Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

6 reviews

sandysmith's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I read this book, having watched this book on TV, and I no longer have access to watch the second series, aka the second book. Whilst I was familiar with the story and they didn't really change much I really enjoyed the spies of Slough House, spies that have royally messed up in one way or another and are sent to do boring jobs that no "real" spy has time for. They are nick named slow horses and are led by the very unpleasant Jackson Lamb. River Cartwright is the newest member of the Slough House team failing his final assessment. It's funny, certainly British humour that appeals to me, unlikeable and many characters that remain unpleasant but grow on you. I am really hopeful I have found a spy thriller series I can get my teeth into, and the second book is already on order from the library. Wonderful stuff

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, and Suicide

lex24's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I found it challenging to keep track of all the characters, and the countless twists made the plot feel convoluted and difficult to follow. While the book isn't bad, it just wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Murder

collegiate_assessor_kovalyov's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Suicide and Vomit

miniingrid's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Excrement, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexism, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity and Suicide

dtrain3000's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

 I didn't find this book as funny as everyone in the reviews had told me it was going to be. It was actually quite dark. There were some elements that were comical but I was not laughing out loud at any point.

That being said, I enjoyed the premise of the book. A bunch of agents from MI5 go to a dead-end part of the agency and get themselves wrapped in a mission way over their heads. The characters are quite lovable and the reader wants them to win because of their underdog status.

What I didn't like was the large ensemble cast. It was confusing to keep everyone's backstory straight. The constant moving between storylines made it difficult to keep track of where the reader is in the overall plot.

I also found Herron's prose to be difficult to follow and verbose at times. I found myself at multiple points in the book thinking "why do I need to know this?" which is never something you want.

Overall, I still found the book really interesting. There were amazing twists and turns, lovable characters, and an interesting premise for future books. I would recommend anyone who is interested in spy novels to read because it's an modern take on the genre. But my only word of caution would be to take your time because you will likely get confused. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, and Murder

Minor: Suicide

smitinghedgehog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail