloodymindedness of those pushed out.

When I finished reading, I immediately felt bereft and eager to know what’s coming next.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

what a strange book with spooks, slough house with member of the secret service in disgrace just aimlessly doing mind numbing jobs as their careers stall

then there the honey trap and attempted murder of one of their own plus an horrendous attack on a village but its all based on a plan that has been released by our own government...

took me a while to understand the characters and their personalities..loved the one liners that crept out and so not pc at times which did amuse me
not a bad read though

Just superb and sublime! So good that I wished had more stars to give this ever improving series featuring the Slough House failures from the intelligence services, presided over by the grotesque, corpulent, repulsive and flatulent Jackson Lamb, a man who refers to himself as a pagan deity. This is outstanding espionage fiction, that sharply satirises the car crash that is contemporary British politics with Brexit, and the security services. The unwritten London rules are followed religiously in the world of spies, and the number one rule is covering one's arse at all costs, never letting the truth get in the way of the official version of events. It all begins with an attack on a village that I was sure was located in a developing nation, only to be shocked it was Abbotsfield in Derbyshire, that leaves 12 dead. ISIS are quick to claim responsibility, but all is not as it seems. A shell shocked nation and politicians look for answers and resolution from the security services, riven with rivalries, presided over nominally by Claude Whelan, although the real power behind the throne, is the Machiavellian Diana Taverner, biding her time before she skewers Whelan.

In the meantime, Roddy Ho, a wonder with a keyboard, but nothing else, has his life saved by Shirley, although he is blindingly unaware of this. None of the 'slow horses' have a problem with Ho being taken out, and Shirley is suitably repentant about her ill advised intervention that has Ho still breathing. Still, Slough House reluctantly come to Ho's aid, only to be alarmed when they learn there are connections to the Abbotsfield horror. The terrorists up the stakes by following up with an uspeakable massacre of penguins and a train bomb that luckily is foiled. A populist Brexit politician, Gimball, modeled on Nigel Farage, is the fierciest of critics of the intelligence services and a muslim mayoral candidate, with the expectation of benefiting from his machinations. I could not help laughing when he ends up being 'glossed'. With Slough House under lockdown, which Lamb and the slow horses are not going to take lying down as mayhem and accidents ensue. With Diana looking for any excuse to take out Lamb, she is to find that there are no rules that he will not break.

Much of contemporary British politics surrounding Brexit are almost beyond parody, but Herron incisively does it with style and panache. We at long last come to understand how Lamb ended up at Slough House and why he bought alcoholic mother hen, Catherine, with him. Without doubt, Herron's ingenious caricature that is Jackson Lamb is the shining star of this series, and he is spectacular in this book. If you are an espionage and spy thriller aficionado, and even if you are not, I strongly urge you to read this book, you will not regret it. This is a fantastic and hilarious addition to the series, and I had a ball reading it! Many thanks to John Murray Press for an ARC.

his is the fifth of Mick Herron’s superb Jackson Lamb thrillers – two of them have featured on the blog, Spook Street and Real Tigers, and those posts explain more about the series and why I love it. So all there is to do now is to say that this one is well up to standard, and that Lamb is more hideous than ever. The plot is complicated (as always) and fortunately I don’t have to go into it too much, as that might be a spoiler. There are terrorists threatening domestic security, and the Slough House team – the slow horses - try their unofficial best to foil them, with very mixed results. As ever, the coverup at the end is going to be as big a deal as the various disastrous events…

So now, as a reminder of what a good writer Herron is, and how funny, I will list some of my favourite quotes (I highlighted dozens of them):

Like Ronnie and Reggie Kray before it, the Barbican had overcomethe drawback of being a brutal piece of shit to achieve iconic status.

[of an elderly man who has dementia] Every spook’s dream was to throw off all pursuers, and know himself unwatched. He was fast approaching that space; somewhere unknowable, unvisited, untagged by hostile eyes.

[The slow horses are trying to forestall some trouble] ‘If either of those pols are actually at risk, they should be under Protection Orders, not being surreptitiously babysat by the Teletubbies.’

It was difficult arguing a point when you had no reliable information or accurate knowledge. Unless you were online, obviously.

