This is the sixth book in the Slough House series. Although each book is stand alone in terms of plot, it does help to be acquainted with the previous books, as some of the plot threads come together in this novel.

The larger than life main character, Jackson Lamb, is the least likely spy master. He is a corpulent, chronically drunk, rude, foul, often cruel, belching socially incorrect misfit. But he can also be brilliant when he can be bothered and astute. He is head of a motley crew based at Slough House, otherwise known as the Slow Horses, MI5’s least wanted, a bunch of washed up spies. “this was the Service’s backwater, where they sent you when they wanted to bore you to death” –

Louisa Guy is one of the slow horses, Her work is a never-ending drudge made worse by the absence, through his death, of her colleague and lover Min Harper. When Min’s widow gets in touch asking Louisa to help locate her missing teenage son, Lucas, its partly guilt about their affair which gets her to take immediate leave from work and head into Wales searching for him.
In parallel to this plot line - the appearance of a rogue ex-CIA operative at River Cartwright’s grandfather’s funeral also kicks the rest of the team into gear. Frank Harkness is a wanted man throughout Europe, but his hand in the death of one of the team previously makes it personal for Jackson Lamb. For if the malvolent, intemperate Lamb has one rule, it’s this: we look after our own.
Their search leads them eventually to Wales, and into the same snow storm that Louisa is stuck in as she searches for Lucas. And so the plot thickens as these tangled webs play out.
Mick Herron’s Sough House spy stories are amongst the best of this genre being written today. He is a brilliant writer, especially in his exploration and depiction of loss and connection. This is not a typical spy thriller, there are moments of reflection mixed with dark, dark humour, very precise plotting and hilarious one-liners. I look forward to reading the next instalment.

Another brilliant Slough House novel. Mick Herron has written a well crafted, clever, often humorous novel about the outcasts and misfits of British Intelligence. Another slow horse joins, another of the well crafted characters gets killed off. A delight, from the opening scenes at the funeral of River Cartwright's grandfather the book twists and turns as different threads each slow horse is involved with comes together to an unexpected but satisfying conclusion. Definitely recommended.

There’s going to be a lot more mention of the white jacket, and of the wintry weather, throughout this, the 6th of Mick Herron’s Slough House/Slow Horses/Jackson Lamb spy thrillers.

All the regular characters, the joes of the title, are here – well, those who survived previous books. They are doing their normal boring jobs:
Shirley’s daylight hours were now taken up by cross-referring a register of TV licence defaulters against lists of those who’d failed to pay parking fines, child support and a million other minor offences.
‘Wouldn’t it be quicker to just take the population of Liverpool and start from there?’
[As someone who was born and lived in Liverpool, I shouted with laughter at this.]

An early setpiece is the funeral of River Cartwright’s grandfather David, known as the OB. The action kicks off nicely from there.

Louisa starts looking for a missing teenager, for personal reasons, and her colleagues (including Emma Flyte from a previous book) are dragged in too, and most of them end up in an extended final section running and hiding and attacking people in a blizzard-hit rural part of Wales.

I couldn’t really tell what was going on in these snow-filled scenes, or picture where all the characters were in relation to each other (it was like the last act of Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro, only worse weather and harder to sort out.) But that was fine, I could just wait it out to see who ended up where, and enjoy the dialogue:
‘Wales, though. It’s not a huge place.’
‘It’s exactly the size it is, isn’t it?’ Shirley said. ‘Reports are always saying something’s “an area the size of Wales”. And that’s exactly the size Wales is.’
This was met with a short silence.
Lamb said, ‘and to think I had you down as incapable of coherent thought.’


And the glancing political perceptions:
If you want your enemy to fail, give him something important to do. This strategy [was] known for obscure historical reasons as “The Boris”.
[The book is in fact full of political perceptions, perhaps even more so than the others in the series, with a lot of trailing of a future plotline.]

And this:
They were in a café off Fleet street, at Judd’s suggestion – he wanted somewhere with no danger of journalists being present.
So if you know this series then you don’t need me to tell you to read this one. It is - of course, predictably – excellent. If you haven’t, start at the first book. Mick Herron is one of the best contemporary writers, and these are the best spy thrillers out there.

