“Catherine
Standish, one of their Slough House members, worked in Regent's Park long
enough to understand treachery, double-dealing and stabbing in the back, and
she's known Jackson Lamb long enough to have learned that old sins cast long
shadows. And she also knows that chance encounters never happen to spooks, even
recovering drunks whose careers have crashed and burned. What she doesn't know
is why anyone would target her. So whoever's holding her hostage, it can't be
personal. It must be about Slough House. Most likely, it's about Jackson Lamb.
And say what you like about Lamb, he'll never leave a joe in the lurch. He
might even be someone you could trust with your life.”
While addiction seems to be the
theme of Real Tigers (everyone within in Slough House has their own personal
demons, be it a recreational drug addiction, gambling, alcoholism, or someone
who needs some action in their lives), there is also the machinations of the back-stabbing
bureaucrats that inhabit this world, a desperate war of ambition. Yes, there is
violence and death, but the thrust of the book is more a takedown on corporate
dysfunction than anything else.
There are
considerable shifts in the narrative structure here, which makes the novel a
bit more complex and multi-layered in its plotting than the usual fair. While
the tale has hooks that grab the reader, what continues to work here is the
character development. Instead of keeping people in their boxes, Herron
breathes life into them – and reminds us that everyone has their flaws. The
introduction of Peter Judd, the Home Secretary, gives us a villain of sorts
ripped from today’s headlines – the worst possible politician you can think of
who has information on everyone -and is willing to use it to get to his
ultimate goal -10 Downing Street.
As with
the previous two, there is plenty of comic touches including some that border
on slapstick. The dark, sardonic humor is used to great effect. And while
Jackson Lamb is the most politically incorrect person ever, I find myself forgiving
him for it, because deep down, you know Lamb is right about a lot things.
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