‘The winner’s the one with the pokerest face.’

‘Pokerest?’
‘It’s two in the morning, what do you want, Will Self?’


There’s never a wide wardrobe to pick from in Herron’s books (my only complaint), though I did like this description of a small meeting at Slough House:

It looked like a poetry reading, though, inasmuch as there were few people there, and none of them stylishly dressed. Well, Flyte was an exception, though River suspected she’d make a plaid skirt and woollen tights look good. As it was, she wore a dark business suit. Her hair was tied back, her eyes were unamused.
- the picture is one I chose for Emma Flyte for a post on a previous book.

And poor Dennis and his worries seemed to suggest we get out Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in Some Like it Hot.

I've read all the Slough House books and thoroughly enjoyed them. This one popped up and I grabbed the chance to keep up with the characters. And I did enjoy it but... It felt a bit forced. I found myself putting it down again and again rather than being gripped by it. Maybe it was me but it didn't feel as engaging. I also found all the philosophical dawn, dusk descriptions irritating - just get on with the story!

But, it was current and funny in places and I enjoyed the plot.

Official (Mick Herron Avoider of Spoilers) Secrets Act Signed!

Mick Herron’s marvellously funny, horribly plausible, politically too close for comfort, twisty, turny sequence of spooks-on-the-prowl novels continues, all guns effortlessly blazing for another 5 star review with this one.

For those new to Herron’s ‘Slough House, Jackson Lamb’ series, good though Book 5 (this one) is, and despite the fact that yes, each book can be read as a stand-alone, I would strongly, strongly suggest you race away and get the book in the series, Slow Horses, and then, with increasing immersion and enjoyment, book on book, work your way through Dead Lions, Real Tigers and Spook Street, in order. This one will still be waiting for you, and you will enjoy it even more as you will be meeting old friends and foes, and come to this one with even more pleasure than would have been the case if you began in the middle.

Herron with each book is rather taking on the changing political events that have happened since he wrote the previous book.

His books follow MI5 (his version of it) here cited as ‘Regent’s Park, and the various power struggles that might exist between M15 and the Home Office, not to mention the Prime Minister, and the police, in defence of the Realm.

However – don’t think anything like the glamour world of espionage. Rather, what goes on at the grubby (very grubby) edges. ‘Slough House’ is where those who failed, spectacularly, to make the grade, get shunted, to carry out the tedious work which the glamorous ones will need – the checking of licence plates, the trawl through electoral registers, the watching of hours of video footage. These are the sorry Z listers of MI5. Each of them has a back story, each a present which seems hopeless, each still hopes, somehow, to get back to the cutting edge of spookiness.

The band of marvellous failures are led by a gargantuan figure. Jackson Lamb is Falstaff without the joy, cruel as a shark, savage in his wit, - he comes out of the same reprehensible mould as another much loved monster Gene Hunt from Life of Mars – except, Jackson is far far sharper in devious intelligence.

In this series Herron has a chilling finger on the button of the dangerous society we are sometimes aware we are living in, whilst managing to crack open the kind of back stabbing, juggles for power and position which we know goes on in large organisations, all wrapped up with cutting edge humour. And a delicious number of twists, turns, feints and dives to have the readers’ jaws dropping over and over. Nothing will be quite what it seems, and Herron will have done something coming out of left field again. And will get this reader, almost every time. Sometimes with an ‘oh no, oh NO’ moment – the life of a spook is a dangerous one, after all – sometimes with a shout of joy at the audaciousness of an event.

For firm fans of the series – the Slow Horse in the spotlight here is geeky Roderick Ho. Against the odds, Ho, imagining himself as the cool, sexy Rodster (this one really does think he is James Bond) has acquired a girl friend. The other horses in the field at the end of book 4, Spook Street, are all in place. And back at ‘Regent Park’ Lady Di, still second desk, is plotting and planning as only she can…….

