Spook Street (Slough House #4) 3.5Stars

 

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Title: Spook Street
Series: Slough House #4
Author: Mick Herron
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 252
Words: 95K
Publish: 2017

Boy howdy, it’s been almost nine months since I last read a Slough House book (it was Real Tigers by the way, back in December of ‘25). Since then I’ve tried to watch the tv show (I got a 1 week promo pass to Atv via Prime) and that didn’t work out very well. For whatever reason, I didn’t like the characters on the screen and since I already knew the rough story outline, that is what stayed in focus for me. What was/is quirky on a page is unbearably annoying when presented on a screen. There was one character (I can’t even remember who) who kept trying to be Mr Sociable. Selling raffle tickets, getting people to meet up after work, etc, etc. I wanted to throw him in front of a bus, he annoyed me so much. Then there was Jackson Lamb. He’s a disgusting guy in the books, but I’m saved from the pure visceralness of it by having it presented in words. On the screen? Every fart, every belch, every scratch, it is right in my face. I couldn’t handle it, so I just stopped.

All of that is background so you know what was swirling around in my brain when I picked this up. It is part of why I enjoyed this enough to bump it up half a star from Real Tigers and why I had such a good time with it despite it dealing with dementia and Western State sponsored terrorism.

Herron is writing about old spies and how the things they did, or even attempted to do back in the Cold War are still bearing bitter fruit today. It was a good reminder that there are always unintended consequences and they may be years in the making. Thankfully Herron wasn’t so hamhanded as to turn that into a “message” about today but the implication is definitely there. I do think it is something to think about, especially with what is currently going on with Iran and the Straight of Hormuz. What we do today will have repercussions 20 or even 30 years in the future.

And honestly, that was what I was mainly thinking about while reading this book. There are times it is good to be reminded of the real world and thankfully, this was one of those times where it didn’t stick in my craw. I liked that and I think that’s a good place to end this.

★★★✬☆

From Grokipedia

Spook Street opens with a devastating suicide bombing in a busy London shopping centre that kills forty innocent civilians. [5] [6] The attack triggers a high-level MI5 response, but parallel events quickly draw in the disgraced agents of Slough House when retired legend David Cartwright, a Cold War-era operative and former senior MI5 figure now in the grip of dementia, becomes convinced that old enemies are targeting him to silence dangerous secrets from his past. [5] His growing paranoia leads to a violent incident at his home, escalating concerns for his safety and prompting his grandson, River Cartwright—a slow horse relegated to Slough House—to push for answers despite his lowly status.Jackson Lamb, the abrasive and cunning head of Slough House, reluctantly engages to shield his former mentor and superior while investigating the threats, recognizing that the bombing and threats against retired agents may be linked to unfinished Cold War business that someone is determined to bury permanently. [6] The Slough House team digs into buried intelligence history amid suspicions that the terror incident may conceal deeper motives. [6] River's family ties heighten the personal stakes as he navigates the crisis involving his grandfather's vulnerability and the resurfacing dangers. [5]As the parallel investigations converge, Slough House's outcast agents apply their unorthodox skills to uncover the connections between the bombing, the targeted threats, and the long-guarded secrets, working against time to avert further violence and expose the underlying conspiracy. [6] The narrative resolves the immediate threats through their persistent efforts while underscoring the lingering impact of past espionage on the present.