Slow Horses by Mick Herron
A witty espionage thriller set in modern day Britain, Slow Horses is the first in a series - the sixth Joe Country has recently been published - featuring Jackson Lamb, the shabby, overweight, head of Slough House. Slough House is not in Slough, but in central London. A group of spies who have committed some serious error in their careers are sent off to a life of mind numbingly routine tasks. For River Cartwright this includes reading thousands of transcripts of mobile conversations garnered near radical mosques.This is a cheaper and less troublesome way of getting rid of the person than sacking the individual. The centre of this world is MI5, the division responsible for internal security.
This fictional MI5 is situated in the salubrious setting of Regent's Park, and is led by a woman, Diana Taverner, referred to, though not to her face, as Lady Di. The service comes complete with its jargon - Dogs are the service's internal security division, Achievers get things done and Cleaners clear up any mess at the scene of the crime.
The story has a contemporary feel. The decent people in this country are sick to death of being held hostage by mad liberals in Brussels complains one character. There is Muslim terrorism, right wing fascist groups, shady journalists and an ambitious politician, Peter Judd - a loose cannon with a floppy haircut and bicycle - whose sights are firmly set on 10 Downing Street.
Any resemblance to any living individual is purely coincidental. The plot features a kidnapping and threats of beheading, to be broadcast on the internet, of course, as is the way of the modern world. The action proceeds at breakneck speed with the terrorists bent on their murderous ends, being pursued by the spooks seeking to prevent them and to apprehend the criminals. The animosity between the slow horses in Slough House and the flash occupants of Regent's Park is such they are as intent on settling old scores as on keeping the country safe from terrorism.
Submitted by Vidya
