Real Tigers by Mick Herron

 

Jackson Lamb is not the kind of boss you look forward to seeing each day in the office.  That's particularly true if you are an operative of Slough House which means you already did something that ruined your career.  Lamb treats them with sarcasm and disrespect and that's on a good day.  If there is an exception, it's Catherine Standish, who shares the upstairs floor with Lamb.  She is middle-aged and a reformed alcoholic and it's not clear if either of those characteristics are what makes a difference.

When Catherine encounters a man from her past on the street, she wonders for a minute if it is a coincidence.  But she is being kidnapped; the man a soldier of fortune.  When her picture is taken and she is asked who of her co-workers she wants it sent to, she picks River Cartwright, a young impetuous man.  He rushes off to try to save her, not telling anyone else.  

But in the world of Slough House, little is as it seems.  There are layers upon layers behind Catherine's kidnapping and the tendrils reach high into the government.  The other operatives are determined to save Catherine once they discover what is going on while Lamb treats it as just another inconvenience.  

This is the third book in the Slough House series.  It is full of the witty and snide humor that characterizes the series.  Lamb is the sheep in dark clothing who acts as if he could care less but who always has his finger on the pulse of what is happening and who can handle any situation.  It is not until the end of the book that the title gains meaning and it is chilling.  This book is recommended for mystery/spy readers.