"London Rules" by Mick Herron

Note: This review contains light spoilers for Spook Street and the rest of the Slough House Series by Mick Herron.

Someone is trying to kill Roddy Ho; at least, that’s what Shirley Dander thinks, and she’s just wrapped up a stint in anger management and drug treatment for her cocaine addiction, so she may not be the most reliable source, according to Jackson Lamb. However, there are other strange things happening like a spate of terrorist attacks pulling from a mothballed destabilization strategy and Roddy suddenly having a girlfriend, which may lend some credence to Shirley’s assertion that something strange is happening in the country. So the Slow Horses undertake an operation to observe Roddy’s movements, investigate political maneuvering that puts a racist populist in the cross-hairs, and on the road to uncovering secrets that could destabilize the highest ranks of MI5.

London Rules by Mick Herron is the fifth installment in the Slough House Series, which follows a group of misfit secret agents as they attempt to make their way back into the good graces of leadership at Regents Park. The prior four installments have evoked how the team has developed through a variety of subplots, but this installment places the team and its dynamics firmly at the center of the narrative, which gives insight both into the individuals themselves, but also highlights most firmly why each deserves to be in Slough House in the first place. Yes, there’s varying degrees of competence displayed by Shirley, River, Coe, Louisa, and Roddy, but each has their own unique flaw which Herron adeptly exploits to illustrate why they deserve the title of Slow Horse. The only question that’s let open is why Lamb is there, as he has the opportunity to display just how effective a spook he is against the backdrop of semi-competence his team provides.

London Rules can offer much in common with its predecessors for casual readers looking to be entertained. There’s a phenomenal amount of dark humor, engaging action scenes, mysteries to unravel, and character development set against a London backdrop which can make it a worthwhile book for those looking for similar kinds of adventures.

It would also be worth picking up a copy of London Rules if you’re interested in stories that explore the frustrations of government and institutions, as this installment brings with it a deeper focus on how systems people take for granted can unravel in the face of poor management practices, personal ambition, and contempt for anything less than decorous. While comments by Lamb and others can skew away from what’s considered appropriate for the general audience, Herron’s skill as a writer and architect of these stories make it feel more like an exploration of why certain things are considered taboo rather than relying solely on shock value, which can make it a worthwhile read if you’re interested in books that deal with the nuances of a populist movement.

Mick Herron’s series has always taken aim at the issues with politics and policy broadly, but London Rules specifically highlights how the fallibility of relying on personal ambition isn’t something exclusively the domain of the powerful, as it’s apparent from the actions of the Slow Horses themselves that they aren’t as sharp as they believe themselves to be. Herron’s ability to manage this while still maintaining a level of relatability with his readers is a skill that few writers are able to manage effectively, which makes it worth learning more about how to accomplish through reading his work.

Additionally, the use of Lamb’s character in this novel is an ideal template for how to bundle contradictions in intriguing ways; Lamb is undoubtedly problematic and, on the surface, appears to fit right in with the rest of his team. However, he also proves to be the most competent agent among them, and potentially in the entirety of MI5 given the dysfunction at the top, which is hard to pull off in a believable manner in most cases, but Herron has done effectively.

In both cases, characterization is a core component of storytelling and learning how to accomplish similar feats would benefit any storyteller in the long term.

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