I jumped right into this sequel for Slow Horses right after finishing the first volume. The core of what attracted me to the first book was largely present, hence my giving it the same rating. However, at the end of the day, I didn’t like it quite as much.

I couldn’t say exactly why that is—the characters I enjoyed were just as enjoyable, the story was interesting, and there were great shout-outs to Le Carré and funny recurring jokes in the story.

I wonder if the scope was too big? Not that the stakes weren’t high in the first book, but they seemed to get even higher in this book, and that felt a little bit out of place for the world that Herron has created here. Not sure that will stop me from reading the next one, though!

• Dead Lions
• Mick Herron
• Slough House
• John Le Carré