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    London Rules
    London Rules
    London Rules
    Audiobook11 hours

    London Rules

    Written by Mick Herron

    Narrated by Gerard Doyle

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    At MI5 headquarters Regent’s Park, First Desk Claude Whelan is facing attacks from all directions: the MP who orchestrated the Brexit vote, a nasty tabloid columnist, and the frontrunner for mayor of the West Midlands. Meanwhile, the
    country is suffering a seemingly random string of terror attacks.

    Over at Slough House, the home for demoted MI5 spies, the agents are struggling with personal problems, from repressed grief to a possibly psychopathic new colleague. But they’re about to rediscover their greatest strength—that of making
    a bad situation much, much worse.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJun 5, 2018
    ISBN9781501999819
    London Rules

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    Reviews for London Rules

    4/5

    176 ratings24 reviews

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    • 5/5
      these get better and better, both the character and the story!, and great narration!
    • 4/5
      Typical Slough House, typical Mick Herron, what more can I add? A right-rollicking, funny, page-turning hoot! Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Not the best in the series so far. Strange plot device. Still love Jackson Lamb and the other characters.
    • 4/5
      I liked this one. The Slow Horses are starting to work together and understand each other a bit more. They’re still largely a mess and not nearly a cohesive team or anything, but I enjoyed the steps toward growth. They’re growing on me as well.
    • 4/5
      More fun and games from the Slow Horses group. Quick-paced, snarky and absolutely improbable. I like this series so am always happy to see another one. You could read it as a stand alone but there are some back stories to the characters that might be missed from not starting at the beginning. I keep waiting for a British TV series from these books.
    • 5/5
      Gerhard Doyle is a master narrator!
      I love the series.
    • 5/5
      This series gets better with each book!
    • 5/5
      This is one of the best of the bunch.
    • 2/5
      The fifth book of the Herron’s soon-to-be-televised Slough House / Jackson Lamb series, and it’s more of the same – offensive incompetents who manage to out-perform the best of MI5, chiefly, we are supposed to believe, because Lamb’s leadership is not hamstrung by all the politicking that goes on among the organisation’s upper echelons. A series of weirdly ineffective terrorist attacks persuade the Slow Horses that some unknown actor is following a playbook put together by the British government in the 1920s to destabilise nations which either threaten the British Empire or need a little persuading in order to “join” the British Empire. The whole thing is intended to embarrass HMG, but, of course, the current shower of shits in charge of the UK have proven HMG is immune to embarrassment – and indeed that neither blatant corruption nor outright lying to the public is unacceptable, never mind indirectly causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, through their policies before and the pandemic now. Herron’s thinly-disguised caricatures of UK political figures are more annoying than amusing. It all seems very middle-class – the nudge-nudge-wink-wink offensiveness, the cynical acceptance of injustice, the commentary-free amorality… Still, only one more to go.
    • 5/5
      This review is repeated for all the books in the Slough House series:
      Slow Horses
      Dead Lions
      The List
      Real Tigers
      Spook Street
      London Rules

      I’m on holiday in Australia and like all good holidays I came with a pile of books. Also like all good holidays, the books are pure escapism writing. It doesn’t matter if you don’t finish it, missing a page or two will not spoil the plot, not remembering a word of it the next day? well that marks it as a really good holiday read.

      I devoured this series, one every two days and loved every minute of them all. haven’t found the last one yet but ave got all the ones that came before including the novella, The List. You could pick any one of them up and read it and it wouldn’t matter if you hadn’t read the preceding ones, they all work individually but just like soup, steak and syrup pudding they work best in the right order.

      The setting is a dingy, run down building in a dingy, run down part of London. It is called Slough House and the people in there are referred to as Slow Horses. They are all members of the Secret Service who have fucked up one way or another and are no longer suitable for active service, but cannot be sacked without falling foul of the Employment Act, yes it even applies to spies.

      So they are banished to Slough House and given menial, mind numbing repetitive, pointless, soul destroying, work to do until they eventually give up and leave. Except, some of them don’t leave. Everyone pretty much knows exactly how everyone else fucked up big time to be in Slough House except for their boss, one Jackson Lamb, no-one knows how he ended up here or even suspects that he bargained his place here in exchange for doing a nasty job that was necessary at the time. He could best be described as cunning, nasty, abrasive, insulting, crude, ill-mannered and very politically incorrect, except that he spent the majority of his time in the service behind the wall working undercover in Soviet, Cold War territory, something that very few came back from alive.

