Real Tigers cover art

Real Tigers

The bestselling thrillers that inspired the hit Apple TV+ show Slow Horses (Slough House Thriller 3)

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Real Tigers

By: Mick Herron
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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About this listen

*Now an award-winning Apple TV+ series starring Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden*

'The finest British spy fiction of the past 20 years' Metro

'Masterful' Daily Mail

'A pulsating spy thriller' Daily Express

****

Slough House is the Intelligence Service outpost for failed spies, former high-fliers now dubbed the 'slow horses'. Catherine Standish, one of their number, 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.
Crime Thrillers Detective Espionage Political Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Mystery Witty

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Critic reviews

Herron's Slough House novels are the finest new crime series this Millennium . . . Funny and thrilling in equal measure, Real Tigers is an absolute joy
Satire, verbal sparring and gunfights are deftly combined in an excellently written novel permeated by Herron's sly, dry and very English sense of humour - rather as if Philip Larkin or Alan Bennett had had a go at spy fiction
Real Tigers has revitalised the spy thriller genre
In the grand tradition of British espionage writing: no 007-style mayhem, but a narrative involving rogue agents and a kidnapped spy that is both sardonically funny and pleasingly complex
A pulsating spy thriller
The great spy novelists - Ambler, Greene, le Carré, Deighton - pull off the difficult double act of showing that the business of espionage is simultaneously deadly serious and highly risible: office politics on a grand scale. These writers, without downplaying the dangers of spying, refuse to take the spies as seriously as they take themselves. They have a kindred spirit in Mick Herron . . . There is a near-constant stream of crackling, scabrous dialogue . . . Herron's casual observations are beautifully phrased . . . With his poet's eye for detail, his comic timing and relish for violence, Herron fills a gap that has been yawning ever since Len Deighton retired
A masterful third spy novel from the gifted Herron . . . He has been published only by an American firm until now, in spite of the fact that he is British and his stories are set in this country. Now, all three books appear here, and Herron will, at last, receive the recognition that his talent richly deserves . . . Deliciously tongue-in-cheek and with a striking serpentine construction, it is a thriller that moves Herron close to the class of Graham Greene
The Slough House series of which Real Tigers is the third instalment, is surely among the finest British spy fiction of the past 20 years. Where Mick Herron's contemporaries stumble through thickets of cliché, his fiction feels fresh and real . . . a narrative of breathtaking ingenuity. Brilliant
Herron, like all good novelists, manufactures his own form of reality and persuades his readers to subscribe to it. The satire is streaked with violence, which itself has elements of visual comedy. The dialogue is sharp and the prose is dark and sardonic. Underlying everything is a sense of outrage about the corruption within the Establishment. This is not the sort of novel where you're likely to find positive portraits of Old Etonians. But if you read one spy novel this year, read Real Tigers. Better still, read the whole series
All stars
Most relevant
Loved this book: the story; the dialogue; the characterisation. Another fabulous narration by Sean Barrett. His depiction of Jackson Lamb was outstanding.

The Slow Horses triumph again

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Really enjoyable. Characters are interesting (I love that they are flawed and that I can judge them on their actions rather than the author telling me how wonderful/bad they are). Lots of twists. And Jackson lamb is glorious.
Narrator amongst the best.

Great series

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One of those writers you are glad to have discovered and a narrator up to the task of bringing it alive, relish the prospect of reading the next in the series.

A good book well read.

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Pitch perfect - a rare combination of wit and thrills. Had me purring with delight through post-covid recuperation. Heartfelt thanks to Messrs Herron and Barratt - a marriage made in heaven.

Sublime storytelling

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Another superb book in the Slow Horses series . I was gripped from the start . Beautifully written and brilliantly read . Funny , poignant and at times thrilling . Am about to start the next ! Thank you

Magnificent !

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