Having been a latecomer to the Jackson Lamb books, I am making up for lost time and binge-reading them.
Verdict on the 2nd book in the series ”Dead Lions”? It is every bit as gripping as ”Slow Horses”, which is the name given to a group of former MI5 operatives who have managed to mess up their careers and are outlawed to dusty, dull, unprepossessing premises in north London, carrying out dull, unprepossessing, pointless work.
Mr. Herron’s writing is both taut and descriptive, wasting no words as he brings his weird and wonderful cast of career misfits to life. We instinctively empathise with them, not the more successful, smoother lot over in Regent’s Park. Well, empathise might be a slight exaggeration for a man such as Roderick Ho, a beyond-weird, beyond-gifted computer wizard with zero social skills. Roderick is oftentimes repulsive, but the way he manipulates peoples’ computer records and credit ratings to extract his revenge for perceived slights, is delicious, in a slightly reprehensible way.
”Dead Lions” is gripping and has more than a touch of John Le Carré about the story line, as the old enemy, the former Soviet Union, comes into play. This reference to John Le Carré isn’t meant to be a second hand compliment, but Mr. Herron conjures up the smoke and mirrors world of 21st century espionage every bit as grippingly as Mr. Le Carré wrote about earlier, less tech-y, but just as troubled times.