Herron is the most intelligent, sophisticated prose stylist writing crime fiction today, I'm convinced. His sentences are masterclasses in writing - there's usually a clever pun, particularly when Lamb is the interlocutor! I thoroughly savoured this latest installment of Slough House, and reading it now (as it's published - in contrast to the rest of the series, where I caught up with reading them after watching the TV adaptation) provides its own frisson of interest in the pen-portraits of certain politicians. As ever, Catherine Standish is a stand-out character for me, but this time around I enjoyed getting to know Devon Welles a bit better too. And Roddy... never disappoints! His dialogue, slipped into the conversations going on around him, makes me smile and hardly anything written-down ever does that. I'm definitely going to seek out the audiobook version as well.

Diana Taverner, First Desk at MI5, is using an old spy network to do her dirty work. When she tries to involve the slow horses in her scheme, things don't go quite to plan.

I managed to read Bad Actors at the start of the month, bringing me up to date with the Slough House series in preparation for the release of book 9 in September. I was over the moon when the publishers gave me access to an early copy for review. In Clown Town, author Mick Herron takes his time to meticulously set up the narrative, very much like setting up a chessboard to resume a game that is partway through.

As the pieces are carefully positioned, ready for battle to commence, we see Diana Taverner seeking help from Jackson Lamb, something which is unheard of. Taverner is in trouble with HR and needs Lamb to get one of his slow horses to find out who has made accusations against her. Academics are studying the books left behind by David Cartwright, but one has gone missing, and there's something strange about it. Peter Judd is leaning on Diana Taverner to coerce government ministers to look favorably on Chinese interests. And, an old group of spies is trying to blackmail MI5.

With the board set, pieces are slowly moved, and everyone's aim seems to be to take the queen. Fans of the series will be well aware that Diana Taverner is really only motivated by self-preservation. In her dealings with the group of retired spies, we get a real glimpse of how savage she can be in protecting her own interests.

Mick Herron has made a number of timely pop culture references, some are hilarious and others are scathing. I regularly found myself laughing out loud, mainly because of the antics of Roddy Ho, who seems to be more delusional with every book, and the deliberate malapropisms of Jackson Lamb.

The slow horses themselves are acting independently of each other as usual, frequently impulsively and often clashing. When they insert themselves into the carefully choreographed game of chess, all hell breaks loose, and it becomes more like a frantic game of hungry hippos, with devastating consequences. We're then kept in suspense as to the actual outcome of the disaster. I found myself hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Long-time fans know not to become too attached to any particular characters as slow horses are not bulletproof.

We're given a very brief glimpse into what makes Jackson Lamb tick when Catherine Standish realises that he's burdened by a debt he's spent most of his life trying to pay off, but no one knows what the debt is or how he acquired it. This heavy burden goes a long way to explaining the shocking conclusion.

If you’re a fan of the series I’m pleased to say this wont disappoint- from the opening sentence (involving the fragility of a human head) the usual jet black humour is in place.
All the usual qualities are here: some of the best dialogue being written today, Jackson Lamb’s insults (which regular readers/ viewers of the tv show will know are even stronger in print than on screen..) and plot twists/ misdirects that work even better via the written word than they can be portrayed on screen).
I’d go as far as to say this is one of, if not THE best entries to date.

Mick Herron's books just don't really grab me. I thought I'd try Clown Town after struggling with Slow Horses, because so many people really rate him, but it's just not for me :(

River is desperate to get back to work and still dreams of being allowed to return to the Park. Taverner has other ideas and lets Jackson know that he won’t be passing his medical. Jackson suspects that he’s been told this so that River will be amenable to doing something off the books for her. It is, however, Sid who he is in a relationship with who is persuaded to do a job. All hell breaks loose as normal. The ending of this one is quite something and I can’t wait for the next episode to see what the fallout will be.
I still love the way these books are written and the way they all begin so beautifully. I have deducted a star as there wasn’t really a national security crisis, just a crisis of Taverner’s own making.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC,

I was delighted to receive a copy of Mick Herron's latest - and what a treat it was!

The Slow Horses are still getting involved in battles that aren't theirs to fight - though I do believe we're seeing a softer side to Lamb that we all knew was there...and Roddy Ho - not only are the slow horses warming to him, it seems I am too.

Taverner is as ruthless as ever with Lamb acting as a formidable opponent.

I can only say, more of this please!

It's very difficult to find new superlatives for this series as Jackson Lamb and his Slough Horses return in possibly the darkest and most shocking book yet.

