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Bad Actors

Bad Actors

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  • Create Date：2022-07-04 08:52:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Mick Herron
  • ISBN：1529378710
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Summary

A governmental think-tank， whose remit is to curb the independence of the intelligence service， has lost one of its key members， and Claude Whelan—one-time head of MI5's Regent’s Park—is tasked with tracking her down。 But the trail leads straight back to the Park itself， with Diana Taverner as chief suspect。 Has Diana overplayed her hand at last？ What’s her counterpart， Moscow’s First Desk， doing in London？ And does Jackson Lamb know more than he’s telling？

Over at Slough House， with Shirley Dander in rehab， Roddy Ho in dress rehearsal， and new recruit Ashley Khan turning up the heat， the slow horses are doing what they do best， and adding a little bit of chaos to an already unstable situation 。 。 。

There are bad actors everywhere， and they usually get their comeuppance before the credits roll。 But politics is a dirty business， and in a world where lying， cheating and backstabbing are the norm， sometimes the good guys can find themselves outgunned。

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Reviews

Sue ，

If you haven’t read any Mick Herron books， you don’t know what you’re missing。 He has a genius with character and plot， and humour where you least expect it。 The worst thing is having to wait for the next one。

Pat ，

No rating， DNF。Really disappointed in this book #8 in the Slow House series。 I’ve loved the other books but just couldn’t get into this one after reading 2/3 of it。 Maybe if I knew more about British politics I would have enjoyed it more。 The plot wasn’t as good， the character interaction not as good and the writing was not as good either！

Vontel ，

As often， the book proceeds rather slowly， and then the threads start to come together about the middle， with lots of action toward the end， as the "Slow Horses" of Slough House take independent and often heroic action to save the day and the 'bacon' of spy services in Britain。 Although not essential to have read previous books in the series， knowing that the book action reads much like the everyday lives & work of these 'hived off to obsolescence for errors or bad behaviour' employees during th As often， the book proceeds rather slowly， and then the threads start to come together about the middle， with lots of action toward the end， as the "Slow Horses" of Slough House take independent and often heroic action to save the day and the 'bacon' of spy services in Britain。 Although not essential to have read previous books in the series， knowing that the book action reads much like the everyday lives & work of these 'hived off to obsolescence for errors or bad behaviour' employees during their tenure in the bottom rung of possibilities in the spy service。 。。。more

AngryGreyCat ，

Love this series and this book #8 is no exception。 Lamb is front and center in this book along with Diana Tavener。 There is an effort to bring the Diana Tavener and Co under control and Lamb gets involved along with his team of Slow Horses and some other sidelined resources。 This was one I did not want to put down。 I would say this is a series I would definitely recommend reading in order。 There is so much history of character relationships and events that someone picking up #8 to read might mis Love this series and this book #8 is no exception。 Lamb is front and center in this book along with Diana Tavener。 There is an effort to bring the Diana Tavener and Co under control and Lamb gets involved along with his team of Slow Horses and some other sidelined resources。 This was one I did not want to put down。 I would say this is a series I would definitely recommend reading in order。 There is so much history of character relationships and events that someone picking up #8 to read might miss out on。 。。。more

Joe Kosarek ，

Seemed rushed， but still good

Cook Memorial Public Library ，

Recommended by Andrea。 Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 Recommended by Andrea。 Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 。。。more

Michael ，

Not sure how these remain consistently excellent， but they do！

Jdblair ，

I have read all of the books in the Slough House series so I guess that means that Mick Herron has me hooked！ If someone wanted to read this book， they might have a little trouble following all of the characters since their personalities and history run through the previous books in the series。 I've enjoyed them。 I have read all of the books in the Slough House series so I guess that means that Mick Herron has me hooked！ If someone wanted to read this book， they might have a little trouble following all of the characters since their personalities and history run through the previous books in the series。 I've enjoyed them。 。。。more

