Reading the Detectives discussion

This novella is 2.5 in the Jackson Lamb/Slough House series.

Dieter Hess, an aged spy, is dead, and John Bachelor, his MI5 handler, is in deep, deep trouble. Death has revealed that the deceased had been keeping a secret second bank account - and there's only ever one reason a spy has a secret second bank account. The question of whether he was a double agent must be resolved, and its answer may undo an entire career's worth of spy secrets.

Currently listed as £1.49 on kindle in the UK and 112 pages.

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

I'm hoping there is going to be someone other than Lady Di to screw up in further instalments. I rather like her as a character-she's a perfect MI5 senior and I always love a hard-nosed dame, so I don't like her constantly being a sucker.

I also hope we'll be seeing Molly Doran again, and even JK Coe-he was pretty clever to know how valuable Molly's lesson had been, and I like a newbie who is willing to listen to the old hands. I'd hate to see him end up in Slough House, but maybe he'll be an inside contact.

What was the office that Coe worked in? What did Lamb mean about it being second tier to Regents Park?

I read this a while ago, but, as I recall, JK Coe (who definitely turns up again) was a banker, who had recently joined MI5. Molly Doran also appears fairly regularly.

I think Mick Herron uses the novellas to introduce new members of Slough House, as there is also one in the latest - The Drop.

I read this last month and it was a great short read. I think Herron was clever to keep Jackson Lamb around the edges and give others like JK the limelight a bit. In a novella, it would have been easy for Lamb to 'swamp' the action. Loved the bluff and double-bluffs that keep you guessing as always.

Yes - I’ve only read Slow Horses, being new to the group, but I felt right away (well, after getting over the inevitable revulsion at Lamb’s personal habits), that he’s the character, as someone so wisely pointed out, who risks eclipsing everyone else in any scene! For me, the most exciting scenes were Lamb and Lady Di, you get the feeling she’s the only one who could hold her own. Can’t wait to clear the reading decks and get on with Dead Horses and the novella!

BTW, did you already discuss as a group (sorry if I’m repeating), what Herron was doing with making Lamb such a brilliant slob? I mean, let’s face it, 007 he ain’t! Can’t see him strolling into a casino in a tux (he’d fart, you just know it...) I can’t figure out if Herron was just having fun, turning the Bond image on it’s head, a la the Pythons poking fun at the Spanish Inquisition, or what. It’s fabulous, and fun and unexpected, I just wondered, is he having fun with the whole stiff upper lip MI-5 genre? I’ve only seen the Bond films and several episodes of MI-5 on BBC America, and everyone was impossibly young and fit and shiny and gorgeous and cool, very un-Lamblike!

I really enjoyed this short addition to the series. My complaint is it left me wanting more. I have tried to file Hannah Weiss' name away for future reference as I'm hoping she will pop up again and I will recognize her for what she is (or isn't ... how many twists are possible in this profession?).

Glad to hear Molly Doran and JK Coe reappear. I worry about Catherine Standish and wish Lamb would stop tempting her with alcohol.

Interesting comparison to Bond, Susan in NC. Of course we're following the losers in this series but the 'bad guys' are more Bond-like, both Lady Di and Spider Webb. Herron could well be making a point.

Lamb is wonderfully repulsive, isn't he? I also love all the secrets that the various members of Slough House have - both within MI5 and between themselves. I won't post a spoiler, but Lamb and Catherine have a history that only he is aware of.

I do think his lack of panache is a dig at Bond. He is more Harry Palmer in a way - a non-conformist, fiercely loyal and yet, not a team player.

It reminds me vaguely of Callan the Tv series my mother liked. Don't know if anyone else remembers it. That was portraying the more gritty side of of the MI5, as far as I can remember.

Vaguely, Jill. Yes, also a less romantic view of the Secret Services.

All true... and yet there are those moments when Lamb is shown to be able to move as silently as any glamorous spook type, and no-one outwits his sharpness. He may not be a team player, but he's got his team's back(s) always. A remarkably complex character.

Sandy wrote: "Interesting comparison to Bond, Susan in NC. Of course we're following the losers in this series but the 'bad guys' are more Bond-like, both Lady Di and Spider Webb. Herron could well be making a p..."

Ah, good point!

Roman Clodia wrote: "All true... and yet there are those moments when Lamb is shown to be able to move as silently as any glamorous spook type, and no-one outwits his sharpness. He may not be a team player, but he's go..."

He really is - leaves you wondering, which is the real Jackson Lamb? Definitely one of my favorite intriguing characters I’ve encountered in my last few years of reading.

I read somewhere that some of Herron's inspiration for Lamb is Andy Dalziel, from Reginald Hill's police procedurals. He too can move quietly 'for a big man', but even though given to scratching his leg with a biro (without cap) and occasional belches he is not in the Lamb league for slobbish and insanitary behaviour.

I likened him to Andy Dalziel when I read the first one. He has the same vulgar habits but is fleet of foot for a fat man. Dalziel's is down to him being a rugby player, Lamb's has never been explained.

He was undercover at some point - apparently, a very successful agent. As such, he must be able to look a little less memorable if he wishes, and restrain his personal habits...

I finished this today, wishing it was twice as long to tie up the loose ends. Does anyone think Hannah had been recruited by Dieter?

Definitely!

I won't give spoilers, but The Drop: A Slough House Novella continues the story, if anyone is interested in reading on and doesn't want to wait until we get to it.

Susan - I'm glad we get to continue to story. I felt I was just getting into it when it stopped. Will try to be patient and read all the books in order though!

Yes, good idea. The novellas are like an alternative Slough House universe, which keeps it fresh, I think.

I'm eager for the story to continue but will read in sequence.

My kindle version had a fairly long teaser for another Herron book, Nobody Walks that really, really tempted me but it will have to wait. Real Tigers next. Has anyone tried other Herron books?

I’m going to keep in order as well, I’ve only read the first so far but my reading plate is full, Dead Lions will have to wait! I read the first chapter to tease myself, but I’ll get back to Jackson soon.

I read a stand alone by Mick Herron, but wasn't as keen as I am with the Slough House books. I will try different ones, I am sure, when (if!) I get time.