When a suicide bomber kills 42 people in a London shopping
center under the guise of a flash mob, the British
Intelligence community goes on high alert. This also
includes the screw-ups of the Intelligence world,
dubbed "slow horses," who've been exiled to Slough House,
where they've been condemned to drudge away at a series of
dubious and mind-numbing projects. Slough House, a shabby
array of offices under the leadership of the wily,
outspoken, yet highly intelligent Jackson Lamb, is not
noted for its efficient personnel, but they are always
striving to prove the upper echelons of MI5 wrong about
them.
"Slow horse" River Cartwright is determined to protect his
grandfather, David Cartwright, a former legendary spy in
the early stages of dementia, especially when David starts
talking about his old cases that should remain secret. When
a murder occurs in the old man's home, it is feared MI5 has
decided to retire David permanently. The misfit agents now
have something juicy to reconnoiter since it so closely
involves one of their own.
When these two plotlines converge and intersect, it's
obvious that secrets from the past are not staying buried.
It becomes a mad investigative scramble from top to bottom
in the British Intelligence agencies with Slough House in
the middle of the mix.
SPOOK STREET is the fourth book in Mick Herron's
cleverly written British
spy fiction series about the
oddball agents of Slough House, following SLOW
HORSES, DEAD
LIONS and REAL
TIGERS. Herron infuses his narrative with
snappy dialog, crafty twists and turns, witty and dark
humor, as well as some of the most quirky characters
around. I've enjoyed each of the books in this series and
always find them hard to put down. Yes, you can read SPOOK
STREET as a stand-alone, but to better appreciate these
unique agents and their incredible exploits, I suggest you
read all of them in the order I've listed. It's obvious
that some revelations in SPOOK STREET will lead to at least
another book, and I can't wait to read it.
A shakeup at MI5 and a terrorist attack on British soil
set in motion clandestine machinery known to few modern
spies. David Cartwright isn’t a modern spy, however; he’s
legend and a bonafide Cold War hero. He’s also in his dotage
and losing his mind to Alzheimer’s. His stories of “stotes”
hiding in the bushes, following his every move have been
dismissed by friends and family for years. Cartwright may be
losing track of reality but he’s certain about one thing:
Old spooks don't go quietly and neither do the secrets they
keep.
What happens when an old spook loses his mind? Does the
Service have a retirement home for those who know too many
secrets but don’t remember they’re secret? Or does someone
take care of the senile spy for good? These are the
questions River Cartwright must ask when his grandfather, a
Cold War–era operative, starts to forget to wear pants and
begins to suspect everyone in his life has been sent by the
Home Office to watch him.
But River has other things to worry about. A bomb has
detonated in the middle of a busy shopping center and killed
forty innocent civilians. The agents of Slough House have to
figure out who is behind this act of terror before the
situation escalates.
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