In the world of Westminster and party politics are various figures who might seem more than a little familiar, or conglomerates of such figures. For example, the hail fellow-well met leader of a populist party and a vituperative columnist on a tabloid newspaper who is not at all averse to the spinning of fake news, especially if it will help her man into power. Any resemblance to any real figure is probably quite deliberate………

I received this, very gratefully, as a digital ARC via NetGalley and the publisher, John Murray Books, and sincerely hope Mr Herron is well along with book 6.

I always approach a new Slough House book with a certain sense of trepidation, wondering whether Mick Herron can maintain the high standards he has set in earlier novels. I really should have more confidence because this, the 5th in the series is just as good, just as funny and just as enthralling as the first four. When the leading candidates to replace the Prime Minister are described as “having been brought low by a frenzy of backstabbing, treachery and double-dealing on a scale not seen since the Spice Girls reunion”, you know that Mr Herron is bang on form.

Whilst the book can be read as a standalone, I would urge new readers to start at the beginning of the series with Slow Horses and they will appreciate much more how the writing and the characters have evolved. For those new to the books, the plots revolve around the premise that failed spooks are not quietly let go or disposed of but are banished to an appalling building in East London where they are asked to perform tasks of mind-numbing boredom in the hope that they will resign, thereby avoiding the embarrassing possibility of Industrial Tribunals. Around that amusing concept, Herron has built a world ripe for satire and at times, outright schoolboy humour.

If Mick Herron was simply the Tom Sharpe of the espionage world, these books would be an enjoyable but light-weight read. However, he is much more. He creates the most outrageous plots and then persuades you to believe them and slips easily from word plays and double entendres into action passages of genuine excitement which can rate alongside the very best thriller writers. But above all he has got inside the heads of this dissolute group of characters in ways that allow us to understand and empathise with them, warts and all. By the end of the book, I was even starting to feel sorry for Rodney Ho.

Of course, in this post-Brexit era, Mr Herron couldn’t miss the opportunity to throw a few barbs and in Dennis Gimball, a cross-dressing hybrid of Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson, he has created a character of ghastly proportions to sit alongside the other double-dealing politicians and Service chiefs.

I am always reticent to give a book 5 stars because it suggests perfection, but in this case, I will make an exception. Bring on the next one in the series please Mr Herron.

I am very grateful to Net Gallery and John Murray books for sending me a pre-publication copy of this book in return for an honest review.

In this politically correct world where every word has to be weighed before it’s uttered, where even a harmless salutation such as, “Good morning” or “Good night” could offend either vampires or plagiarise Dylan Thomas, it’s refreshing to stumble over the slumbering, corporeal, lone wolf known as Jackson Lamb. For if he wakes, he’ll take no prisoners as he’s the antithesis of everything ‘establishment’. That’s not to say that this iconoclastic figure hasn’t got a good centre. He administers the jockey’s whip to his chargers known as the Slow Horses but keeps a watchful eye for horse thieves.
Yet again we are met with Herron’s device to refresh old hands and introduce newbies to Slough House: Dawn! No, not the Dawn of #MeToo (Lamb would describe the movement as a coming out parade for closet lesbians) but dawn, which succeeds night. At this point I luxuriate in Herron’s skills for every time he does it, it is with a new messenger and always from a different viewpoint.
In London Rules the characters and humour are stronger than the plot. I think the rationale behind this is to show there is a degree of incompetency in every organisation and life in general. Put a joe on scaffolding in the dark and he’s either going fall off or kick a stray, rusty, scaffold clamp or paint tin over the edge. In this novel it’s Trade Gloss!
In real life it could be losing the target whilst having a pee, with deadly consequences.

No spoilers but in conclusion:
Molly Duran keeps her job wheeling through the Park’s back passages and Jackson Lamb, ever knowing, looks out over his stables, breaking wind with the satisfied grin of a job well done. They both understand their stock in trade and how to keep the lid on the sewer.

Sadly I am now suffering withdrawal symptoms until the next book, gone are the chuckles and the re-reads; ‘did he really say that’? How does ‘defiant regret’ work? Herron makes it work, that’s how!

I was tempted to abandon this book early in but decided to persist- to no avail. The characters are dysfunctional and bizarre. No espionage system would operate in this way. The plot is confused and the writing poor. I rarely find a book so unlikely. It is hard to find anything positive to say.

