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Reconstruction

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Reconstruction

By: Mick Herron
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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'Masterful . . . superior entertainment that makes most other novels of suspense appear dull and slow-witted by comparison' Publishers Weekly

What should have been a simple pick-up turns into a day-long nightmare for Bad Sam Chapman.

When an operational catastrophe puts a gun in the hands of a young man, who then breaks into South Oxford Nursery School and takes a group of hostages, teacher Louise Kennedy fears the worst. But Jaime Segura isn't there on a homicidal mission, and he's just as scared as those whose lives he holds as collateral.

As an armed police presence builds outside the school's gates, Bad Sam Chapman - head of the intelligence service's internal security force, the Dogs - battles the clock to find out what Jaime is after. But the only person Jaime will talk to is Ben Whistler, an MI6 accountant who worked with Jaime's lover, Miro.

Miro's gone missing, along with a quarter of a billion pounds allotted for reconstruction work in Iraq. Jaime refuses to believe that Miro is a thief - though he's always had his secrets. But then, so does Louise, so do the other hostages - and so do some people on the outside, who'd much rather Jaime was silenced.©2016 Mick Herron Crime Thrillers Espionage Mystery Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Exciting
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Another brilliant story from the slough house universe and an impeccable performance as ever from Sean Barrett. Bad Sam Chapman, chief dog, takes the reigns in this tale of fingers in the 21st century till.

The best teller of spook stories out there

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Typical Herron, great story, great characters, good plot, fabulously narrated.

What's not to love.

Want to see it on TV now

Typical Herron

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As always Sean Barrett narrates perfectly. Brilliant story, full of interesting characters. Bit shocked Sunderland didn't get a mentioned tho!

Twisty and compelling!

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The narration was very distracting and I felt not suitable with its breathless and gruff delivery

An irritating listen

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I thoroughly enjoyed the Slow Horses series and was sad when they ended. Sean Barrett's narration was so much better than the TV adaptations (although they too were enjoyable), and Sean triumphs again here.
Mick Herron is a wonderful writer with a fantastic command of words, and for the first third of this book I couldn't help feeling that he was displaying this prowess without bothering too much about narrative! It felt very slow going, to the point that I considered giving up. Thankfully I didn't, because the second half of the book is far better than the first. I'm all for slow development of plot, but I'd have liked a bit more progress early on.
The second half is cracking, vintage Herron, with Bad Sam Chapman featuring strongly.
I was in two minds about whether to feel disappointed by the ending (no spoilers). After putting the reader through the early chapters I think there might have been a reward of a more certain finish, whereas the actual finish felt in keeping with the second half of the novel.
Finally, an interesting note on how quickly and easily a book can feel dated - until the description of the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo I felt that the book could have been set in the past few years.

Not as good as Slow Horses

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