Real Tigers by Mick Herron

Published by Soho Crime on January 19, 2016

Machiavellian office politics blend with the humorous side of espionage in the third Slough House novel. The slow horses are British spies who have been relegated to Slough House because they abused alcohol or drugs or had a gambling problem or just screwed up an assignment and are no longer trusted to run with the fast horses. They are minor league players in the intelligence community, relegated to meaningless tasks with the hope and expectation that they will become frustrated and quit. In Real Tigers, as in the first two novels in this series, the slow horses turn out to be surprisingly resourceful -- when they aren’t screwing up.

Catherine Standish, an efficient PA who has never been a field operative, is snatched off the street. Her fate seems to rest in the hands of slow horse River Cartwright, when the snatchers ask him to acquire and exchange a confidential file for Standish. But an equally pressing question is the fate of Slough House, and whether it can survive the machinations of Peter Judd, the devious new Home Secretary who has his sights set on the Prime Minister’s office. Two other political players complete a triangle of backstabbing as they follow devious plans to maneuver themselves into better positions.

Jackson Lamb, the spy in charge of Slough House, is rude, crude, and lewd. He is so repulsive as to be loveable -- or at least laugh-out-loud funny. His only redeeming feature is a rather selfish dedication to his subordinates -- selfish in the sense that he takes it personally if the enemy (or the British government, the two being difficult to distinguish at times) try to harm or kidnap them.

A droll sense of humor that manages to be at once understated and outrageous is one of the things I love about British writers. Mick Herron’s combination of dry wit and slapstick is perfect, while his ability to mix humor with action accomplishes the difficult task of making a thriller both exciting and funny. Real Tigers is just as good as the first two entries in this series.

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