Review of "Joe Country: Slough House # 6" by Mick Herron

This is the 6th book in Mick Herron's 'Slough House' (Slow Horses) series, about British MI5 agents who've made a bad mistake and are relegated to working in a dilapidated building called Slough House. The novels in this series are best read in order because of the continuing story arc.

*****

The man in charge of Slough House is former spy master Jackson Lamb, an offensive slob who hurls insults at people, smokes too much, eats too much, and has terrible hygiene. Regardless, Lamb feels compelled to look out for his 'joes' (agents), even if he thinks they're idiots.



As the story opens, the slow horses are experiencing a good bit of turmoil.

River Cartright is mourning the death of his grandfather, a former MI5 agent who raised River and taught him spycraft;



Catherine Standish, a recovering alcoholic, learned something that has her teetering on the edge of a relapse;



Louisa Guy is still grieving the death of her Slough House partner and lover Min Harper;



Shirley Dander, a drug-user, had court-mandated anger management, but still can't control her temper;



Roddy Ho, a computer hacker, is still reeling from his honey pot fake girlfriend. Nevertheless, Roddy continues to have delusions about being the smartest and bravest agent in Slough House.



J.K. Coe, who has anxiety issues, makes a shoehorn look chatty; but he knows what's going on around him;



Lech Wicinski, the new man at Slough House, claims he was framed for the wrongdoing that landed him there.



Meanwhile, at Regents Park, Diana Taverner has finally manipulated herself into the position of First Chair.



Diana tries to 'demote' Head Dog Emma Flyte, who's too attractive and independent for Lady's Di taste. But Emma tells Diana to 'F-off' and quits.



Early in the story Louisa Guy takes a call from Min Harper's ex-wife Clare Addison. Clare says that her and Min's teenage son Lucas has disappeared. The boy had been talking about wanting to travel and go to college, and was concerned about the cost. Then Lucas suddenly said the money wasn't going to be a problem, left his phone behind, and vanished.

Because Louisa was involved with Min she feels obligated to look for Lucas. Louisa tracks Lucas to snowy Wales, takes a leave from Slough House, and pushes off. Shortly afterwards, Emma Flyte and several Slough House agents follow, to help Louisa search for Lucas.



Meanwhile, a group of mercenaries, led by River's estranged biological father Frank Harkness, is also looking for Lucas.....to kill him. All this leads to a complicated chase in Wales, with much death and destruction. In the course of this we learn why Lucas ran off and what he hoped to accomplish.



As all this is happening, new slow horse Lech Wicinski, who believes a favor he did landed him in Slough House, hopes to set things right.

Mick Herron has a deft hand with espionage novels, and the book contains the usual humor, skullduggery, deviousness, shooting, and fighting that are characteristic of the series. The book is a must read for fans.

Rating: 4 stars