Slow Horses, by Mick Herron

I haven’t seen the Apple+ TV show, but I did read the first book in this series. And it’s pretty good. I’d give this grumpy thriller a solid B.. The gimmick here is that the group of investigators are not the All-Star Team of James Bonds but instead are a bunch of people who have either given up, or messed up, and have been sent to work in this grungy old building. Not a lot is expected of them. They don’t get along with each other. But then…you won’t believe this…they learn to work together! 

It’s formulaic, but enjoyable. The characters are what elevate the ho-hum story into being something truly worthy of reading while stuck on a plane. I don’t remember any character names, but I’m TERRIBLE at remembering real people’s names that I meet in real life, let alone fictional characters. So I just call the characters in this book Frumpy Old Guy and Young Guy and Suspicious Lady.

I liked it, but didn’t love it enough to continue with the series. And that’s okay. You don’t have to continue a series just because the series exists. I hereby give you all permission to give up on a series of books whenever the heck you want. But if you want a frumpy, modern British mystery thriller, this is a good one.

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