      The books are a series of events that befall the occupants of Slough House. You soon get a feel for the characters and the James Bond meets Coronation Street situation. But them some of them die and some of them don’t. From book to book you never know who will be around at the end of the book. The characters of Jackson Lamb had me laughing out loud on many occasions, making me realise how seldom this happens!

      The real enemies are seen mainly to be those within the Secret Service and their political masters and the ends they will go to secure what they see as their rightful place in history. Right and Wrong are easily mistaken for each other and beyond a certain point it depends where you stand as to what you call which. The guns are seldom in the right hands and the good guys quite often don’t make it.

      The incidental characters are easily seen for the current political muppets they are based upon, a particularly evil Boris Johnson is never far from the plot. Also current events, Brexit and so on. In discussing the seemingly unbelievable factors in the current case it only takes Jackson Lamb to point out that Tony Blair is now a Peace Envoy for everyone to grasp that nothing can be dismissed as highly unlikely.

      If this ever gets turned into a Netflix series I will buy a television just to watch it!
    • 5/5
      I worry a little bit that this is turnign into a comedy series. Crime seems to have an unfortunate tendancy that way, NCIS being a good example.
    • 5/5
      OK, I’ve said this before and I have to say it again: plot is not Mick Herron’s greatest strength. In this book, the fifth in the Slough House series, a bunch of terrorists blow up some penguins, and the most significant murder is the result of an accident — by one of the heroes. And I think Herron is running out of bad guys. This time, it’s some inept North Koreans who’ve been living in England. All that having been said, the book is great fun and tells the continuing story of Jackson Lamb and his “slow horses”. You either enjoy listening to Lamb insult people in increasingly bizarre ways, or you don’t. And Roderick Ho — or “the Rodster” as he is known by no one — is one of the great comic creations in literature. I’ve already begun the sixth book of the series …
    • 2/5
      Seconfd time started - too wordy.
    • 4/5
      This continues the Slough House series of tongue-in-cheek spy stories set in modern Britain.Jackson Lamb's "slow horses" need to stop a North Korean terror squad loose in England, executing a decades old plot concocted by the British Secret Service to disrupt a developing nation. It's all great fun as they muddle through to thwart the Koreans, who turn out to be as inept and error-prone as the slow horses themselves. Lamb continues his internecine battle with Lady Di Taverner (the real head of the secret intelligence service); she is determined to shut down the slow horses. The nominal head of the service, caught in between Taverner and Lamb, needs to deal with the prime minister and keep him happy. Shades of the old "Yes Minister" TV series! To keep the series current, there's a scheming Brexit politician who comes to an unhappy ending through a freak accident.It's best to read the earlier entries in the series to fully appreciate the goings on.
    • 3/5
      pretty funny. A lot of snark and double- and mis-entendres.
    • 4/5
      This one started out a bit slower for me, but soon I was rattling along with the cast of quirky folks that are placed at Slough House. It always amazes me that these semi-demoted band of misfits end up right in the midst of real life cases that the regular MI5 are always a bit behind on. The characters and story always stay with me, they have a realistic feel even for fiction. I always look forward to more from Herron.
    • 5/5
      As far as I'm concerned, any new Mick Herron novel is cause for celebration. When it's the latest and greatest in the Slough House series, well.... Christmas came early this year!Herron's 'London Rules' begins with an all too frequent occurrence: a terrorist attack that results in multiple deaths. It's followed up by a bomb that kills a bunch of penguins (it makes sense in the book, eventually... trust me), and a failed attempt to blow up a train. Coincidentally, or not, one of the 'slow horses' of Slough House, the clueless computer geek Roddy Ho, survives an assassination attempt himself (although he didn't really notice it...) and is trying to 'get busy' with a club girl who's been stringing him along and who may well be involved in the terrorism. Before you know it, the slow horses insert themselves into the workings, despite the fact that a big shooter from on high has been sent to 'lock down' Slough House (she unfortunately finds herself handcuffed to a chair while the slow horses get to work). "London Rules" is a gem. A good plot, a great collection of characters led by the inimitable Jackson Lamb, inside looks at the spy game on the Brit side of the pond, brilliant writing, lots of humor, and dialogue that can't be beat. And the 'London Rules', which cover a lot of ground and seems to be an informal phrase that means 'cover your ass', return again and again as Jackson uses his considerable girth, sloth, lack of hygiene, ability to fart on command, collection of dirt on everyone above him in the spy game hierarchy, useful connections, and, fortunately for us, huge brain to not only get resolution of the investigation by his team but also obtain amnesty for all their legal, moral, and ethical transgressions. I find it hard to overstate what a great series Slough House is. If you're into spy novels, love great writing, and don't mind a little humor (if you enjoy understated Brit dialogue humor, for example), you really need to get into the Slough House. You may find Jackson Lamb to be one of your favorite spies....
