Dead Lions cover art

Dead Lions

The bestselling thrillers that inspired the hit Apple TV+ show Slow Horses (Slough House Thriller 2)

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Dead Lions

By: Mick Herron
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £21.54

Buy Now for £21.54

Season's Savings | £0.99/mo for 3 months

£5.99/mo after 3 months - terms apply. Cancel monthly
*Now an award-winning Apple TV+ series starring Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden*

'The new king of the spy thriller' Mail on Sunday

'Mick Herron is an incredible writer' Mark Billingham

****

From the Intelligence Service purgatory that is Slough House, where disgraced spies are sent to see out the dregs of their careers, Jackson Lamb is on his way to Oxford, where a former spook has turned up dead on a bus. Dickie Bow was a talented streetwalker once, good at following people and bringing home their secrets. He was in Berlin with Lamb, back in the day. But he's not an obvious target for assassination in the here and now.

On Dickie's phone Lamb finds the last message he ever left, which hints that an old-time Moscow-style op is being run in the Intelligence Service's back-yard. Once a spook, always a spook, and even being dead doesn't mean you can't uncover secrets.

Dickie Bow might have tailed his last target, but Lamb and his crew of no-hopers are about to go live.

'The spycraft of le Carré refracted through the blackly comic vision of Joseph Heller's Catch-22' Financial Times Crime Thrillers Espionage Political Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting Witty Funny
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

Praise for Mick Herron's Jackson Lamb series:
The finest new crime series this Millennium
Mick Herron is the real deal
I can't wait to read what Mick Herron writes next
Surely among the finest British spy fiction of the past 20 years
Herron has the comedy and eye to rival Len Deighton
Herron may be the most literate, and slyest, thriller writer in English today
Delightful ... with a dry humour reminiscent of Greene and Waugh
All stars
Most relevant
As always an excellent narrative by Sean Barrett who smooth, rich voice eases the horrors of sudden death or near deaths.

Mick Herron's Slough House crowd, all of whom have lost the right to be active agents, are a bunch of losers and misfits resentful of their outcast status from the frontline spies or spooks in Regent's Park. Lamb's instincts and his "team's" fishing expeditions build a far from benign picture that, almost despite themselves, they rescue the City from the brink of disaster. Strangely or sadly, yet again they are unable to claim the credit or cover themselves with glory; they are the "Slow Horses" and unlikely to the heroes of any story or so Regent's Park think!

There is also a keen humourous streak that keeps you amused and laughing despite everything.

I am enjoying this series!

A small beginning to get to the bigger picture

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Nicely narrated but short gaps at times meant that it was easy to get confused about who or where the story was.

That said, it was well told and I did enjoy it

Midsommer meets MI5

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is excellent and follows a complete series. The characters are rich and human beings in their actions .The story is easy to follow and understand but remains believable . The story teller has a voice which adds much. Easy listening.

An excellent listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
i had to go back a few times because the plot was complex. hold triggers with other novels well.

characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
… it began to take hold, to grip me, to drag me into buying all of the books so far.

Jackson Lamb is a creation go genius. Seemingly a ghastly creature: terrible non-PC behaviour and awful personal standards, hiding a sharp mind, wicked sense of humour, and deep commitment to his team. Think a combination of George Smiley and Les Dawson. His team - the Slow Horses - are a collection of dysfunctional misfits hiding great resilience and quiet determination.

There are clear echoes of Le Carre (especially the Smiley novels) and Deighton (particularly the Samson books) but good enough to stand alone, not least because they include references to recent events and culture. The only thing that grates with me is the opening and closing coda of something, a cat in this particular story, creeping through Slough House. I find it unnecessarily whimsical, but recognise some may find it quite lyrical.

Sean Barrett's performance is great, his voice deep and engaging.

I was unsure at first but then ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews