Slow Horses Book Review

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We’ve all had screw-ups at work before. Thankfully, none have been bad enough to land us at Mick Herron’s Slough House, amongst the Slow Horses.

Slow Horses is about the titular group of MI5 screw-ups paying for their mistakes from within “Slough House”.

Slow Horses burns at the pace of a lit fuse. Only, after the initial explosion, there’s a second detonation whose blast propels you all the way to the end. At 330 pages, I read it in roughly three days. I tore through the final one hundred and fifty pages. Slow Horses becomes absolutely unputdownable once the second inciting incident occurs.

After our introduction to protagonist River Cartwright and his MASSIVE work screw up, the pace ambles. Each of the Slow Horses, as they’re called, gets an introduction. The story ramps up to a healthy trot once our main conflict is introduced: the kidnapping and planned live-execution of nineteen-year-old Hassan by a group of British Nationalists.

Bitter, Brilliant, and Believable

The scenes when we’re with Hasan are gut-wrenching. You can truly feel the progression from disbelief to utter terror as the reality of his situation sinks in. I’m glad Mick Herron gives Hassan his own character arc instead of making him a passive victim (which would have been the easy way out). He feels real, as do the other characters we’re introduced to throughout this story. Each of the Slow Horses is introduced not just by their mistakes, but by the aftermath of them. Drinking, divorce, compulsive pocket checking. River Cartwright may be our protagonist, but this is a story about a group of people brought together by failure, each seeking a way out. Except for perhaps, Jackson Lamb.

Jackson Lamb is a disgusting, brilliant enigma. His actions throughout Slow Horses don’t so much transform the reader’s original disgust as add a grudging respect. He’s the boss man for a reason, which we gradually get to see unfold over the course of the story. We don’t learn the reason for his demotion to Slough House till almost the final pages.

Into the Spider’s Web

All of the cloak-and-dagger work missing from The Amateur (my last read) is found here in spades. It has almost everything you want in a spy novel: compelling premise, healthy pacing, clever characters, intrigue, and even a tiny hit of romance. Herron gathers all plot threads nicely, leaving readers satisfied with a complete story. It also provides the perfect ending that opens the door for the subsequent novels to pick up where Slow Horses leaves off.

My only quibble with the story is: I wish readers got to spend a bit more time with the other slow horses. Some of the best work is when the team finally comes together. I also hope that future novels give Catherine Standish more page-time, as she’s referred to as having been in the role of “Moneypenny” previously.

TLDR

Slow Horses takes readers for a helluva ride once you pass the starting gate. Not quite “found family”, but if you think hard enough you can imagine it might happen down the line. If you like thrilling British-set stories built around a rag-tag team of rejects and misfits, then this is the perfect story for you.

Favorite Quotes from Slow Horses:

“When lovely woman stoops to folly, the shit has hit the fan.”
“Fear lives in the guts. That’s where it makes its home. It moves in, shifts stuff around; empties a space for itself—it likes the echoes its wingbeats make. It likes the smell of its own farts”
“If Moscow rules meant watch your back, London rules meant cover your arse. Moscow rules had been written on the streets, but London rules were devised in the corridors of Westminster, and the short version read: someone always pays. Make sure it isn’t you.”

Final Note

Slow Horses has been adapted into an Apple TV+ series, and it’s actually really good. Like, each season sits at a 95% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes good. There are four seasons of Slow Horses, and season 5 comes out on September 24th, 2025. If you’re looking for more of Slough House, definitely give the series a try. Be on the lookout for a Page-to-screen post where I discuss the faithfulness of the TV adaptation!

Where to Read Slow Horses

Check out your local library! I was able to rent the ebook from my library for free using Libby. I was even able to read it on my Kindle! If you’re looking to buy the book, Amazon has it here, or ThirftBooks has it here.

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