The List
Ratings20
Average rating3.6
Dieter Hess, an aged spy, is dead, and John Bachelor, his MI5 handler, is in deep, deep trouble. Death has revealed that the deceased had been keeping a secret second bank account—and there’s only ever one reason a spy has a secret second bank account. The question of whether he was a double agent must be resolved, and its answer may undo an entire career’s worth of spy secrets.
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8 primary books12 released books#2.5 in Slough House
Slough House is a 12-book series with 8 released primary works first released in 1705 with contributions by Mick Herron. 1 book is still to be released. The next book is scheduled for release on .
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The List (Slough House) by Mick Herron
This is a short story/novella set in the spy world of Mick Herron's “Slough House” - where the failed spies are sent to rusticate. This story clicks along to just the proper surprise that we expect in a well-crafted short story.
My exposure to Herron's “Slow Horses” spy world is this story and “Slow Horses.” Herron as the same facility that John LeCarre had to give his spy world a depth that suggests that it actually happens. Herron's spy world is perhaps a bit more about internal bureaucratic in-fighting that LeCarre's world of lamplighters and headhunters. LeCarre had the tension of the Cold War going for him, whereas Herron has to find the tension where he can, which seems to open up far more space for humor and irony.
The writing is well-done. The plot is tight. I recommend it.