The crew are here and more broken than ever, while Lamb seems darker than usual this is not to say the wise cracking and cutting remarks aren't abound, he just seems more sinister.

The plotting as ever is razor sharp and the story as usual is a searing demolition of British Politics.

This series belongs firmly where it sits in the top echelon of British writing. It's a pity we now need to wait another long year to see how the story unfolds after Lambs nuclear strike on the establishment.

We all have our favourite slow horses by now and mine don't include River, the straight man who takes his career seriously and who has little sense of humor. So storylines that home in on River and the OB are always a bit of a slog for me ('River's in Oxford, he's up to something and he won't say what' - again) as I'm dying to get back to the more eccentric characters of Slough House. Add to this the introduction of a 'Thursday Murder Club' quartet of pensioners with a shady past and I wasn't sure about this book in the first third.

But my trust in this series paid off and the political machinations and previous antagonisms of Diana Taverner and PJ come together with an archived case code-named Pitchfork and the tension shoots up a level.

There's not as much of Shirley and Lech as I would like but this is very much Catherine and Jackson Lamb's book with some intense exchanges between the latter two with Lamb seeming to let down his guard for a rare piece of emotional honesty. It's also fun to see Herron turn his sardonic eye on Keir Starmer's new government:

<blockquote>'In case of a sausage situation arising.'
'A... what?'
'Did I say sausage? I meant hostage,' said Lamb. 'Common error.'</blockquote>

The final third is unputdownable with Herron's unique combination of action, farce, tragedy and finger-on-the-pulse realpolitik, all orchestrated magnificently with a big set-piece in an empty club - as well as the terrifying spectacle of what happens when Jackson Lamb is pushed to his limits and sets the horses to work at his direction.

Given the ending, there's more change and a possible slight shift of direction to come in the next book - but there's still so much life in this series: 'just as empty white pages are a temptation to those with nothing better to do... stories wait to be told.' We fervently hope so.

I absolutely LOVE this series! The humour has been gaffawing out loud. The story line is always gripping. The characters are fantastic. You know that no one’s safe so there’s always an element of suspense. I would give this 10 stars if I could. Fabulous.

Another great book from the irrepressible Mick Herron. The whole Slough House crew is back, along with all their problems and individual quirks that never fails to amuse us. Jackson Lamb is unchanged with his uncouth habits trying again to survive the dark onslaughts from The First Desk , Diana Taverner head of British Intelligence..
River Cartwright is off sick waiting for a medical that allows him to resume duty. With time to kill he searches his recently dead grandfather David Cartwright’s library where River realizes that there is a book missing . River starts a search and comes across an old spy long retired who worked for Rivers’ grandfather , Charles Stormaran , known as CC. This meeting starts a process where old spies come creeping out of the shadows to try and extract their just dues out of Regent’s Park the HQ of British Intelligence.
With Diana at the helm of Regent’s Park it can only get rough as her very job is on the line . Dirty deeds are afoot with the Slough House individuals caught up in the middle . With Rodney Ho the IT wizz kid trying to help Jackson Lamb anything can go wrong , and of course does.
Amazing read , enjoyed every page and certainly caused a laugh or two.

5* Clown Town - Mick Herron. The Slow Horses are back for their ninth outing and it's an absolute belter from the opening line to the closing one.

The out-cast spies from Slough House are back, well most of them are, some of them are off-sick and the sympathy isn't flowing!

Following the death of his grandfather, Cartwright has arranged for his library to be donated to an Oxford College. Yet one of the books has mysteriously disappeared. If it even was a book, there doesn't seem to be a trace of it ever being published. There isn't just the question of what happened to it, but the man who might be in the know offers a paper thin explanation.

Meanwhile on the grid, Diana Taverner is dealing with off the books problems of her own. Haunted by Peter Judd and what he thinks he has over her and being blackmailed by a bunch of 'operatives of yester year' with a hushed-up tale which they are threatening to blow cover on. Yet Diana is not one to be messed with, not without serious consequences and the scenes involving her and Lamb are a treat.

What an absolute thrill Clown Town is. It starts, as do all of this series, with a deep dunking back into the world of Slough House and the characters within. As each book has progressed, so to have the characters (well the ones who have survived to date) and it's always a treat to be through the 'stuck-fast' back door and up the creaky stairs. Every one of the Slow Horses takes part in this book with Jackson, Cartright, Roddy and Catherine taking true centre stage. The writing, as ever, sparkles and the one-liners never fail to raise a smile. This is a gem of a book.

