Slough House

Mick Herron’s Slough House is the seventh novel in a series centered on a dysfunctional team of disgraced MI5 agents. These operatives, known as “slow horses,” have been exiled from the prestigious Regent’s Park headquarters to a dilapidated building in London due to career-ending blunders. They are overseen by the slovenly but brilliant Jackson Lamb, a Cold War veteran who presides over their purgatorial existence with a mixture of crude insults and unexpected cunning. The series is characterized by its cynical humor, complex plotting, and sharp critique of bureaucratic infighting within the intelligence community. 

The first six novels establish the principal characters and the internal rivalries within the intelligence service. River Cartwright, grandson of former MI5 legend David Cartwright, is one of Lamb’s most capable officers, although his impulsiveness frequently creates difficulties. Other important members include Catherine Standish, Lamb’s long-suffering assistant; Louisa Guy, a field agent affected by the death of her colleague and partner Min Harper; Roddy Ho, an exceptionally capable but insufferably arrogant computer specialist; and Shirley Dander, an unpredictable operative with serious personal problems. Diana Taverner, known as Lady Di, is one of the service’s most ambitious senior officials and eventually becomes First Desk, placing her in direct competition and uneasy cooperation with Lamb.

One important unresolved character is Sidonie Baker, known as Sid. Introduced in the first novel, she was shot in the head during an operation involving River and subsequently declared dead by MI5. In reality, she survived, received extensive medical treatment, and was relocated under a different identity. Her whereabouts remained unknown to the Slow Horses until her reappearance in Slough House.

The sixth novel, Joe Country, introduces Lech Wicinski, an MI5 officer framed for possessing child sexual abuse material on his work computer. His dismissal and subsequent placement at Slough House follow an elaborate attempt to destroy his professional reputation. After he tries to investigate his former colleagues, he is attacked and has the word “PAEDO” carved into his cheeks. Lamb eventually becomes convinced of his innocence and arranges revenge against those responsible. Lech’s presence becomes particularly important in the following novel, as he joined Slough House after its personnel records were erased.

Joe Country also centers on the disappearance of Lucas Harper, the son of Min Harper’s former wife. Louisa investigates after being asked for help, discovering that Lucas witnessed an incriminating incident involving a senior royal and a gathering organized by disgraced politician, Peter Judd. The investigation leads to a confrontation with mercenary Frank Harkness, River’s estranged father. During the events in Wales, J. K. Coe, a quiet and withdrawn member of Slough House, confronts one of Harkness’s associates, Cyril Dupont. Coe kills Dupont but suffers fatal injuries and dies. Harkness subsequently escapes after surviving a fall from a cliff, although Lamb later arranges his assassination in France. 

The novel concludes with Roddy Ho discovering that the personnel records of every current and former Slow Horse have been systematically erased from MI5’s databases, setting in motion the central predicament of Slough House.