Laura Spira ，

Mick Herron does not disappoint。 I marvel at how he manages to sustain the quality of his Slough House series。 His central cast of characters remains the same here: the only slight criticism I have is that the peripheral characters were not always easy to distinguish。 But the slow horses with all their endearing eccentricities remain credible and sympathetic （well， perhaps not Roddy Ho）。Herron's female characters are particularly good: wily Diana; Shirley， high on violence as well as coke; Cathe Mick Herron does not disappoint。 I marvel at how he manages to sustain the quality of his Slough House series。 His central cast of characters remains the same here: the only slight criticism I have is that the peripheral characters were not always easy to distinguish。 But the slow horses with all their endearing eccentricities remain credible and sympathetic （well， perhaps not Roddy Ho）。Herron's female characters are particularly good: wily Diana; Shirley， high on violence as well as coke; Catherine， struggling sadly; Louisa， brave and capable。 Ashley， the bolshie new girl， is very promising。 London is almost a character in its own right， I really enjoy Herron's evocation of its dark misery。 The dialogue is snappy and often very funny。You could read and enjoy this book without knowing anything about Dominic Cummings， or John Finnemore's brilliant radio series "Cabin Pressure"。 But for readers in the know there are some truly delicious moments。Best of all， there's a strong hint at the end that there will be another book with the return of a welcome character。 。。。more

Bolexio ，

Another brilliant addition to the series

Krista ，

This narrative of this book jumped abruptly from place to place， from character to character， from one sentence， to the next。 It was confusing， and intriguing， all at the same time。 This was not an easy read。 But it was an exciting read。 And I still adore Roddy。 And Catherine。 And I have a touch of optimism for Shirley。 Am hoping for Book #9

Stephen Hayden ，

Another fantastic Slough House book， almost impossible to put down。 The charaters as rich as always， and the dialog， fantastic。

M S ，

Loved the book！ Didn’t enjoy the TV programme at all but opened the door to the books which I’ve very much enjoyed 👍

Lee ，

First half was slow， then I was confused with all the layers of intrigue， but it was still good。

Ken ，

The books are formulaic， but it is a formula that Herron still mines for pleasurable nuggets of humour and insight。 This is one of the better entries in the series。

Lorraine ，

Books like this are why I love reading - riotous fun！

Gary ，

British Intelligence as Keystone Kops。 Espionage served cold on a bed of wisecracks。 A short， fun read with not a shred of verisimilitude。

Ann ，

How I love this series！ The dark machinations of the British Secret Service， the irrepressible repartee between ice-cold Diana Taverner and unpredictable Jackson Lamb。。。 not a lot of books manage to be "noir" in terms of the somber political background and hilarious at the same time！ In this particular book， which I think is one of the strongest in the series， all hell breaks loose when Sophie de Greer， favorite forecaster of Anthony Sparrow， disappears。 Anthony Sparrow is the force behind the P How I love this series！ The dark machinations of the British Secret Service， the irrepressible repartee between ice-cold Diana Taverner and unpredictable Jackson Lamb。。。 not a lot of books manage to be "noir" in terms of the somber political background and hilarious at the same time！ In this particular book， which I think is one of the strongest in the series， all hell breaks loose when Sophie de Greer， favorite forecaster of Anthony Sparrow， disappears。 Anthony Sparrow is the force behind the Prime Minister and a self-proclaimed "disrupter"。 What he wants to disrupt most of all is the Secret Service， and he sees in this disappearance an opportunity to remove steely Diana Taverner from her role as its Director。 Diana， of course， has her countermoves， and Jackson Lamb and his slow horses can't sit on the sidelines。 Chaos！ Confusion！ Fight scenes which include an attack on a bus by an iron （the type you use for clothes）， and a sanatorium inmate decking an intruder with a copy of "100 Things to Do in Dorset"。 I love the characters in the book！ Jackson Lamb is an enigma， of course， with an uncanny ability to know who is pulling what strings on which puppet。 Catherine is the den mother。 Louisa just wants action。 Shirley is a seething cauldron of anger， ready to explode。 Roddy Ho continues in his deluded view of himself as a 21st century James Bond， while exercising his hacking skills。 There are also middle-aged white men， side-lined or depressed， clawing their way into power or just befuddled by what life has turned into。 But my favorite has to be Diana Taverner， the nasty Red Queen of Regent's Park。 I was pleased to see that when Anthony Sparrow unleashes the full fury of his plan， this lady has got the street moves and the wits to escape impending arrest。 You go， girlfriend！ 。。。more

