Review: Clown Town

Clown Town by Mick Herron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Separately. first River Cartwright is recovering from Novichok poisoning, he hopes to be allowed back into Regents Park, little does he know First Desk Diana Taverner intends to have him kicked out of the service completely. Second, someone is trying to blackmail Diana with proof that the then government and First Desk aided and abetted a known sociopath during the Troubles in Ireland, and then gave him a large pension when peace was brokered. Third, someone has lodged a complaint with HR about Diana's behaviour. Fourth, Roddy Ho has got a tattoo. Fifth, the curator has discovered that a book from River's grandfather's library, which he donated to the Spooks College at Oxford, is missing ... not only that it isn't a real book. Diana Taverner tries to play chess on a global scale and things don't go well.

We are out of the COVID era and there is a new government. Peter Judd is as oily and obnoxious as (I actually mistyped ass but it did seem appropriate) ever, despite having no ostensible power, and his (and his paymasters') grip on Diana is tightening.

This didn't seem to have the humour and bite of the previous novels. It is difficult to distinguish the Slow Horses when they get murdered with such monotonous regularity, I didn't even remember that there was a new girl in the last book. The farting has abated, but sadly it has been replaced by a bad case of (deliberate) malapropisms which feels weak.

Maybe its me. I was super excited to see an ARC on NetGalley and 'wished for it', was stoked to get my wish granted and then ... nada, couldn't bring myself to start the book. Don't get me wrong, I started reading it last night and finished this afternoon, its a good read, but it doesn't have the vicious caricatures of the earlier books where Mick Herron skewered political figures, all we get are some side swipes at Liz Truss (who?) and Nigel Far(ight)age.

After the gut-wrencher that was The Secret Hours, probably my favourite book so far, Jackson Lamb felt less like a prize-winning racehorse hiding his talents and more like a blunt instrument.

Still love the series.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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