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A review by andrew61
Dead Lions by Mick Herron
4.0
Second in the Slough house series sees the same characters back to investigate more dastardly goings on in the modern day world of espionage.
I really enjoyed book 1 which felt like an intelligent update of the classic spy thriller of Le Carre bringing in some of our modern day threats to society. This book contained Russian Oligarchs, a Russian sleeper who re-emerges twenty plus years after the fall of communism and a bizarre Cotswold community, and untraceable poison.
I don't want to detail the plot as I would recommend any fans of spy thrillers to try this series and I did enjoy the story and the characters BUT felt that there were a few too many clichés this time, the dysfunctional computer geek, the posh boy goody River and bad boy Spider webb, and particularly the file clerk hidden in the basement of MI5 building who was very similar to a central character fro the Smiley books. I also had my believability in the events at the end stretched to the max but not snapped.
Overall though I like the series and will read on to the next book, three and a half stars rather than 3 so I have plumped for 4 as good escapist fiction which is what you need on a damp winter evening after a busy day at work .
I really enjoyed book 1 which felt like an intelligent update of the classic spy thriller of Le Carre bringing in some of our modern day threats to society. This book contained Russian Oligarchs, a Russian sleeper who re-emerges twenty plus years after the fall of communism and a bizarre Cotswold community, and untraceable poison.
I don't want to detail the plot as I would recommend any fans of spy thrillers to try this series and I did enjoy the story and the characters BUT felt that there were a few too many clichés this time, the dysfunctional computer geek, the posh boy goody River and bad boy Spider webb, and particularly the file clerk hidden in the basement of MI5 building who was very similar to a central character fro the Smiley books. I also had my believability in the events at the end stretched to the max but not snapped.
Overall though I like the series and will read on to the next book, three and a half stars rather than 3 so I have plumped for 4 as good escapist fiction which is what you need on a damp winter evening after a busy day at work .