Dead Lions

ByMick Herron

Release Date: 2013-05-07
Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers

Score: 4.5

4.5

From 878 Ratings

Description

A New York Times bestselling series

THE BOOK BEHIND THE SECOND SEASON OF SLOW HORSES, THE APPLE ORIGINAL SERIES STARRING GARY OLDMAN IN HIS EMMY-NOMINATED ROLE AS JACKSON LAMB.

The CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning British espionage novel about disgraced MI5 agents who inadvertently uncover a deadly Cold War-era legacy of sleeper cells and mythic super spies.

The disgruntled agents of Slough House, the MI5 branch where washed-up spies are sent to finish their failed careers on desk duty, are called into action to protect a visiting Russian oligarch whom MI5 hopes to recruit to British intelligence. While two agents are dispatched on that babysitting job, though, an old Cold War-era spy named Dickie Bow is found dead, ostensibly of a heart attack, on a bus outside of Oxford, far from his usual haunts.

But the head of Slough House, the irascible Jackson Lamb, is convinced Dickie Bow was murdered. As the agents dig into their fallen comrade's circumstances, they uncover a shadowy tangle of ancient Cold War secrets that seem to lead back to a man named Alexander Popov, who is either a Soviet bogeyman or the most dangerous man in the world. How many more people will have to die to keep those secrets buried?

Reviews

Very enjoyable read
5
By TigersJC86
Terrific mystery spy novel about a bunch of screw up agents and their “burned out” boss. The tv show again follows the brilliant novels (a few creative choices here and there but the overall story and characters are the same). I really wish more adaptations were handled as skillfully
An okay read…
3
By 6472749
This was an okay read but the plot doesn’t make much sense.
Fun Read
4
By MinRay
A worthy follow-up to Slow Horses. Great characters, great dialogue, and a plot that keeps you guessing.
Cicadas
3
By Scott's take on things
A good spy story. A few new characters, a lot like the ones from the first book in the series: misfits now in Slough House. Their depth as characters focused exclusively on their lives as spies. Several story threads pulled together at the end, a bit too quickly but fortunately nothing springing up at the end that comes out of the blue. I could not figure out whether the Russian spies in the English village actually knew the others were also spies, nor why they all ignored their orders to plant a bomb in the village.
Slow horses
4
By Pinpanicus
Loved the first book and got a bit bored with the second. Glad to see someone die, especially Spider, but don’t over complicate it. Simple and tied in several knots. More smiley than g smiley please. And thanks for writing.
Love the Slow Horses
5
By Auggie's Man
The characters, the dialog, the plot all are outstanding. Will be reading the entire series.
Little Lamb
3
By Marc Twang
Herron’s gift for character creates people we care about, even giving us reason to love Lady Di in this one. But the convoluted plot and improbable story beats make this outing one of diminishing returns.
Truly excellent storyteller
5
By Disappointing1c
Having read Slow Horses and now Dead Lions, Mick Herron is my new favorite author. His characters come alive and I’m engrossed in the story.