Nobody Walks

Starred review from December 8, 2014
In this superb thriller, CWA Gold Dagger Award–winner Herron returns to the secretive world of British intelligence featured in his two Slough House novels, Slow Horses and Dead Lions. Thomas Bettany, a former undercover specialist who came apart after his wife’s death, is doing menial labor in a European slaughterhouse, estranged from everyone—including his grown son, Liam. When Liam falls to his death from the balcony of his London flat, apparently under the influence of a new drug called muskrat, Bettany returns to England to find out what really happened. His quest leads him to the shadowy Vincent Driscoll, head of the software-design firm Liam worked for, and to the bizarre Dame Ingrid Tearney, head of the Intelligence Service, who is either worried that Bettany will discover something better kept under wraps or else wants Bettany to do some dirty work on her behalf. Well-drawn characters complement plotting that’s convoluted but never opaque or formulaic. Herron may be the most literate, and slyest, thriller writer in English today. Agent: Juliet Burton, Juliet Burton Literary Agency (U.K.)

December 1, 2014
The suspicious death of his son brings an undercover spook for MI-5's Special Ops out of retirement with a vengeance.When cancer claimed his wife, Hannah, seven years ago, Tom Bettany couldn't be bothered bonding with his son, Liam. Instead, he retreated to France and took a job loading the trucks that served a meat-packing plant. Now the news that Liam's fallen from the balcony of his flat-really a terrace barely a foot wide-while smoking a joint finally brings him back home. Even before he realizes that there's no sign of a lighter or match Liam could have used to light up, Tom's inquiries about who sold his son the Muskrat he was smoking have ruffled some serious feathers. A shadowy criminal kingpin named Bishop is very interested in his movements. So are the Brothers McGarry, still smarting from the work he did in sending them to prison. Even Dame Ingrid Tearney, First Desk at Tom's old intelligence service, gets into the act. A trained operative like Tom has no trouble with the first wave of thugs sent to hurt him, and he's not very kind to Tearney's errand boy, either. But what are the odds that he'll be able to stay alive long enough to confront Liam's boss, millionaire video game developer Vincent Driscoll, and find out who was kind enough to light Liam's last spliff? Herron (Dead Lions, 2013, etc.) strips his revenge story to the bone, paring away unnecessary characters, episodes, speeches and gestures to produce a violent little elegy that grows both more clever and more sour as it hurtles along.

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October 15, 2014

Thomas Bettany is acquainted with offal and ennui. He alternates between working in a French abattoir and sharing a modest flat. When he discovers that his estranged 26-year-old son has died in a fall from a balcony in London (or was he pushed?), he's off helter-skelter to investigate, a move that unravels his uneasy equilibrium. His son had a mostly ornamental job with a hotshot games developer--doing what, exactly? And Bettany, it turns out, had been, in his earlier life, a member of the British intelligence community who had brought the infamous McGarry brothers to justice. His investigation plunges him into the highs and lows of British society. Over the whole unsavory stew hovers the figure of Dame Ingrid Tearney, head of the British Intelligence Service, who seems involved in everything. With her assortment of decorative wigs, her wardrobe of tailored but tattered outfits, and her penchant for travelling unescorted on the underground, she seems an unlikely combination of Judi Dench's M, Lady Gaga, and a very cultured parrot. As a result of all these swirling crosscurrents and double crosses, Bettany discovers that only after leaving his slaughterhouse does he understand fully how sausage is made. VERDICT The Brits seem to have a lock on clapped-out intelligence agents, and this savvy literary stand-alone by the author of the 2013 Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger-winning Dead Lions is an affectionate nod to the likes of John le Carre.--Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2014
Herron's remarkable novel has enough suspense, action, and deductive dazzle to keep genre fans happy. But be warned: these are deep waters, and this is not nodding-off, night-table reading. Tom Bettany, a British ex-spy crammed with dark skills, comes out of retirement when he learns his estranged son is dead. An examination of the death scene convinces him it was murder, and indelible moments follow as this gaunt, haunted man walks about London with his boy's ashes, seeking anyone who knew him. Then the higher reptiles from the service emerge and Tom (along with the reader) wonders: Is all this a ploy to bring him back to killing? Not killing enemies of the state, mind you, but people who won't do what the reptiles want. Will Tom catch on, and will it make any difference? There's no pat ending, and the story is told in a clipped style that occasionally throws the rhythm off but can deliver knockouts, too. When the final revelation comes, it's like a physical blow. Could it be that public servants serve only themselves?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)