Dead Lions by Mick Herron

Author: Mick Herron

Title: Dead Lions

Publisher: Baskerville 

Published: 2013

Pages: 336

Genre: Spy Thriller 

     Dickie Bow is not an obvious target for assassination. But once a spook, always a spook. And Dickie was a talented streetwalker back in the day before he turned up dead on a bus. Good at following people, and bringing home their secrets, Dickie was in Berlin with Jackson Lamb. Now Lamb's got his phone, and on it, the last secret Dickie ever told, and reason to believe an old-time Moscow-style op is being run in the Service's backyard. In the Intelligence Service purgatory that is Slough House, Jackson Lamb's crew of back-office no-hopers is about to go live.

      Not so long ago I had plowed my way through Slow Horses the book that comes before this one. I had done so having watched season one of the TV adaptations. Much like most of us, I wanted to know where the differences lay between the two. As it turns out despite a shift in the ending it did fairly stick to the source material. Anyway with season two now up I thought this time I would read the book first to try and get a jump on it, also it is my preferred way of doing it. So back to the book at hand, whilst the first book dealt with a more modern problem faced by England's security services Dead Lions takes us back to those high days of the cold war. Although this would definitely be Herron's take on those great spy thrillers of the Eighties. For me I was really curious to see how his style would fit into the mold of those styles. Could they gel together or would if feel too much like a bad sandwich? I was also hoping to get a peek into Lamb the way he used to be. Him playing cat and mouse in this life-or-death game against his old enemy.

     So as we sink back into the world of Slough House we can feel safe in the knowledge that our rag-tag band of heroes is back in the fray.  With a relatively small body count from the previous novel, it's easy enough to fall back into line with them. Even with the introduction of a couple of new faces to spice things up a bit. It also helps in showing Slough House as a real place of work, where people come and go in the natural ebb and flow of things. For me, I found these new team members slipped into this world with ease and they felt like a compliment to those we already knew. Herron seems to have a great knack for creating these screw-up officers that you can still get behind. Maybe it is in his choice of how they screwed up. They are always just enough to get them bounced out of frontline work but not enough for you to really feel like they should be in prison. It is a fine balance that he pulls off well and in part makes them feel a little less Jason Bourne and a bit more nine-to-five. 

     I am also happy to report back that River and Lambs' relationship is still as fractious as ever. I think in part this is down to the fact that despite all he may protest Lamb does care about River. He knows he could be a great spook if not for his being forced out because of things that had happened well out of his control. He feels like a protective dad all be it one who is afraid to show emotions for fear of making their child become clingy. Or at least in Lamb's head, it would seem that's how it plays out. it is also a good thing that River is prepared to push back and not put up with being told he will only ever be a slow horse. He knows that not only can he himself do better but that his colleagues are just as capable as him if given half the chance to show it. Between the two they give us in some ways both end of a spook career the young and eager to show the world right and wrong. Plus, the been there down that and it still failed didn't it. 

     When it comes to our antagonists there is no real return of characters. Those who had troubled us in the first book have slipped away and been replaced with new ones. It works because despite everything these are self contain stories even if our heroes are the same. I must say I have enjoyed this changing of the guard it allows us to focus on a different type of spy genre each time. Dead Lions definitely fits into those great spy books that have come before. You can feel like you are treading some familiar ground. Long buried spy networks and chasing shadow figures down dark alleys. It is one of those books that feels like a great joy to read. In part, I think that is down to the dynamic of our heroes. We have those that will feel the dramatic and thrilling elements of the story. Those that can pull at our emotions and form these bonds with us. But you can also always rely on Lamb to lower the tone. And definitely bring a smile and a laugh to your reading experience. 

     I can safely say that this book was just as much of a joy to read as the first one. It keeps you skipping along at a decent pace and none of it feels like it is there to fill a bit of space. And whilst going in you might feel like this is a plot that you have read countless times before Herron seems to have found a new and clever way to tackle it. Dead Lions still manages to surprise you and throw in some turns that at least I did not see coming. It is one of those books that manages to give you a grand spy thriller all the while bringing you a bit of British tongue and cheek to it. To me, I felt it help Herron's books stand out from the current plethora of far more serious counterparts. Now just two books into the series I'm sure I will continue to see how these characters' lives develop and look forward to their next adventures.