He was in France for a reason – leaving behind an old life (the one where he neglected his wife and son), but never really finding another.

While this novel doesn't have the biting humor of the Slough House books, it is a propulsive unputdownable read. By the time all is revealed, you realize the answer to what’s been going on was staring you in the face the whole time.And this remained the legal truth of the matter, as the things in question were taking place some distance below that. I was expecting a completely standalone story, but was pleasantly surprised to find it set in the Slough House-iverse.

This is a grim, grim story, without any of the humour that lightens the main Slough House series, or the of-the-moment political commentary that makes those books so relevant. His work has won the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel, the Steel Dagger for Best Thriller, and the Ellery Queen Readers Award, and been nominated for the Macavity, Barry, Shamus, and Theakstons Novel of the Year Awards. But the thing is, Tom used to be a spy, working undercover for MI5 for many years, then a short stint with the Dogs, before leaving to try to live a normal life with his wife and son. I admit to a bit of paranoia and some willingness to use social lies to get events to work out to my liking, but I am a rank amateur compared to these folk. When my snoring lemon woke me last night, I made reading lemonade until I fell asleep with the book on my belly.Bald with a variety of wigs, she dresses fashionably and gives off the vibe of a sweet, if ugly, grandmother. As a fan of the Slough House series, it is satisfying to learn more about one character's back story and just to get a broader glimpse of MI5 as conceived by Herron. Although this is set in the same universe as the Slough House series, this book works as an adjunct rather than being a direct addition to the series: we learn the back story of JK Coe (who will join the Slow Horses in Real Tigers) and penetrate far further into the Machiavellian mind of Dame Ingrid than perhaps we might want to.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published. His menial routine cloaked an unusual skill set that he had once expertly wielded for the British Security Service (ie. It also serves as a fine riposte to series like 'Spooks' which gives us noble heroes putting their lives on the line for the greater good - here we're grubbing in the dirt and there's nothing to separate the Service under Ingrid Tearney's maleficent and self-serving rule from the East End gangsters and Russian mafia hoods she's supposedly fighting against.Maybe it's the guilt he feels about losing touch with Liam that's gnawing at him, or maybe he's actually put his finger on a labyrinthine plot, but either way he'll get to the bottom of the tragedy, no matter whose feathers he has to ruffle.

Bettany and Liam had been estranged when Liam died and Bettany always thought he'd have time to make things work again with his son. The book draws together spooks, drug dealers, game developers and those who will stoop at anything to protect their interests - money! Herron has created a cast of unforgettable characters and woven a plot of intrigue that will delight readers, and is a must for fans of thrillers, espionage and well plotted mysteries. Like a tethered goat, “Dame Spook” uses the gullible JK Coe of Psych Eval as her go-between and Bettany – signalling Coe’s eventual fate as a “Slow Horse”. This was grittier than the Jackson Lamb books, but it whizzed along and maintained internal coherence throughout.If you haven’t read him but enjoy a smart British thriller, you need to try him, starting absolutely anywhere. Nobody Walks is a completely independent novel even though its MI5 is the same as the one in Herron's Slough House series.