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Start giftingSlow Horses
The Slough House Series: Book #1
Narrator
Gerard Doyle
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
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Length
10 hours 46 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“I'll admit it. I watched Slow Horses before reading it. The show is among my favorites of 2022, maybe of all time. As I prepared to watch Season 2, I decided to listen to the audiobook as a refresher. I'm so glad I did. I won't say the book is better—because Gary Oldman—but it's every bit as good in different, and also in the exact same ways. First, the show is quite loyal to the books, at least so far. The crackling dialogue is 100% Mick Herron, as are the smart, twisty plots. But what you miss from the show is the wit rumbling through every single bit of Herron's prose: 'The desk hid Lamb's paunch, though hiding it wasn't enough. Lamb could be behind a closed door and his paunch would remain evident because it was there in his voice, let alone his face or his eyes.' I can't wait to keep reading (and watching.)”
— Rachel • The Book Table
Now a critically acclaimed series on Apple TV+
Welcome to the thrilling and unnervingly prescient world of the slow horses. This team of MI5 agents is united by one common bond: they’ve screwed up royally and will do anything to redeem themselves.
London, England. Slough House is where washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what’s left of their failed careers. The “slow horses,” as they’re called, have all disgraced themselves in some way to get relegated there. Maybe they botched an Op so badly they can’t be trusted anymore. Maybe they got in the way of an ambitious colleague and had the rug yanked out from under them. Maybe they just got too dependent on the bottle—not unusual in this line of work.
One thing they have in common, though, is they want to be back in the action. And most of them would do anything to get there─even if it means having to collaborate with one another.
When a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to broadcast his beheading live on the internet, the slow horses see an opportunity to redeem themselves. But is the victim really who he appears to be?
Mick Herron, British novelist and short story writer, is the author of the Slough House espionage series, four Oxford mysteries, and three standalone novels. His work has won the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel, the Steel Dagger for Best Thriller, the Theakston’s Novel of the Year Award, the Palle Rosenkrantz Prize, the Ellery Queen Readers Award, and the USC Libraries Scripter Award. His works have been nominated for the Macavity, Barry, and Shamus Awards. He was born in Newcastle and studied English at Oxford.
Gerard Doyle, a seasoned audio narrator, he has been awarded dozens of AudioFile Earphones Awards, was named a Best Voice in Young Adult Fiction in 2008, and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He was born of Irish parents and raised and educated in England. In Great Britain he has enjoyed an extensive career in both television and repertory theater and toured nationally and internationally with the English Shakespeare Company. He has appeared in London’s West End in the gritty musical The Hired Man. In America he has appeared on Broadway in The Weir and on television in New York Undercover and Law & Order. He has taught drama at Ross School for the several years.
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Reviews
“This is blackly funny, tense, and worryingly plausible. The most enjoyable British spy novel in years.”
“Manages the rare feat of being comical, suspenseful, and perceptive.”
“A funny, stylish, satirical, gripping story…Memorably seedy characters, sharp dialogue, complex plot.”
“Intricate plotting, full of twists…[with] Herron’s very black, very dry sense of humor.”
“[A] deliciously sleazy and sophisticated spy thriller.”
“It’s just great fun.”
“[A] crackling good spy-thriller farce…A wonderfully funny, farcical, deeply cynical skewering.”
“Paint[s] his slow horses as complex characters who are just as fallible as their ‘faster’ counterparts.”
“With Gerard Doyle’s unique vocal mix of classical theater training, Estuary English, and a world-weary yet street-smart tone, one can practically feel the cold, rain-slicked streets of London…Doyle creates distinct voices for the many characters and is especially adept at keeping detailed conversations between male and female characters vital and clear.”
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