One final diversion: River meets up with his mother Isobel, (‘there were times he could admire his mother’s self-absorption: it was a rare example of her showing total commitment’) at the funeral. Then we see them through the eyes of another key character:
Isobel had aged gracefully, presumably at the same speed as himself, though she’d taken care to slow down on the curves, or had some first-class mechanics hammering the dings out every other lap. As for River he was still young enough to take theknocks and stay standing or get back on his feet afterwards. A nice, trick, soon lost. River would learn.
-which reminded me very much of the wonderful Frank O’Hara poem Animals:



Have you forgotten what we were like then
when we were still first rate
and the day came fat with an apple in its mouth
it's no use worrying about Time


but we did have a few tricks up our sleeves
and turned some sharp corners
the whole pasture looked like our meal
we didn't need speedometers
we could manage cocktails out of ice and water
I wouldn't want to be faster
or greener than now if you were with me O you
were the best of all my days


-which featured on the blog when it gave its name to the book Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth, which has just been made into a film.

This was an excellent read. Not something I would usually pick up but It had me hooked from the outset and throughout. Will be keeping an eye out for more in the future.

Mick Herron is a master of storytelling. I love his characters, and the way he can keep a reader engrossed for hours. Joe Country is a stunning book - and my favourite of his so far.

In brief - this is the latest in the Slough House series, it is brilliant yet again. If you haven’t read the series get to your nearest bookshop and buy them all now and start reading. You don’t know what you are missing. Jackson Lamb and his Slow Horses are addictive so be warned... and the body count will be high, so try not to get too attached to characters (think Game of Thrones).

Why are you still reading this? Go buy them all NOW.

The longer version...

The characters in the Slough House series really get under your skin, becoming likeable despite everything that might imply otherwise. In most crime novels there is usually at least one character who has a secret or a serious character fault. In Mick Herron’s books all the characters have a secret, often more than one, and more character flaws than should be possible for one human being. However, you get to like the characters at your peril as the author is no respecter of persons. You would think that having gone to immense trouble to create a terrific character he would want to hang on to them, but no. Slough House is therefore full of ghosts, empty desks in shared offices that remind the reader and the remaining occupants of what and who has gone before.

In this outing the memories are very much alive and the scars still raw. There is unfinished business and the inhabitants of Slough House seem more dysfunctional than ever. There is also a new face to fill one of the empty desks. A new face with new secrets. Soon some old faces will reappear, and at least one will disappear for good.

I cannot recommend this series highly enough. It is one of the few that I pre-order and read as soon as it arrives. I would definitely recommend reading all of this series in order as so much will be lost otherwise. This is officially book 6 in the series but there are two novellas that precede this one and will help make more sense of what is happening.

Jackson Lamb is an anti-hero if I've ever seen one. He is ill-mannered, messy and sarcastic, but when his slow horses are threatened by a cunning foreign spy and his team of assassins, Lamb protects them at any cost.
The plot is at times slow-moving, but also very complex. The reader gains insight into the different employees toiling away at Slough House, and discovers how many of them ended up working in the undesirable location. This includes the newest slow horse, Lech Wicinski, who's fate is tied to the other slow horses in more than one.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this thriller with its complex web of foreign and domestic spies warring in the midst of the unsuspecting London public, ever egomaniacal politicians, shifting alliances, old boys clubs, and of course the smashing showdown in snow laden Wales.
This was my first book in the Jackson Lamb Series and the first book by Mick Herron, but the 6th book in the Jackson Lamb Series.
Anyone who has lived and worked in London will immediately feel at home in the ageing building inhabiting Slough House, in perpetual disrepair, making all kinds of strange noises and seemingly on the brink of collapse.

I can't wait to dive into the rest of the series and read them in chronological order this summer.

Mick Herron has produced another excellent instalment in the Slow Horses saga. With his usual combination of biting satire, tense action and suspense and glorious writing he shifts much of the action from London to a snow-clad Pembrokeshire where several of the horses battle assassins and River's father to protect a vulnerable teenager. The usual machinations in the corridors of power are present and Jackson Lamb maintains his flatulent oversight of the team, protecting them behind the scenes while insulting them to their faces. It's fun to spot the references to prominent politicians and I suspect Mick Herron will not be invited for drinks at No. 10 any time soon. Highly recommended.