    • 3/5
      Carry On SpyingI was thinking of a way to describe the continuing Slough House series and remembered the 1950's - 1970's Brit Comedy films with the Carry On Gang (Sid James, Joan Sims, et al) and a quick look at their Wikipedia entry sums it up well: "a small group of misfit newcomers to a job make comic mistakes, but come together to succeed in the end," except that the veteran bunglers of Her Majesty's Secret Service who have been shunted aside to the holding pen of Slough House are not exactly "newcomers."So it is entertaining if a depiction of bureaucratic backstabbing and bungling appeals to you. It is hard to understand the cover blurb that compares it to John le Carré though. Herron's Jackson Lamb is a grotesque parody compared to the reserve of veteran Le Carre spymasters such as George Smiley.Spoiler note: If you are reading the series out of order then be forewarned that the fates and outcomes of some earlier characters and plots are mentioned during "London Rules."
    • 5/5
      Excellent as ever, although I enjoyed the first half more than the second (more pages with Lamb in them?) Very topical, beautifully and intelligently written.
    • 3/5
      This was a but of fun junk for me, a fast read on British secret agents. The plot moves quickly enough, though without procedural authenticity, the characters are dull and mostly lack humanity. The writing is plain; occasionally it stretches, but it misses its ambitions. Still, the novel is saved by its sense of humor. Every page has a couple of jokes, usually some wordplay, often vulgar, never very offensive. It felt a bit like twisted Terry Pratchett. I won't read the rest of the series.
    • 4/5
      I continue to thoroughly enjoy this series, which centres around failed spies based in 'Slough House' - the slow horses, unwanted and unnoticed. Herron again takes on contemporary politics, again uses his mismatched characters to good effect, and again gives us plenty of Jackson Lamb, the awful office head who just might know what he's doing. Looking forward to the next one.
    • 5/5
      Be warned: Jackson Lamb is back and even coarser and more objectionable than ever. Even more entertaining, too, of course.This is the fifth novel to feature Lamb and his dysfunctional 'slow horses' - his band of disgraced intelligence officers whose respective records have been too heavily compromised to allow them to continue in the front line, yet represent too great a risk of embarrassment for them to be released from the service into an unsuspecting world. They are, instead, assigned to Slough House, a run-down establishment near the Barbican where their time is spent in thankless tasks. They are overseen in this administrative purgatory by Jackson Lamb, himself a former operative, who has, one presumes, his own considerable past peccadilloes. Over the previous novels he has emerged as a foul-mouthed, gloriously politically incorrect, heavy drinking, permanently smoking and relentlessly flatulent tyrant, never happier than when unleashing his acerbic disdain for everyone whom he encounters. He is, indeed, a character of a grotesquery that Dickens would have relished, but never dared to create, yet is also strangely likeable. The nearest character I can call to mind as an analogue might be Superintendent Andy Dalziel from Reginald Hill's novels, though Lamb make him resemble a Sunday School teacher on their best behaviour at the Bishop's tea party.Herron's crowning achievement is to have created such a comic masterpiece of a character without compromising the integrity of his plots. All five of the Jackson Lamb books would work perfectly well as serious espionage thrillers without the humorous element. That merely pushes them into a new dimension.This novel opens with a devastating terrorist attack on a quiet village in the Peak District, followed by a further attack on London Zoo. Meanwhile the growing public following for a leading Brexit campaigner is causing concern to the Prime Minister, who (utterly correctly) distrusts their political ambitions and fears for the long-term safety of their own position within the Party's hierarchy. Well, that all seems to testify to Herron's topicality! From this difficult start, things simply go from bad to worse, and that is before the 'slow horses' become involved with their own brand of rampant disorder.It is far too early to start thinking realistically about the most enjoyabvle book of the year, but I am confident that this will feature when I come to draw up such a list in eleven months' time.
    • 5/5
