Witty but unfocused

Mick Herron's style is witty, descriptive with often beautiful use of language, but the plot of this book doesn't work. Why is Sarah obsessed with finding a girl she doesn't know and who are the players involved? Lots of pointless murders and an unsatisfactory ending. Disappointing
The narration is slightly exaggerated but you get used to it.

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4 people found this helpful

Underwhelming - such a shame.

Perhaps anything would have been a disappointment after the Slough House books and perhaps writing this was all part of Mick Herron learning his craft.
Maybe that is something most authors need to do - I just don’t know.

However, while it is possible to catch glimpses of humour and of his eventual style, this plot lacks cohesion and credibility and is not helped one little bit by a turgid and stilted narration.

I was all up for buying the series but with a heavy heart will call a halt at this one.

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4 people found this helpful

Brilliant!

Superb story. Gripping all the way through. Best listened at 0,9 speed. Mick Herron is a master storyteller.

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1 person found this helpful

An interesting start

Apart from a longish and fairly turgid recounting of a drug taking event from student days the story rolled along well. It’s possible to find glimmers of the future brilliance and bare outlines of figures to come, though in different guises.

The narrator coped well with a difficult task. Giving each character a different voice / vocal tone can’t have been easy. Whilst some grated rather, that’s probably the way voices are in real life.

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A slow start, but a good story

I assume the characters will get to better things. I've come to this from Slough House, like others. It's a different sort of story so I'm prepared to try the next one in the series, after a break...

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Overall good

Interesting story and characters good narration. What threw me off is the persistent stomach growling in chapter 12&13. Are you feeding your narrators and editors properly?

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Poor narration interferes with story

Good enough story, maybe not as good as Slow Horses, but Mick Herron remains a master storyteller. The narration however really interfered with enjoyment. Irritating rising inflection at end of sentences; laboured yet oddly placed emphasis throughout; Herron’s deadpan humour often reduced by same; poor male voices generally, some female voices sounding essentially like overgrown children. A real shame.

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Who?

What a great book it starts single threaded and becomes a densely woven intriguing tale that crescendos at the end! I loved it

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The story was gripping

Too long in the beginning and rushed at the end. Spoiled for me by the narrator. But I’m interested enough to follow the other books in the series

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Slough house it isn't, but never purported to be

Loved it, Mick Herron knows how to shape a character. Beautifully written and equally well read. Had Sean Barrett read it might not have worked as well. It was a woman protagonist and worked very well with a woman narrator. I liked her voice and presentation of all the characters and I'm very picky about narrators.

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4 people found this helpful