Nobody Walks: Mick Herron

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Maybe it's the guilt he feels about losing touch with Liam that's gnawing at him, or maybe he's actually put his finger on a labyrinthine plot, but either way he'll get to the bottom of the tragedy, no matter whose feathers he has to ruffle. The only complaint would be very wet clothing and socks and shoes but the book was so well written I really did not allow the physical discomfort to ruin things. Bettany had worked deep-cover, infiltrating the network of arms dealers, the Brothers McGarry, and from the outset he is suspicious of his son’s death: was it revenge because of him?

Herron's trademark witty dialogue and sensorily descriptive writing once again pulls me in and keeps me engaged. Fans of the Jackson Lamb series will be pleased to know that this story is set in the same universe, with at least six names known from that series playing roles or rating mentions here, one of whom comprehensively proves that the fate meted out to them in a later book is absolutely a just desert, if insufficiently punitive. Even if Slough House means nothing to you I'd still recommend Nobody Walks as a standalone thriller. Bald with a variety of wigs, she dresses fashionably and gives off the vibe of a sweet, if ugly, grandmother. Tearney has been mentioned in the Slough House novels but usually from the perspective of her envious subordinate Diana Taverner.Tom Beattany, a former MI5 undercover agent, has walked away from his former life after the death of his wife, but when he learns his son Liam has died in odd circumstances he’s drawn back in to the criminal underworld of London. I enjoyed the writing which is always to the point, the humour which is often very British and the characters. Mick Herron already has a host of good mysteries to his name, but he has refined his skills with this one. Already he has treated us to classic portraits including the bald and bewigged head of MI5’s Intelligence Service, Dame Ingrid Tearney, and the pale and twitchy successful games producer, Vincent Driscoll. In 2022 I re-read Nobody Walks (2015) as part of a re-read of all of Mick Herron's Slough House books.

Nobody Walks is a completely independent novel even though its MI5 is the same as the one in Herron's Slough House series. Herron has created a cast of unforgettable characters and woven a plot of intrigue that will delight readers, and is a must for fans of thrillers, espionage and well plotted mysteries. This is not like the Slough House series, except for some of the wonderful turns of phrase and some of the grittier action.It is taut, carefully paced to perfection, scary with regard to MI5, sad in the circumstances of a son's death, brilliant in the former spy's ability to foresee the plotting of the head of MI5, hilarious in some of the torture scenes enacted and simply satisfying.

Although this is set in the same universe as the Slough House series, this book works as an adjunct rather than being a direct addition to the series: we learn the back story of JK Coe (who will join the Slow Horses in Real Tigers) and penetrate far further into the Machiavellian mind of Dame Ingrid than perhaps we might want to. Tom Beattany – Former undercover MI5 agent, former faux-criminal, former Dog, former butcher, former husband, former father.Which is why he is fascinating, this book is addictive and the plot moves seamlessly even when it seemed confusing at the beginning.

JK Coes first appears in The List, and then in this, before finally appearing as one of the slow horses in Real Tigers.Bettany might have thought he'd left it all behind when he first skipped town, but nobody ever really walks away. But this is really Beattany’s story and from the beginning you get the sense that nobody will be walking away clean from this story. I'd gladly read more about Tom Bettany, but he may have burned all his London bridges by the end of this one. In this book, readers discover what happened to JK Coe prior to becoming a slow horse and why he is a little, ahem, jumpy.