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Slow Horses
- Slough House, Book 1
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
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Slow Horses
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Publisher's Summary
Slough House is a dumping ground for British intelligence agents who've screwed up cases in any number of ways - by leaving a secret file on a train or blowing a surveillance. River Cartwright, one such "slow horse", is bitter about his failure and about his tedious assignment transcribing cell phone conversations.
When a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to broadcast his beheading live on the Internet, River sees an opportunity to redeem himself.
Is the victim whom he first appears to be? And what's the kidnappers' connection with a disgraced journalist? As the clock ticks on the execution, River finds that everyone has his own agenda.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
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Espionage. Blackmail. Revenge. Cunning. Slapstick. State secrets dating back to the fall of the Berlin Wall. All this and more in a tight package of five novellas by Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of Slow Horses.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Should have read the summary!!
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Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating "historical over-reaching" by the British Secret Service “to investigate historical over-reaching.” Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct by any MI5 officer—and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, unfettered access to any and all confidential information in the Service archives in order to do so. But MI5’s formidable First Desk did not become Britain’s top spy by accident, and she has successfully thwarted the inquiry at every turn.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another excellent story
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Down Cemetery Road
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When a house explodes in a quiet Oxford suburb and a young girl disappears in the aftermath, Sarah Tucker becomes obsessed with finding her. Accustomed to dull chores in a childless household and hosting her husband’s wearisome business clients for dinner, Sarah suddenly finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew, as her investigation reveals that people long believed dead are still among the living, while the living are fast joining the dead.
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mouth noises
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When Caroline Daniels takes a deadly fall in front of a train and her lover fails to turn up at the funeral, Zoë Boehm wants nothing to do with the case. But Caroline's boss is persistent, and as Zoë attempts to unlock the secrets of a woman she's never met while in search of a man who could be anywhere, she starts to wonder if he's found her first. And if he has, will that make her the next victim?
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When a body is hauled from the River Tyne, Sarah Tucker heads to Newcastle for a closer look. She identifies the dead woman as Private Detective Zoë Boehm, but putting a name to the corpse only raises further questions. Did Zoë kill herself, or did one of her old cases come back to haunt her? Coincidence is an excuse that soon appears pretty unconvincing. Sarah can’t leave until she’s found the answers to her questions, however dangerous they might turn out to be.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not Herron’s best…
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Espionage. Blackmail. Revenge. Cunning. Slapstick. State secrets dating back to the fall of the Berlin Wall. All this and more in a tight package of five novellas by Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of Slow Horses.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Should have read the summary!!
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When a young man breaks into South Oxford Nursery School with a gun and takes a group of hostages, teacher Louise Kennedy is fearful. But Jaime Segura isn’t there on a homicidal mission. Bad Sam Chapman - head of the intelligence service’s internal security force, the Dogs - tries to find out what Jaime is after. But the only person Jaime will talk to is Ben Whistler, an MI6 colleague of Jaime’s lover, Miro - who has gone missing with a quarter of a billion pounds....
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Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating "historical over-reaching" by the British Secret Service “to investigate historical over-reaching.” Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct by any MI5 officer—and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, unfettered access to any and all confidential information in the Service archives in order to do so. But MI5’s formidable First Desk did not become Britain’s top spy by accident, and she has successfully thwarted the inquiry at every turn.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another excellent story
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When a house explodes in a quiet Oxford suburb and a young girl disappears in the aftermath, Sarah Tucker becomes obsessed with finding her. Accustomed to dull chores in a childless household and hosting her husband’s wearisome business clients for dinner, Sarah suddenly finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew, as her investigation reveals that people long believed dead are still among the living, while the living are fast joining the dead.
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5 out of 5 stars
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mouth noises
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When Caroline Daniels takes a deadly fall in front of a train and her lover fails to turn up at the funeral, Zoë Boehm wants nothing to do with the case. But Caroline's boss is persistent, and as Zoë attempts to unlock the secrets of a woman she's never met while in search of a man who could be anywhere, she starts to wonder if he's found her first. And if he has, will that make her the next victim?
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3 out of 5 stars
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The first girl had a bite mark on her neck, but they traced the DNA to her boyfriend. But the tabloids got hold of the story and called the killer 'The Rottweiler' and the name stuck. The latest murder takes place very near Inez Ferry's antique shop in Marylebone. When the Rottweiler’s trinkets start showing up in the shop, suddenly, everyone Inez knows is a suspect, and the killer feels all too close.
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A short story from British Library Crime Classic Deep Waters. The character that made Bailey’s name is the medically trained detective Reggie Fortune, and he’s at his best in this short story investigating a murder and the disappearance of a nurse at a mysterious stately home.
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What listeners say about Slow Horses
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael W.