This is the first Jackson Lamb book I have read and having heard great reviews about previous books in the series anticipated great things , I was a little disappointed . . Based in Slough House the secret service personnel who have done something wrong or are not up to scratch , are sent here to mark time without rocking the boat ..At a funeral a former associate is seen in the background, why is he here ? Later the deceased's girlfriend is contacted by the man's ex-wife saying their teenage son has disappeared . She agrees to look for him and takes leave . She manages to trace him to Wales in midwinter . The rest of the people from Slough House (known as Slow Horses ) start to search for her and the boy . I am not going to go further in to the plot lines but suffice it to say an entertaining chase ensues . There is quite a bit of humour involved which helps the story , perhaps I am missing something coming into this cold so may look at the earlier stories at some stage .

A thoroughly absorbing read.
The slow horses of Slough House are involved in tracking down an ex-CIA bad apple that turns up at a funeral. Another of the Slough House operatives is persuaded to help track down the son of her ex-lover by his widow. The search takes them to a snowbound Wales. There are references to a Senior Royal and to a potential PM. Jackson Lamb eventually "manipulates" everyone to a satisfactory ending.
Enjoyable, if a little dark and depressing.

Mick Herron fame is desevervingly growing in the mainstrran and about time too . The latest in the Slough House series and another satisfying fun gripping and moving addition. . It's so difficult to get the genre of comedy thriller right but as ever mick Herron hits the bullseye. Very on the nose for our crazy times as well as being very un- pc at times but it's what you expect from Jackson Lamb, the spy chief, and he gets away with it. There is so much going on with him. Takes very unexpected turns and regularly brings laughs and gasps to the reader.. Don't start here if you don't know Mick a Herron but if you do I need say.no more as you will surely be on the case

This is yet another great book in the Jackson Lamb series.. He is the absolute antithesis of James Bond and doesn't miss anything, even though there is no apparent way he seems to know things. It must be by osmosis? The slow horses are a brilliantly described bunch. Who most of the time are comedically useless but sometimes show flashes of brilliance and get good results against all the odds.
Slight spoiler alert, Mick Herron in his previous books in the series has never been adverse to bumping off his characters and this book is no different. As a consequence you never know how successful the slow horses' missions are going to be or if they will ever make it back to the drudgery of Slough house. I really enjoyed this book and can recommend this and all of the books in this series.

Such a joy to read a new Mick Herron and one eagerly anticipated. So did it stack up with the excellence of the first five? The answer is yes.

Each novel takes an uncompromising look at 21st Britain and holds it up to scrutiny. In this novel it is sex and cover ups in high places. Given the way the Epstein affair and Philip Green have played out it is highly topical, menacing and plausible.

The brilliance comes in the way Jackson Lamb and his assorted army of ramshackle characters take on the establishment and big business.
The asides, the caustic wit, the grossness and flatulence. The way Mick Herron highlights new facets of the characters and is prepared to kill them off.

The novels are both profoundly upsetting and laugh aloud on the tube funny, and, often hugely politically incorrect. It is black humour at its best

Bravo.

I haven't read previous books in the Slough House books and maybe should have as it took a little perseverance at the start of the book as it was a new style of writing to me. I stuck with it and found as I engaged with the characters and understood the concept that I thoroughly enjoyed the read, so much so that going back to the start to see what I missed in the earlier books.

Thank you to Netgalley and John Murray, for the review copy. This is an unbiased review of the author's work and style. If you want plot lines and spoilers please see the publishers blurb and other reviewers' reports.

In summary a mixed bag this volume. We're back in Slough House and its disfunctionaries. Whilst Mick Herron's style has surprising kept up, I say surprisingly because many authors, the good and the bad frequently allow their style to slip when writing a series on the same topic. Here you will find familiar territory of department rivalry (sometimes taken too far ) with an ingenious plot but I have to say a weak rendition.