The plot is smartly conceived but doesn't overwhelm the book. There are multiple strands, some pulling on happenings from earlier in the series and they all come together at the end but leave plenty of holes and threads for the next outing.

This is truly one of the best series ever conceived. While Clown Town would work as a standalone, as with all great stories, it would be much better to start at the beginning to get a true sense of what has gone before and to get to know everyone involved. For anyone who has started with the brilliant TV series, they would also get a lot more out of the books which are able to offer a richer plot and greater insight - start at the beginning (they are fantastic either as books or on audio).

Fingers will be drumming until the next instalment.

With huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

I was SO excited to learn there was a new Slough House novel from Mick Herron, and this is it! As good as all the ones before, and with lots of Diana Forester in it, who is a very nasty, interesting piece of work. Thanks again for letting me read this! Recommended.

Another cracking Slow Horses episode. River and Sid are largely recovered from being poisoned and shot, respectively and there is a newly disgraced member in Slough House. River goes to Oxford to find out why a volume is missing from his grandfather's library. Shortly after, Sid is sent to Oxford by Diana Taverner on a mission which she says will restore River to the Park. This sets up the revelation of an old shady episode in service history and a three cornered fight between Taverner, Jackson Lamb and Judd, the former Home Secretary. Its tense, bloody and Joes get killed. One thing we know about Jackson is that he doesn't stand for his Joes being killed.....

A sparkling 5 stars from me for the Witmeister on top form. For devotees of this series – and you really do have to read the whole series – it is a long-awaited pleasure.

The plot rollicks along and it’s great fun (despite the gruesome opening scene and one or two later events), but that isn’t the main source of enjoyment. It’s all about the characters. Familiar folk are back, behaving as we’d expect, rushing into dangerous situations, trying to watch each other’s backs but creating mayhem. My personal favourite is Roddy Ho and I am delighted with his treatment here.

As the rubble settles, we are left with a few loose ends. Who is staying, who is going, which relationships will survive? I look forward to finding out.

Mick Herron writes with sublime wit and skewers modern politicians remorselessly. Peter Judd (PJ) takes centre stage in this one and the person he is based on is disguised very scantily.

‘….a good half of the guest list, comprising former MPs, was clearly of Judd’s devising. So many recently unseated players, she might have been backstage at a rodeo.’

Our current government doesn’t escape either. As PJ says:

‘I think they’ll swiftly appreciate that their new-found allies in the shires and the suburbs might have made a difference on election day, but they’re bugger-all use when it comes to the heavy lifting of global intercourse. For that, you need experience, a willingness to accept a certain latitude when it comes to human rights, and the mother of all address books.’

Fabulous entertainment and a searing take on politics.

With thanks to John Murray Press via NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

We’re nine books in at this point, you’re not reading this to see if Slough House is for you, you just want to know if the latest one is any good. And of course it is. It might even be the funniest one yet, which is a big claim, but I laughed out loud several times reading this, and I’m usually super grumpy so there you go. There’s the usual twisty plot, where Jackson lamb and Diana Taverner are always a mile’s worth of steps ahead of the reader, and a climax that could well radically alter the future direction of the series, but the real pleasure is just spending time with this characters and this setting. Gold.

Clown Town is the ninth book in the Slough House series by award-winning, bestselling British author, Mick Herron. At Slough House, Jackson Lamb’s slow horses are kept busy with mindless, pointless tasks, although Roddy Ho is diverted by thoughts of his first foray into being inked, while Louisa Guy has a job offer that could help her escape to something better.

River Cartwright and Sidonie Baker are still on sick leave, River hopeful of medical clearance soon, when a call from the young woman curating his grandfather’s library sends him to Oxford. There’s apparently a book missing, a book that, weirdly, doesn’t exist. The fact that River initially takes the explanation for it on face value shows he’s mentally not quite up to scratch yet.

After his meeting with First Desk, Lamb has already worked out which of the three topics Diana Taverner raised are the distractors, if not quite exactly what they are distracting from and why. So he sets Ho a task, not the one First Desk wanted him kept busy with, and sets the cat amongst the slow horses with a few gossipy items.

Diana Taverner is dealing with a blackmail threat from an old spy about something nasty that happened over three decades earlier, but in her inimitable manner, has seen how to turn it to her advantage, using a promise Sid Baker should know better than to believe, to get her own blackmail message out.