Marianne ，

“… the role of the slow horses is to embrace unfulfillment and boredom， to look back in disappointment， stare round in dismay， and understand that life is not an audition， except for the parts that are， and those are the parts they’ve failed。”Bad Actors is the eighth book in the Slough House/Jackson Lamb series by award-winning British author， Mick Herron。 This audio version is narrated by Sean Barrett。 Dr Sophie de Greer， hand-picked by the PM’s trusted right-hand man， Anthony Sparrow for an im “… the role of the slow horses is to embrace unfulfillment and boredom， to look back in disappointment， stare round in dismay， and understand that life is not an audition， except for the parts that are， and those are the parts they’ve failed。”Bad Actors is the eighth book in the Slough House/Jackson Lamb series by award-winning British author， Mick Herron。 This audio version is narrated by Sean Barrett。 Dr Sophie de Greer， hand-picked by the PM’s trusted right-hand man， Anthony Sparrow for an important role， is missing， and the word is that First Desk Di Taverner’s people at Regent’s Park are involved。Chair of Limitations， Oliver Nash has been tasked by Sparrow with finding out， but he’s sure that Sparrow has an agenda。 Semi-retired former First Desk， Claude Whelan is sent to look for her and， when he chats with Catherine Standish about it， he gets an idea of where she might be。Days earlier though， milkman John Bachelor had spotted the young lady， and is sure she’s not quite whom she purports to be， something he shared with his friend， Lech Wicinski。 So the slow horses， minus River Cartwright but ever eager for action， decide a bit of covert surveillance is in order。Tightly plotted as always， and close-to-the-bone topical， this installment has the slow horses， and a few others， seeing plenty of action。 Apart from guns， knives and fists， weapons brandished include a baseball bat， a hot chilli， a guide book， a table lamp， a spork， a head-lamp， an iron and a broom。The Russian GRU’s First Desk makes an appearance， along with a gang of soccer hooligans， and a certain young man on the hub looks a likely candidate for Slough House after an encounter with Lady Di。We can rely on Herron to unfailingly raise Lamb to new levels of obnoxiousness （yes， it is actually possible） while， outside of his IT prowess， Roddy Ho is no less deluded about his ability and appeal。 The manifestation of the newly arrived Ashley Khan’s anger with Lamb almost backfires on her， but she does gets Ho a date， and Ho’s unlikely teamwork with Shirley Dander surprises them both。Later， tucked away in an exclusive rehab facility to deal with her anger management issues， Shirley manages to engage in even more violence than usual， and finds an unexpected rapport with Claude Whelan。The dialogue is always a source of humour and one might wonder if there is a forum where readers can offer Herron increasingly objectionable insults for Lamb’s use。His description of characters is original and inventive: Sparrow is “nasty， British and short” and “the weasel under the Cabinet table， teeth bared and dripping” while， of Diana Taverner， “Even Nash， technically one of Regent’s Park’s string-pullers， knew to tread carefully around Diana。 String-pullers carry weight， but Diana carried scissors。”Fans f the series always look forward to an outing with the slow horses， while a reread fills the reader with anticipatory glee at the prospect of so many delicious and darkly funny moments set within the clever plot。 Due to the guaranteed but unpredictable laugh-out-loud nature of the story， a warning must be issued: best not read on public transport， if you have continence issues， or whilst eating/drinking。 Mick Herron never disappoints。 。。。more