      I’m struggling to write a review of London Rules. On the one hand I love it so much I want to tell you all about it. On the other there are so many clever twists that I don’t want to give anything away at all.If you’re new to this series, it features the ‘slow horses’, intelligence service staff who, for a variety of reasons – trauma, addiction or just temperament – have been deemed unsuitable for their occupation. They are kept on the payroll but are exiled to Slough House, a rundown building where they are expected to do mind-numbing tasks bereft of danger or challenge.In London Rules, Britain is in the grip of Brexit madness, random terror events and most shocking of all, slow horse Roddy Ho, computer genius and social failure, has got a girlfriend. And slightly less shocking, someone is trying to kill him. The slow horses feel bound to intervene, and chaos ensues as they are not only up against killers, but their own employer.From the stunning prologue to the long, leisurely first chapter worthy of Dickens, the prose is beautiful and creates a pleasing tension. You want to race ahead to what happens next but also to savour what you’re reading now. The political characters are brilliantly – if brutally – observed and would make you weep if you weren’t already laughing out loud.Most of all, for me, it’s the series characters that keep me reading – their talents, their flaws, the endless machinations of the people in power and the bloodymindedness of those pushed out.When I finished reading, I immediately felt bereft and eager to know what’s coming next.*I received a copy of London Rules from the publisher via Netgalley.This review first appeared on my blog katevane.com/blog
    • 5/5
      In the murky world of the British secret service, there’s a tacit understanding that everyone plays by London Rules. These aren’t the ones neatly compiled in official binders. No, these are the unwritten rules, the real ones. #1: Cover your arse.And when it comes to MI5, it doesn’t matter whether you work at Regent’s Park or Slough House. The former is where all the cool kids get to be spies. The latter is home to agents who’ve screwed up royally but can’t legally (or at least, quietly) be killed. As the book opens, Regent’s is on high alert. A group of armed men drove into the centre of a village in Derbyshire & opened fire. People died, the men vanished & Islamic State claimed responsibility. News of the attack doesn’t exactly brighten the current mood In the UK. The public is still bitterly divided over Brexit, right wing politicians are pushing their xenophobic agenda & previous attacks have left everyone a tad jumpy. MI5 desperately needs a win but before they literally have a clue, a second attack takes more lives. Regent’s Park #2 Diana Taverner is running on fumes & the last thing she needs is to deal with Slough House’s resident fossil, Jackson Lamb.Lamb’s not sure if he has a problem or not. It seems someone may have tried to run over Roddy Ho. “The Rodman” (as he thinks of himself) is Slough House’s IT guy. He has 2 gifts. The first is his way with computers. The second is an unshakeable belief he’s a chick magnet with basic social skills. Lamb’s at a loss. Why would a stranger want to kill Ho? He’d understand if it was someone who knew him. Everyone at Slough House has thought of killing The Rodman, pretty much on a daily basis. Colleague Shirley Dander was the one who saved him & she’s already apologized.From these 2 threads the story goes haring off in multiple directions before doubling back to give you the big picture. There are several new characters added to the returning cast of (ir)regulars & as usual, not everyone will survive. A couple of things make this outing a little different than the others. We get more one-on-one time with each of the Slow Horses as they reflect on personal problems & the remnants of their career. These more serious moments add layers that make us sympathize with their situations. Well…except Ho. But you do have to admire his refusal to let reality dent his delusions. Herron also shines a light on current issues such as government bureaucracy, the rise of overt racism & how easily the media can influence & manipulate public opinion. I don’t have a great track record when it comes to slowly savouring Herron’s books & once again I failed. It was just too damn good to put down. It’s well paced & full of colourful characters. Many come across as thinly veiled stand-ins for some of the country’s well known figures & you get the sense it’s Herron’s chance to take satirical jabs at some of the ridiculous behaviour of late. The dialogue is clever & frequently laugh out loud funny. Each of the characters has a personal tic that helps bring them to life or in the case of Lamb, a whole herd of them. They alone ensure this is an entertaining read. What elevates the book is smart, intricate plotting that will have you scratching your noggin as you try to figure out how the story lines tie together. This is book #5 of what has become my favourite series (Heron also has a number of stand-alones). I adore black humour & for my book dollars, you can’t beat smart & funny. So…you may have caught that I’m a fan but this is just me babbling. If you’re interested, pick up “Slow Horses” & see if it suits. Before I go, I’d like to apply what I learned here & add 2 new rules to the playbook: Never turn your back on a can of paint. Avoid penguins.