- 2022-12-29
Great story of underdogs having their day
The flow and ebb, looking for reasons in an otherwise unhealthy business of snake handlers. Every dog has its day.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kaladin
- 2024-03-04
Fan of the show, came to listen to the book
As a huge fan of the show I figured I’d see what the books are like. Knowing how the story plays out removed a lot of the mystery and intrigue, but nevertheless I found myself thoroughly enjoying the book as I was able to get a deeper understanding of the characters and their backgrounds. I was surprised by the very ending which is somewhat different than the show, since everything leading to that point was fairly similar to how it played out on screen.
Having finished the book, I was thinking about what to listen to next, and ultimately I decided to buy Dead Lions and give the second book a go as I love this world and characters, and they aren’t huge novels to get through.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Arthur W. Frank
- 2023-09-01
Great genre performance
A beautifully plotted thriller in the genre of John le Carre. So many pieces come together with precision, and the narration makes each character individual. Most memorable is Jackson Lamb, who is Falstaff reincarnated as a spy. May the slow horses run through many more tales.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Madeleine
- 2017-12-02
A wonderful change from the usual
It finished far too soon. I could have enjoyed several more chapters of this intriguing story. we'll defined characters with just enough missing to make me want more. I'll definitely listen to the series.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nancy Bartlett
- 2019-07-27
Well-written spy story with excellent narration
I generally read in bed before going to sleep, and began by reading this book in electronic form, then downloaded the audio version to be able to keep listening when I wanted to shut my eyes. I didn’t want a little fatigue get in the way of finding out what happened next! It’s an excellent story and switching to the audible version didn’t diminish and may have even increased my enjoyment of it. The narrator is perfect for this book. I look forward to moving on to the next book in the series! I’m hooked!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- A
- 2019-11-20
good modern spy story
this book took a while to put all the pieces together but once it did, it was pretty good. harshly realistic similar to LeCarre. although I think the Jackson Lamb character didn't need to be so unlikable.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2021-09-04
Clever Premise - More Than Decent Execution
What would happen if Ian Fleming's James Bond screwed a mission up? Mick Herron explores the scenario fascinatingly.. populating his desk-riding MI-5 department ("Slough House") with alcoholics, the inept, those too young for ret-conning, politically troublesome pariahs, and an honest broker framed into irrelevance. Herron then involves these characters in uncovering a sinuous Anti-Islamic kidnapping plot by White Nationalists in London.
The writing is creditable - descriptive, realistic, genuinely humorous at times - and the plot is well-conceived, interesting, and twisty.. but Herron could use an aggressive Editor: there are occasional sentences and interjections that make little sense, the pacing is inferior, and more action would improve the book considerably.
Furthermore, the author admirably recognizes that spy-thrillers are intended to be fun (and provides a rollercoaster-ride romp), but his touch is a smidgeon too light - some scenes teeter on the verge of parody. Altogether, the book is imperfect.. but entertaining.
Gerard Doyle reads professionally - clear diction; tone appropriate to the lighthearted approach; adequate voice-acting - but his performance has some flaws: his emotiveness is a bit lacking, he has an odd lilting timbre, and his rate of reading is a little slow (setting playback speed at 1.15X corrected for the deficiencies somewhat). Still, I would rate the narration as above-average.. Blackstone Audio cast the project nicely.
I got this audiobook as part of the 'Plus' catalogue, but it merits a solid 7.5 stars out of 10 (it's actually worth a Credit). Despite some drawbacks, 'Slow Horses' is absolutely worth a download for distraction-seeking fans of Spy Fiction.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David waldron
- 2018-10-02
Classic British Spy Story set in Modern Times
Mick Heron's novel is brilliant in setting a classic British spy story in modern London. There is lots of spy trade-craft plied by flawed heroes set in a London so realistically described by its contrast between the excitement of power and the frustration of drab, grey congestion. If you like the spy thriller genre, or if you have ever had the exhilarating vexation of working in London, you will love this book.
On the performance side, Gerard Doyle is a fantastic reader. However, Heron uses many rapid cuts between parallel scenes in his story. He also uses multiple narrated first-person perspectives. The reader looking at a page can see these cuts and changes by an extra line, or even a separating symbol inserted between the switches. The listener does not get this visual signal, so we need a at least a longer pause between the cuts. This is particularly true at the end of the story when Heron has us flashing between four locations in rapid succession. Without those breaks, I found myself constantly hitting rewind to pick up the lead-in to the switched scenes. Then again maybe I am a slow horse too.
Overall its a great start to a series for me and as I have several long drives coming up I am looking forward to the sequels.
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Therese
- 2023-10-21
Interesting story
Interesting story, narration that fits the characters - overall, certainly worth a listen or two. A great choice for driving.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Micah Clark
- 2022-05-03
A bit interminable
Was recommended this title because I am a Le Carre fan. but it does not live up to that literary tradition. Character development is very uneven and the plot wanders endlessly. Technical details are laughably incorrect. Not a fan.
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