Netti ，

2020 - London， UKfirst published 2022 The woods were lovely， dark， and deep， and full of noisy bastards。 From his foxhole Sparrow could hear the grunting and thrashing of combat， of bodies crashing through foliage。 Some things breaking were branches， and others might be bones。 Sound travelled more cleanly in the countryside。 This might not be true but it was interesting， which mattered more。 Sound travelled more cleanly， so what he was hearing could include the fracturing of legs and fingers as 2020 - London， UKfirst published 2022 The woods were lovely， dark， and deep， and full of noisy bastards。 From his foxhole Sparrow could hear the grunting and thrashing of combat， of bodies crashing through foliage。 Some things breaking were branches， and others might be bones。 Sound travelled more cleanly in the countryside。 This might not be true but it was interesting， which mattered more。 Sound travelled more cleanly， so what he was hearing could include the fracturing of legs and fingers as well as splintering twigs。 His foxhole wasn’t constructed; was simply a ditch in which he’d secreted himself while the opening sallies played out。 The initial clash of armies was where you lost your cannon fodder。 Once the dumb meat had been carted from the field， war passed into the hands of the thinkers。 Something clattered overhead， in a tree’s topmost branches。 Only a bird。 Meanwhile， battle continued: two forces of roughly equal size， blatant weaponry outlawed but anything that came to hand regarded as fair use。 Sticks and stones for instance — and any experienced foot soldier had a favourite stick， a favourite stone， within easy reach when the starting whistle blew。 Time， date， place， courtesy of social media。 The old days， when you just rocked up to a car park near the stadium a few hours before kick-off， all of that was buried in history books and Channel 5 documentaries。 Endlich ein neues Buch aus dem "Slough House"！ Zur Einstimmung habe ich mit einem Apple TV Probeabo an einem untätigen Hitzetag die komplette TV-Serie gestreamt。 Die ist übrigens sehr gut！ Trifft die Stimmung perfekt， und die Dialoge enthalten viele wörtliche Zitate。 Auch Mick Herron scheint zufrieden， würdigt die Darstellung in seiner Danksagung am Ende von "Bad Actors"。 Catherine Standish （eine meiner Lieblingsfiguren） ist genau so， wie ich sie mir vorgestellt hatte。 Diese erste Staffel ist die Verfilmung des ersten Buches （Slow Horses）， und eine zweite Staffel soll Ende des Jahres kommen 🤤"Bad Actors" fängt schön rätselhaft an: kürzlich ist "in Wimbledon" etwas offenbar Ungutes geschehen， an dem Louisa， Lech und Shirley beteiligt waren， aber es redet keiner darüber。。。 nach und nach wird der Leser in Rückblenden eingeweiht。 Mir gefällt， wie seltsame Bemerkungen der ersten Kapitel plötzlich Sinn ergeben， ein Puzzlesteinchen zum anderen kommt。Gleichzeitig gehen in Number Ten Downing Street Dinge vor， die Übles befürchten lassen， denn Anthony Sparrow， den Assistenten und Berater des PM， haben wir gleich im ersten Kapitel kennengelernt， und der ist definitiv kein harmloses Vögelchen。。。Sociopathy had long been recognised as a handy attribute in politics。Benito said， “Politics， politicians。 And people think we football supporters are the extremists。”“Football’s your excuse for doing the things you do， Benito。 And politics is mine。”Ich liebe die weitschweifigen （und geradezu poetischen） Beschreibungen von London und seinen Menschen。。。 So the river slowed to a crawl as the day departed， just as it always had， and the skies purpled in the distance， soothing the edges of office buildings。 