Without doubt, Mick Herron has created the best, modern spy series, in his Slough House books and this, latest instalment, is a wonderful addition. It begins with what seems to be a terrorist outrage, with us readers falling into line and imagining we know who is behind it. However, this is Mick Herron, these are the Slow Horses, and plots do not go in straight lines here – they meander, double back, peer around corners and call your bluff.

So, things are not what they seem and our current batch of Slow Horses are eager to be involved with events. Except, without even realising it, they are, in fact, already involved. If not central, to what is going on. At least Roderick Ho (‘the Rodster’) is. However, so deluded is he – so blindly self assured – that he is not questioning much, including the fact that he has a beautiful new girlfriend; even if she does make excuses at the end of the evening, but too much of a good thing, right? Oh, nor does he realise that someone is trying to kill him. For Roddy Ho is up to his neck in trouble and it is up to Jackson Lamb, who, whatever his faults, will always do his best to protect his Slow Horses, to work out what is going on.

The real joy about Mick Herron is his writing. He makes all his characters human and sympathetic; even those who are doing very bad things. His books are full of deft plotting, dry one liners and bizarre events (the ‘paint’ scene will stay with me forever). Along the way, we have ambitious politicians with secrets, the wonderful Diana Taverner, longing to be in power and, central to everything, Jackson Lamb. Lamb, who rarely moves from his shadowy lair, but who everyone is wary of, and always seems to be around at the right moment – in fact, we see some of his impeccable timing in this novel.

This series is a joy. The latest instalment is intelligent, witty, and will make you long to read more by Mick Herron. He is an author on top of his game and, like Jackson Lamb, he can do no wrong in my eyes. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

(I was kindly given the opportunity to read an advance copy by NetGalley and will be posting this review on Amazon.co.uk on 1 Feb 2018 when they allow such comments to be made.).
I’ve enjoyed the previous books in this series and London Rules has kept up the standard. Without spoiling the plot it is good to see stability in the ‘cast list’ and that offers an opportunity for some character development. Hopefully that trend will continue!
The story is highly topical and addresses realistic current security threats. It strikes me that the series would lend itself very well to a TV dramatisation. I have to admit that in reading the books I visualise Ken Stott as a shoe-in for the Jackson Lamb role. No reflection whatsoever on Mr Stott’s own personal hygiene or habits!
A great read and highly recommended.

Once you start reading a book by Mick Herron, it’s very hard to stop. I did try rationing myself, so as to prolong the reading pleasure, but it was no good. London Rules is the fifth Jackson Lamb mystery, about the failed secret service agents, known as Slow Horses, who work in Slough House (great name), under the supervision of the superb Jackson Lamb, a man of repulsive habits and apparent laziness, who nevertheless is always in the right place at the right time. He constantly abuses his minions yet will defend them against the might of Regent’s Park, where the top spooks work.

This book, like the others, opens with a terrorist incident which totally misleads the reader about its perpetrators and their aims. It then moves, in what has become a familiar Dickensian trick in these novels, of positing some entity, perhaps a cat but in this case dawn, which explores and describes Slough House. This takes time and sets the pattern for the contradiction in the novels: the apparently slow narration of what are action-packed stories. Someone is out to murder Roddy Ho, the computer genius of Slough House, who is a walking deluded giant ego, generally loathed by his colleagues. What has he got mixed up in? The Slow Horses work out what it is and follow the trail but needless to say, they mess (euphemism) things up as usual. It’s so enjoyable to see Lamb yet again taking on ‘Lady Di’ and other grandees of the Service, and winning. As I’ve said before, one of the great pleasures of these books is that they are both exciting spy stories and funny; Lamb is very funny.

London Rules? They vary throughout the book but the first seems to be ‘cover your arse’. There’s a lot of covering to do, as the Service seems to be an institution based on back stabbing and looking after number one. If you’re new to these books, I recommend starting with the first, Slow Horses. What a treat it is to come to them for the first time. I read this book courtesy of the publishers and NetGalley and it’s out on 15th February.

Sadly I was not able to really get into these, lauded though they have been. The odd quirky character is fine but going OTT on the bizarre characters filling this ensemble detracted from what could have been a great plot, really contemporary.

