Okay, so I actually read this book only after I’d watched the television adaptation made by Apple TV+ (which I absolutely adore beyond measure and am so happy to have watched in the first place!)

A lot of people argue that you should always read the source material first before watching any sort of adaptation of it, but I’ve always been a bit more lax with this ‘rule’, because I’m just happy that I stumble upon a new world each time. I’ve also always sort of just enjoyed things as I come to them. I find that it all gets a bit too stressy, in an already stressful world, if I’m constantly trying to understand and listen to the masses about the best order to read or watch something first. Let me just enjoy things!

Safe to say though, that the show didn’t stray too far from the original source material from what I read, and any changes that were made from only enhanced the story and made for a refreshing read for audiences who had watched the show first. And vice versa if you had read the book first.

Quite like the television series, the point-of-view in the book jumps between an ensemble cast of misfits who are all just as interesting as the other (and like the television series, River is still my favourite!). I like all the characters in this series so far, and they’re all developed so well and in such an interesting way that I was very eager to read about each and every one. Sometimes, in books, changing the character that the audience follows becomes a bit of a drag, but I didn’t find that when reading Slow Horses at all. I also massively appreciated that Mick Herron was particularly good at changing up the voice each time: with every point-of-view change, it really did feel like I was following someone new. Too often, I find other books lacking where tone and voice is concerned when they try and do this. It’s like the author themselves forgot who they were following; or maybe they don’t have the ability and skill yet to do such a trope justice, and so it all falls flat on delivery. That wasn’t a problem here at all though, and I praise Mick Herron for his mastery of writing; Slow Horses is incredibly character driven and I don’t think it would have worked so well at all if there wasn’t such a distinct change of voice for each character.

I took great joy in the writing as a whole as well: it was sharp and wry with a dry, dark humour that kept me wanting more each time. The deprecative tone when it came to the failed secret agents of Mi5 only kindled in me an affection and endearment for these very unique individuals. Especially as spy fiction can so often paint their characters in a larger-than-life picture to such an extent that it borders on absurdity. Herron’s characters are all so fallible and alive in a way that it feels as though they were coming straight off the page. There was something so incredibly human about them all.

I definitely think this humanness was helped in no small part to the terribly dry British humour featured in Herron’s work. Not only was the story itself gripping and full of twists and turns but, like Jack Lowden has mentioned when talking about his onscreen character, I was quick to love River’s entire personality and cynical outlook on life. I found it hilarious and it was such a joy to read on the page each time. Jackson Lamb also had a very strong control over British humour and his fine delivery of it.

One thing that didn’t – and couldn’t – transfer on screen, were some of the incredible little inserts of descriptions that I read in the book. Little digs that were sprinkled in the details or in conversation that gave me pause and made me huff a snort each time.

The dialogue was a joy because of this. Dialogue is so hard to write believably, but it was done so well here, and with such an atmosphere of entertainment, that I really couldn’t put the book down. It felt like a breeze to get through and I was sad when it ended. Luckily for me, Slow Horses belongs to a series of books and there are many more for me to catch up on while I wait for the next book, and the next season from Apple TV+, to drop.

I’m very excited to continue my journey into the world of Slough House and I would, a-hundred-percent, recommend everyone else give this book a try as well.

Happy reading folks!