Sounds seemed softer: the sighs and exhalations of weary cars， and the buzzing of swarms of bicycles steered by skintight black-and-yellow riders， mere whispers compared to the frantic careering of rush hour， though the helicopters shredding the air overhead， ferrying important people to important places， were as angry as ever。 Lower down， in the green spaces， trees soughed and whistled， and runners tapped to the pavements’beat in brutally expensive footwear; prams trundled on boardwalks by the lakes， wheelchairs rattled over paving stones， and music was everywhere， like mist; leaking from doorways， broadcast from speakers strapped to couriers’handlebars， and performed with huge sincerity and varying degrees of talent by buskers: someone， somewhere， was playing a cello while coins splashed into its case。 Underneath this music， the liquid lub-dub that was London’s heartbeat could be heard once more: the pouring of pints and glasses of wine; the sloshing of water in the bottles everyone carried; the streaming of piss into toilets and urinals， followed by the flushings of cisterns that sent it cascading into sewers， their pipes laid along the beds of forgotten rivers， which once lapped to the same tidal pull that amplifies the Thames。 And most constant of all， visible everywhere if you knew where to look — in the building sites， in the long black cars， in the designer suits and jewelled throats， in wristwatches and cufflinks， tattoo parlours and nailbars， in a million glittering windows and a billion slot machines — the tumbling wet slap of money being laundered， over and over again。。。。。。。die apropos_Kapitelübergänge。。。。。。And as the morning traffic thickened and her day began to crawl， Louisa wondered if that wouldn’t be the most efficient way to deal with Ashley’s anger and all the other issues bottled up in Slough House; simply to detonate them all together， in one final crowd-pleasing moment。It had arrived through the post， like a bomb in the olden days， and she’d been tempted to hold it to her ear and listen for its tick。。。。。。den herrlich trockenen Humor。。。La Spezia’s kitchen seemed more likely to be graced by a Pirelli calendar than a Michelin star。。。。und den Running Gag， dass immer wieder in diversen Medien berichtet wird， welch glänzende Zukunft Boris Johnson für post-Brexit Britain erwartet。。。。。。the PM had just shared his vision of post-Brexit Britain as a scientific powerhouse， its trillion-pound tech industry the envy of the world。。。。。。the PM had just shared his vision of post-Brexit Britain as a cultural powerhouse， its film industry the envy of the world。。。。。。the PM had just shared his vision of post-Brexit Britain as a culinary powerhouse， its takeaway delivery services the envy of the world — as the kettle reached the boil。。。。。。the PM had just shared his vision of post-Brexit Britain as an imperial powerhouse， its weights and measures system the envy of the world。Nebenbei: dies war mein erstes Buch mit Social Distancing， Lockdown und Masken - und ich habe mir unwillkürlich ausgemalt， wie das jemand in 100 Jahren liest， mit vergleichbarer historischer Distanz wie ich post-WWI-Bücher lese， in denen die Spanische Grippe erwähnt wird。 Ich denke immer: wie gut， dass ich heute lebe！ （die Toiletten und Bäder。。。 die medizinische Versorgung。。。 die ungewollten Schwangerschaften。。。 die Misogynie。。。）。 Wer weiß？？？ Der Leser der Zukunft denkt womöglich: sie wussten nicht， wie gut sie es hatten？ 。。。more