I think it is time for someone to torch Slough House and the author to reach into his imagination sack and scatter the seeds of his undoubted ability to entertain us o'er pastures new.

I've given it 4 stars because of the style it should have been 3 for the final volume - possibly it was rushed to reach a deadline?

The sixth in the Jackson Lamb series shows that Mick Heron’s talent for combining a gripping storyline and subtle and not so subtle humour is not abating. The relationship between the inmates of Slough House and MI6 First Desk continues to smoulder - and though Jackson Lamb always seems to have the measure of Diane Taverner, the cliffhanger and the end of the novel suggests the denouement is not far away.
As you will gather, full enjoyment of this fast moving tale is somewhat dependant on a knowledge of what has gone before. References to former colleagues , d3ceased and living family members abound, in particular those relating to River Cartwright a prominent Slow Horse, whose father turns up once more on the side of the opposition. But who is the opposition? Is it a scurrilous foreign power or a scurrilous home grown politician intent on protecting the reputation of a disreputable section of British Industry, known for it’s indiscriminate export policy, and a fairly undisguised member of the Royal Family. He also has designs on the premiership, and though he is widely regarded as a liar and buffoon, seems to be well in the running to succeed. Oh a God, reality really bites the bum!
I love this series. I long for someone to see its potential as television drama. And I heartily endorse Heron’s view of Sunderland.

This was the first Mick Herron book that I’ve read and I really wanted to enjoy it because he has had so many great reviews from other writers but, I just didn’t. Sorry.
That may be down to me, I read it in small bursts because I was lacking in time, maybe if I’d been able to get through larger chunks at a time, the story would have flowed. It took me about a third of the way through the book to discern who the various characters were, and where the plot was headed.
The witticisms of the characters were very funny, and cutting. Herron seems to be of a satirical line of thinking, and that I really enjoyed. The characters are definitely not politically correct, and their observations were brutally real.
I do wonder what the Royal Family’s lawyers will make of certain bits…
It became more complex as the book progressed, and more interesting. It is still a spy novel, but achingly modern. These are not heroes, they are damaged and limited human beings.
Maybe if I had read previous books in the series on Slough House I would have known who the characters were a bit quicker, and enjoyed it more. The perils of starting mid-way through a series.

I feel like a broken record having reviewed each of the Slough House books with 5 stars. Joe Country is no exception. This is, for me, one of the very best, most enjoyable spy series and I sing its praises loudly with each new offering.

Joe Country contains all the joyous hallmarks of the preceding novels - smart, sarcastic dialog and tension-racheting action. I simply love everything about it. The characters are well drawn and come across like actual people. The situations that they find themselves in are authentic real-world scenarios, not over the top bigger than life, as many other books convey successfully. As much as I love these books I do feel a slight sense of apprehension as no character is entirely safe since each book tends to have a death or two. Often in surprising circumstances. I press on regardless as the world of Jackson Lamb and his intrepid second-string underlings is so worth the worry and possible upset. I just have to know what happens!

Here, we travel to Wales and a snow storm makes it even more perilous than normal. Things are changing not just in Slough House but at Regents Park too. The politicking and the backstabbing is in full flow. A real gem. Enjoy.

Another hopeless case for the slow horses. Although ultimately this series makes for a rather bleak read, with ongoing characters being killed off with ruthless abandon, mick herrons line in black humour prevents it from being depressing.. the background in contemporary politics is a serious background to the somewhat comic book action. As ever he kept me hooked!

The sixth book in the Jackson Lamb series and Mick Herron keeps the high quality of his plotting and writing going. This time the majority of the team become involved in unfolding events in snow covered Pembrokeshire and the action comes thick and fast. I do like the author’s knack of stopping action on a cliff-hanger before switching to another part of the plot, which again often ends in a cliffhanging moment. Although Slough House is for the secret service outcasts where they are meant to be given menial tasks, they often seem to find a way into a hot piece of political action.

If you are a fan already then this will already be on your reading list, and new readers would be best advised to read the series in order just because you get references to characters/events earlier in the series. Either way, ‘Joe Country’ proves that Mick Herron is top of the spy thriller tree.