The premise is that flawed spies are no longer exiled to off-shore prisons, but are made to work out their careers sorting paperclips. What happens when these 'slow horses' feel they are called into action? And perhaps some of the slow horses are in this department for reasons of their own? Along with being laugh out loud funny, this spy thriller/drama series has built a tremendous back story for each (surviving) character.
I am a huge fan of Mick Herron's Slow Horses series and this is one of the best. His political satire, slapstick and screwball conversations are all first rate, and he knows when to let go of some of the threads in favour of action.

Would be a five star review except I don't think you can jump into the series with London Rules, so please go back to Slow Horses to start. Oh, and don't be put off by the odd intros :-)

It was a recommendation from Sarah Hilary that set me on the road to reading Mick Herron, and goodness, am I grateful. London Rules is such a class act, I now have to go back and read others in this Slough House series.

I tend to be more of a crime than a spy reader, but Mick Herron has opened my eyes to the beauty of the contemporary spy series. It works perfectly well as a stand-alone, but I really do want to know more about the oddballs who make up the Slough House crew; the Slow Horses are a group of disreputable, dysfunctional misfits who have committed sins as spies that have caused them to be relegated to desk jobs in Slough House, presided over by the inimitable Jackson Lamb. Not, you understand, that they ever stay at their desks…

Herron’s writing is sublime. Rich, descriptive, dry and full of sarcastic wit, it has some extremely funny, laugh out loud moments, whilst simultaneously managing to make wry observations about the absurdities of MI5 and it’s interaction with politicians.

His plotting is astute, tight and intricate and some of the characters in this book are, well let’s just say, they may ring some recognition bells – especially the politicians and the media columnist.

In London Rules, there’s a Brexit background, lots of political machinations and an emphasis on the relationship between MI5’s Regent House, where all the real spies are housed and Slough House, where Jackson Lamb survives to rule his roost because of his skill and ingenuity in being able to predict, outthink and outmanoeuvre his masters.

Lamb is an outrageous character. Slovenly, scabrous, contemptuous, obnoxious – these are all his best character traits yet you can't help but like him.

London is on high alert. The public are unforgiving and seriously divided over Brexit. Politicians too are equally divided, jockeying for position and falling over themselves to implicate each other in the mire of whatever is the unpopular political issue of the day.

Into the midst of this, a group of armed men set off a hail of bullets in the small village of Abbotsfield, Derbyshire, killing several people. IS have claimed responsibility, but the motive for this attack is unclear.

Meanwhile, the computer genius at Slough House – Roddy Ho, is the subject of an attempted hit-and-run, foiled by his colleague Shirley. While Lamb could understand pretty much anyone wanting to kill Roddy, he can’t fathom what the reason for this attack might be. Roddy has a high opinion of himself, seeing himself as a combination of James Bond and Q. This is just as well, because no-one else of knows him thinks of him in anything like such a kind light. The Rodster, as he likes to call himself, is in reality an IT geek with an absence of personality and no social skills at all.

The Slow Horses become entangled in tracking down the terrorists in an effort to find out who was gunning for Ho and as they wreak their own brand of havoc throughout London and beyond, one or two of them find themselves for once in the right place at the right time.

What makes this book work is the way that the narrative is focused on the Slough House characters; how they are thinking and feeling, and how that impacts on their actions - though from Jackson Lamb you get none of that, which makes him altogether a more complex character.

From accidental killings to terrorist outrages, the Slow horses view everything through their own prism as they make it through another day at the coalface.

A terrific and addictive read with sparkling wit, satisfying dialogue and a great plot. Very highly recommended.

This is the fifth book in an exceptional series that just seems to get better with every title.

Originally perceived as a spoof on the intelligence services, the "slow horses" retain all their idiosyncrasies and weaknesses but still manage, perhaps despite themselves to get the job done.

Behind the humour a serious plot lurks with a number roof terrorist atrocities to be investigated.

The plot is credible and well-thought through but where the book really shines is in the sheer quality of the writing, and the interaction between the different characters as well as the politics between the various factions.

I read this through in one go and loved it.