As always, Herron gives the reader a tightly-plotted, topical tale that keeps the reader enthralled and entertained. Lamb continues to be obnoxious, even while jumping to the defence of his hopeless joes, and the dialogue never fails to be a source of humour. By now, fans know that Herron doesn’t hesitate to kill off regular characters, and the offices of Slough House are looking emptier, but the total body count is actually less than usual. Clever, also sad, and deliciously, darkly funny.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and John Murray Press.

I was very grateful to be given an advance copy by Netgalley (thanks) I have listened to all the slow horse books and tried reading this only to find I couldn’t engage as I kept expecting Sean Barrett to narrate the next sentence, I have already preordered the audiobook and will wait to listen and enjoy, moral of the story, don’t get greedy

Why must life conspire to throw so many obstacles blocking my reading path since being, kindly, granted the ARC of Clown Town?!? I was up 'til 2am having reached a crucial plot point and needed to carry on until I knew what happened after. Well, I didn’t make it and started my day with 15% left to read. Every person in my village has popped ‘round for a chat just as I sat down to finish it!

Well, now I have finished and I feel bereft at its close. Clown Town was superlative, as ever, but it took some time to reacquaint myself with this amazing world. I loved the Secret Hours, and the time spent in the Cold War with Jackson and Molly makes me want more, but it feels an age since we last visited with our beloved, downtrodden Slow Horses. Quite a lot left hanging. In Mick Herron’s wisdom, we were granted a gentle start to reaffirm our friendship with each Slow Horse. Time well spent even if Jackson didn’t give us much at the beginning. I would expect nothing less, from him.

The synopsis you already know, so I will save you the bother of regurgitating it now. Needless to say, events occur and the build up is what kept me glued to the novel until 2am. The not knowing is both a blessing and a curse but in my heart I knew and, strangely, that left a mark on me. I feel I know these characters so well. I’ve read all the books and novellas, enjoyed the ups (few) and the downs (many). Shared the jokes and been put off by the unsavoury humour (loads in this novel so not for those with a delicate disposition!). I’ve listened to the books numerous times whilst painting a room or gardening and find I learn something previously overlooked each time. This is a world I happily inhabit whilst reading, listening or watching Slow Horses on AppleTv for the umpteenth time. It is quality that has an enduring power.

There is a moment in the book when Shirley reflects on past events. We know them well but it’s easy to let the scope of the series as a whole fall from recollection. Each book doesn’t need to be bigger and grander than the last. It’s the thread of the main story arc that matters most. Here, we have a gentler start but the end is just as powerful as anything that’s gone before, more so, in some regards. It feels meaningful. The Fates have spun the thread of the series and it feels urgent, foreboding darkly. A page has been turned and things feel sure to change. For good or ill, I couldn’t say, only Mick Herron knows. But I will be there for every moment and cheering our Slow Horses on whatever comes. I feel as protective over these joes as Jackson Lamb. Clown Town is a worthy successor that carries the story forward whilst giving us all the laughs, tension, drama and tender moments we’ve come to expect.

Thank you, Mick Herron and John Murray Press, for these seminal (insert Jackson Lamb joke here) works past, present and future. This is British literature at its best.

I loved this book and huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

I am very conscious of not giving too much away so - all our old friends and enemies are here. Plus a group of retired spooks, whose aim is to wrestle some compensation from Diana Taverner's grasp after being unceremoniously dumped after years of involvement in a dangerous and tricky mission in N.Ireland during the troubles. Taverner along with Peter Judd is her usual despicable self, spending very little time on the national interest and the vast majority on securing her own interest whatever the cost.

There is the usual humour mixed with sadness and violence. Ho is his usual cocky and insufferable self; Lamb and Taverner's exchanges are hilarious at times and the cabal of old spooks are both funnily inept and scarily effective. Some of the narrative takes the form of streams of consciousness from various characters and I felt for the first time that the reader is given insight into Jackson Lamb's motivations and life, which is quite moving.

And I hope it's not giving too much away to say that at the end we have a now familiar 'who is dead' from the Slough House bunch. Highly recommended - buy it as soon as it's out!

The opening passages are almost Dickensian in describing Slough House and it’s main occupants with Jackson Lamb (Chief : mainly held together with fags, whisky, a sharp mind and duct tape) overseeing to the point of clairvoyance. Once again used as expendable pieces by First Desk, Regents Park in retaliation to attempted blackmail by old “Joe’s” with dark secrets, it shapes up to be once to often inevitably leading to casualties and consequences. I defy anyone to just read one book in this captivating series.