Ben ，

Some clever writing， but my least favorite of the series so far。 The plot and its climax weren't enough for me。 Some clever writing， but my least favorite of the series so far。 The plot and its climax weren't enough for me。 。。。more

Bertha ，

Espionage anyone ？ Mick Herron has created another Slough House series winner。 Is it even possible that Shirley Dander plays a key role ？？ At home base Roddy Ho’s magic fingers tickle the keyboard in a nonexistent computer competition。 Lamb and his crew of British Secret Service castoffs flop around London and it’s environs as they bumble to the rescue of First Desk amid Russian plots and Downing Street politics。 The use of words， and the sentences and paragraphs built with them are all a reader Espionage anyone ？ Mick Herron has created another Slough House series winner。 Is it even possible that Shirley Dander plays a key role ？？ At home base Roddy Ho’s magic fingers tickle the keyboard in a nonexistent computer competition。 Lamb and his crew of British Secret Service castoffs flop around London and it’s environs as they bumble to the rescue of First Desk amid Russian plots and Downing Street politics。 The use of words， and the sentences and paragraphs built with them are all a reader’s delight。 As for the title’s bad actors ？ Take your pick。 But whatever you do， don’t miss either this exceptional series or this enticing entry in it。 。。。more

Charles ，

The Slow Horses get embroiled in the infighting between agencies of Her Majesty’s government。Dorset All-Night Petrol Station My audio edition was about 11 hours long。 A dead tree copy would be about 360 pages。 The original UK copyright was 2022。 Mick Herron is a British mystery and thriller novelist。 He has more than 20-books published， in two series and standalone。 This is the eighth book in his Slough House series。 This was also the eighth book I’ve read by the author。 The previous being the s The Slow Horses get embroiled in the infighting between agencies of Her Majesty’s government。Dorset All-Night Petrol Station My audio edition was about 11 hours long。 A dead tree copy would be about 360 pages。 The original UK copyright was 2022。 Mick Herron is a British mystery and thriller novelist。 He has more than 20-books published， in two series and standalone。 This is the eighth book in his Slough House series。 This was also the eighth book I’ve read by the author。 The previous being the seventh book in the series' Slough House （my review）。Gerard Doyle being the long-time series narrator。 He does a very able job， to the point where I was annoyed the characters in the Slow Horses（2022- ） television mini-series don’t speak with his voice。Its strongly recommended that the previous books in the series be read before this one。 Otherwise， the important， long-term Slow Horses， series plotlines will not be easily understood。 In particular， this book makes references to the missing Cartwright character and a cliffhanger involving that character in the previous Slough House （Slough House #7） which were not resolved here。In this story the Slow Horses get involved in the infighting between agencies in HMG。 （What else is new？） In particular， between 10 Downing Street and Regents Park。 Both the Camorra and the GRU are likewise involved。 This book continues with a series theme of HMG bureaucrats vs。 HMG bureaucrats leveraging the resources of M5 wreck more havoc than foreign espionage and its efforts to destabilize the government。 The writing was on-par with the previous books in the series。 Herron has a vaguely florid writing style that demands attention。 I never fail to be amused by Herron’s wit。 This story contained more of Herron’s wry humor than all the previous books。 However， it’s very English。 A lot of it was political。 You would need some knowledge of life and politics in the UK to catch it all。 This book also differs from other books in the series style-wise。 Typically at the end of a book， Herron treats the reader to a ghostly third person omniscient soliloquy by Slough House。 （I’ve always looked forward to it。） In this book， he opens the story with a long one and closes it with a shorter one。 Meeting the Spirit of Slough House so early in the book initially left me a bit confused。In this story continues dysfunctional power struggles within HMG。 With “Lady Di” Taverner ascendant at MI5， the struggles have widened to be between MI5 and other agencies。 In this case 10 Downing Street and the PM。 Herron has ground the ax of， the enemies of the state have become a pretext for HMG agencies to cripple each other through infighting which just abets the efforts of the real foreign threat for several books。 Then there is the series plot-line of arch-spymaster Lamb and his posse of sociopathic rejects out-spying both Regents Park and both external and internal threats。 Of interest， was that the COVID-pandemic was mentioned in this book。 It was absent from the previous book （Slough House despite it having been written a full year into the pandemic。 Looking back， this contemporary reference makes the timeline for the series a little hinky？ The series is 12-years old。 This book is set in 2020 give or take a year。 How long have the Slow Horses been exiled to Slough House？ Still this story had a few problems not found in the better laid-out earlier books of the series。 There were a lot of balls in the air at the end。 I was frankly amazed that Lamb was able to out-plot and coordinate: MI5， the GRU， “Number 10”， and the Camorra？ Lady Di also managed to， much too quickly， sweep under the rug a scandal， and several dangling: felonies likely reported in the Media， immigration violations， and political crisis in two short paragraphs to bring the story to an end。 Characters were the Usual Suspects。 The protagonist was the Falstaffian/Machiavellian Lamb。 Missing from this book was his co-protagonist River Cartwright。 He disappeared in the last book’s execrable cliffhanger。 Herron pushed-in the knife by keeping him out for another book。 Shirley Dander plays a large part in the book。 In this case， she’s been exiled to “The San” （see below） for substance abuse and her anger and violent tendencies。 I liked her much better after this book。 My fave characer the incel Roddy “The Rodster” Ho got some play， but barely enough。 A new character， Ashley Khan， the Pakistani dentist’s daughter with attitude was introduced。 She was a rookie MI4 “Ops Specialist” created in a previous book， “Lady Di” set her to surveil Lamb。 He broke her arm。 Lady Di told him， “You broke it—you bought it。” And so a new Slow Horse was born。 Herron always includes a few scenes involving domestic travel， typically to a UK resort area。 I assume these opportunities offer him an expenses-paid vacation？ Action scenes in this book take place in London and MI5’s exclusive， long-stay mental health facility （psychiatric unit） called “The San” in Dorset。 I suspect The San is located east of Winborne Minster or Ferndown coming from London on the M3？This was yet another story of Herron’s Slow Horses series documenting Jackson Lamb’s conflict with the MI5 bureaucracy and threats against the state。 As per usual it leaves us with the eventual success of his Ragtag Bunch of Misfits。 It has been challenge for me to sustain interest in the series。 After all， its up to eight books and its been going for over twelve years？ How many years can Lamb’s cast of misfits outperform the professional spies of MI5’s Regents Park？ This book contains a lot that too-predictable， series’ plot of Joe’s vs。 MI5 Bureaucrats。 I could also see that Herron was trying to Mix It Up。 The story was almost comic it places。 The usual co-protagonist River Cartwright was missing from the lineup。 These were both departures from Slow Horses series norm。 However， I’m just not sure they’re enough of a departure from a series that is longer at the tooth than that old dog Jackson Lamb？ 。。。more

