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Jun 9, 20231 min read
1073. John Le Carré - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
This was a brilliant TV drama twenty plus years ago, but I think the book has dated. Heavily imbued in the English class system as it was...
Jan 18, 20231 min read
1042. Mick Herron - London Rules
More and for the same reason. This is the one that starts (and ends) with a terrorist attack on a Derbyshire village, via leak by Roddy...
Jan 13, 20231 min read
1041. Mick Herron - Real Tigers
Can’t remember the titles of all these books (particularly if read on a kindle), but this is the one that starts with Catherine Standish’...
Nov 28, 20221 min read
1033. Mick Herron - Nobody Walks
Have read this before (no.587), but was told by someone in my book group that it is new, but it is not – republished in a new imprint in...
Jan 6, 20221 min read
931. Graham Greene - Our Man In Havana
One of his ‘entertainments’ which I don’t on the whole enjoy. The conceit is quite amusing, a vacuum salesman in Havana is recruited by...
Dec 25, 20211 min read
927. Mick Herron - Joe Country
My favourite author in this genre, so unsurprisingly I have read this before. This is the one where Louisa Guy is contacted by the...
Nov 15, 20211 min read
915. Sebastian Faulks - Charlotte Gray
This is a brilliant book. I am not sure I had ever completed it before (the left had side of the spine is suspiciously unbent) and I had...
Feb 17, 20211 min read
848. John Le Carré - Our Game
Published in 1995, so 25 years old. Made me wonder about the author’s sexuality. There are three main characters, Tim Cranmer the...
Aug 23, 20181 min read
618. Mick Herron - Dead Lyons
The 2nd Slough House, which I have read before but not hugely enjoyed. The one about the sleeper cell in the Cotswolds. A minor weakness...
Aug 12, 20181 min read
616. Mick Herron - Slow Horses
The first of the Slough House novels, possibly my 3rd read but they are so good and improve every time. This begins with River’s...
Feb 10, 20181 min read
571. Mick Herron - Slow Horses
This is the 3rd time I have read this (463 & 517), having recommended him to a friend and wanting to remind myself/confirm (!) that they...
Oct 4, 20171 min read
535. Mick Herron - Spook Street
This is a brilliant book; he seems to be really maturing into his Slough house characters, whose subtle and often very funny interactions...
Sep 1, 20171 min read
518. Mick Herron - Real Tigers
Went for another Mick Herron, despite the above. These books do improve all the time. I didn’t fully understand the plot here – which of...
Aug 24, 20171 min read
516. Mick Herron - Dead Lions
The 2nd of the Jackson Lamb/Slough House espionage thrillers. This one began much more in spy thriller mode, but that was a deception...
Jan 28, 20171 min read
463. Mick Herron - Slow Horses
I have never heard of the author and can’t make my mind up about the book. The ‘Slow Horses’ are rejects from MI5 (or equivalent) who...
Nov 24, 20161 min read
447. John Le Carré - The Secret Pilgrim
I was looking for a different Le Carré book, but this one was referred to in 446, so I thought I would give it a go (I must have read it...
Nov 17, 20161 min read
445. Charles Cumming - A Foreign Country
The first of a series of novels featuring Thomas Kell, a disillusioned and cynical ex MI5 officer, who has been suspended in disgrace...
Nov 13, 20161 min read
444. Charles Cumming - The Hidden Man
The third of the three I bought with the birthday tokens and by far the best. The key point is that this is a good novel, with the spy...
Feb 16, 20141 min read
184. Ian McEwan - Sweet Tooth
Marketed as a spy thriller, this was, at best, a very literary take on the genre. I can’t pretend I liked it much; poorly written...