A fantastic holiday read that left me wishing I'd brought the next book in the series too. I'm really enjoying how the books roll into each other. I'm sure they would all still be great on their own, but reading them in order just brings so much more depth to the characters and the story line. This one bring in a lot more of J.K. Coe who was first introduced in the last book as well as expanding on Shirley Dander and Roderick Ho.
The first London rule is to cover your own backside and it's amazing just how much of that is going on in this story. There are so many sub-plots and back stories going on that you sometimes wonder which side the bad guys are on. As usual, the Slow Horses manage to make such a mess of things you wonder how they actually make it into the office each day. But Jackson Lamb always has their backs and seems to have so much dirt on so many people that your really don't want to be on his wrong side. He plays to a different set of rules that are all his own, and generally made up as he goes along.
Mick Herron tells these stories with such great humour, especially when describing Jackson Lamb and his behaviour. Some of it is honestly laugh out loud funny, but it's definitely not for those of a sensitive disposition. Jackson is a creature from a land that time forgot. Think of Philip Glenister as Gene Hunt from Life in Mars / Ashes to Ashes, multiply him by a hundred and you'll still not be close.
Spook Street (the last book) is where the spies live. London Rules (this book) are the rules they live by. Joe Country (next book) is where they go to die. It's setting up for a really great conclusion for the last book in my set of six. The only little niggle I have is that I know he's written two more since I got the original set. It's a bit like thinking the hero is going to die in the first movie but you know there are several sequels before you start watching!
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