T。 Michael ，

This is a wonderful series。 It is a wonder that any intelligence is gathered。 The characters are well- drawn and the dialogue is terrific。 I am thrilled to have discovered Mick Herron！

Jodi ，

Since Bad Actors was this reviewer’s introduction to Slough House， with all the characters it was hard to keep track and make the connections。 Mostly Herron’s style， a combination of lyrical descriptions and pulp fictionesque dialogue emerged in the commentary on contemporary issues， and flippant responses。The plot was interesting， or should it be said， a typical British espionage storyline but this reviewer recommends knowing the characters （either read the previous books or check out the inter Since Bad Actors was this reviewer’s introduction to Slough House， with all the characters it was hard to keep track and make the connections。 Mostly Herron’s style， a combination of lyrical descriptions and pulp fictionesque dialogue emerged in the commentary on contemporary issues， and flippant responses。The plot was interesting， or should it be said， a typical British espionage storyline but this reviewer recommends knowing the characters （either read the previous books or check out the internet to learn about said characters） before reading this title to make things less complicated and allow for full enjoyment of the interactions of the ‘actors’。 Were there any likeable characters？ Although giving the impression Diana Taverner was not a well-liked boss， Herron also seemed to be making her much more sympathetic in this outing: Admiring Jackson Lamb for his intelligence and in a weird way his loyalty to his ‘cast’， Herron’s description was of a man so gross， he was hard to read each word about---he was easier to envision as Dale the Whale on the Monk tv series。 I would recommend this to readers who like clever， intricate spy novels。 Line Which Can Be Used （and was）: “You’re still walking like somebody stole your stretcher。”Line Most Like Trump Administrators: “They’ve got so used to pretending they’re not as smart as their boss， some of them have actually got that way。”Line Most Likely to Throw Some Readers Off: “I asked Diana Taverner for a favour。” “She owed me one。 I gave her my lasagna recipe” 。。。more

