“Dieter Hess, an aged spy, is
dead, and John Bachelor, his MI5 handler, is in deep, deep trouble. Death has
revealed that deceased had been keeping a secret second bank account—and there
is only ever one reason a spy has a secret second bank account. The question of
whether he was a double agent must be resolved, and its answer may undo an
entire career’s worth of spy secrets.”
The List is the first of a
handful of short-stories/novellas that are connected to Mick Herron’s main
Slough House series, and this one is set between books two and three (I guess
book 2.5?). The story introduces a new character, J.K. Coe, who is in his first
week with MI5, and who will become a recurring character in the series. The
usual team is not too active here (a brief cameo of River Cartwright) but we get scenes –and some funny one-liners-
from Jackson Lamb, Catherine Standish and Diane (Lady Di) Taverner.
What’s great here is The List
gives the reader a better look at Jackson Lamb, who has spent three novels
seemly a couple sets ahead of everyone and shows him why he’s such a badass, which
is something he not often does –because he is usually busy with boozing,
farting and torturing his Slow Horses. A nice filler, though.
Still, at the end of the day, these novellas (like the ones Ben Aaronovitch has done with his Rivers of London series), this tale –and other three yet to come- are more for completest than necessary reads.
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