Slow Horses by Mick Herron

 

There's a place where disgraced spies go.  It's called Slough House and it's ruled by Jackson Lamb, a former top spy.  If you're a spy, several things can get you assigned to Slough House.  Maybe you messed up an assignment so badly that no one trusts you to ever get it right.  Maybe you slept with the wrong person.  Maybe you were done in by a coworker who wanted that promotion you were about to get and sabotaged you.  Regardless, once you're there, you're not leaving.

In London, everyone is transfixed to their television or laptops.  A young man has been kidnapped and a group of men say they are going to behead him online.  Who could he be and who are the group behind the kidnapping?  The young man is named Hassan and he is from a Pakistani immigrant family; his uncle who stayed behind is high up in the government.  As to who kidnapped him, the group claiming credit is called Sons Of Albion but who are they?

Back at Slough House, several of the agents get caught up in the event.  River Cartwright has a family history of working for the government as a spy but failed his assessment and ended up stealing trash of a character of interest and going through it for clues.  Sid shares an office with him and there are some sparks between her and River.  Catherine is the oldest resident of Slough House and is the former secretary of the former head of MI5 before he was disgraced and she became an alcoholic.  There is a computer whiz and an agent who left classified material on a train.  But all see the event as a chance to make good and maybe make it back into the ranks of MI5.

Except Lamb.  He sees through the plot to what is really going on behind the scenes.  Although he hates to get involved, he hasn't forgotten his skills or his ability to protect himself and those around him when he can be bothered to.  

This is the first in the Slough House series of which there are currently nine novels.  In this one, we are introduced to the series characters, especially Lamb and Cartwright.  The plotting is tight and the language is spot on and full of wry reserved English humor.  Readers who read this one will turn the last page determined to start the next in the series and find out what's in store for the Slough House characters.  This book is recommended for spy and thriller readers.