Karen Salt ，

I’m a tough spy critic。 Part of this is that I’ve read too much and have too much of an active imagination to suspend it for any old trite storyline。 I don’t need lots of doodads or tech wizardry to impress me。 I do need a story and motivations that make sense。 I have read a few other spy/thrillers this year and have been underwhelmed — to put it mildly。 This is in part a casualty of real world shenanigans and also my own interest in being transported to an impressive， but plausible world。 Imagi I’m a tough spy critic。 Part of this is that I’ve read too much and have too much of an active imagination to suspend it for any old trite storyline。 I don’t need lots of doodads or tech wizardry to impress me。 I do need a story and motivations that make sense。 I have read a few other spy/thrillers this year and have been underwhelmed — to put it mildly。 This is in part a casualty of real world shenanigans and also my own interest in being transported to an impressive， but plausible world。 Imagine my surprise when I picked up this book and discovered zany， likeable， insufferable， difficult， yet realistic characters trying to matter， exist and function while questioning their lives， their purpose and their futures。 I haven’t read any of the others in the series， but was captivated by this plot。 It is， to put it mildly， riveting。 There are side deals， no deals， presumptions， discoveries and just enough ridiculousness to remind you that humans are a fickle species。 Highly recommended。 。。。more

John Hardwick ，

I enjoyed this greatly， good jokes and a semi-plausible plot。

G。J。 Minett ，

I have this recurring nightmare。Mick Herron comes to me with all of the characters and plots of the Slough House series fully formed。 He's not confident he has the skills to put it all together but feels there's merit in the ideas， so he asks me to write the books for him。I can see at a glance that I have everything I need。 Jackson Lamb in all his foul glory， squatting at the top of Slough House like some malevolent entity， moving his minions around the board with perhaps a little more affection I have this recurring nightmare。Mick Herron comes to me with all of the characters and plots of the Slough House series fully formed。 He's not confident he has the skills to put it all together but feels there's merit in the ideas， so he asks me to write the books for him。I can see at a glance that I have everything I need。 Jackson Lamb in all his foul glory， squatting at the top of Slough House like some malevolent entity， moving his minions around the board with perhaps a little more affection and consideration for their wellbeing than he'd ever want us to suspect。Diana Taverner， scheming and schemed against， still negotiating the snake-filled， whispering corridors of power and managing to cling on to First Desk against all the odds。 Lamb's Joes， a motley collection of losers who refuse to accept their careers are over and rise spiritedly to the occasion whenever the opportunity arises。。Mick tells me I can represent prominent individuals with the most threadbare of disguises， lampoon them mercilessly and get away with it。I have everything in place to write a series of game changing best sellers that will redefine the spy novel。 Well， almost everything。Because no one - NO ONE - can match him for acerbic wit， crackling dialogue and a sense of the absurd that marks him out as a genius and leaves all others gasping。If you haven't yet discovered the Slough House series， where have you been？ Start with 'Slow Horses' and strap yourself in for the ride because you're in for the time of your life。 。。。more

Tim Armstrong ，

The planets aligned with this fabulous book - weirdly。 I got sick a day after I bought this latest gem。 So the only blessing was I had this cracker of a book to read， and I wasn’t disappointed。 Jackson Lamb is one of the great creations of recent years。 His one line put downs， his acerbic observations and general cynicism is both brilliantly concise and hilarious！ Wonderful， engaging escapism from the new master of the spy thrillers。And to add to all the joy is the new TV series of the Slow Hors The planets aligned with this fabulous book - weirdly。 I got sick a day after I bought this latest gem。 So the only blessing was I had this cracker of a book to read， and I wasn’t disappointed。 Jackson Lamb is one of the great creations of recent years。 His one line put downs， his acerbic observations and general cynicism is both brilliantly concise and hilarious！ Wonderful， engaging escapism from the new master of the spy thrillers。And to add to all the joy is the new TV series of the Slow Horses series which is nearly as good as the books。The downside？ We now have to wait another year for the next gem！！ 。。。more

Charles M ，

This is one of the best in the series which had been dwindling in interest and originality

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Bad Actors

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Bad Actors&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Bad Actors&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0