Mick Herron

It’s such a pleasure to discover a really good writer who’s written four or five books but somehow you’ve not heard about. I read a review of the latest Mick Herron and thought “Yeah. Maybe - why not?” Which is exactly why libraries exist. No need to pay big money or sacrifice precious shelf-space; just put in a requet and see what comes.

I was knocked out. For Le Carre fans there’s the usual pleasures of delving down into a murky, amoral world - but with the key difference that there’s a lot of jokes. Really good jokes, that you don’t see coming, in the dialogue and the needle-sharp description. It’s a rely pleasure to read, but it also hums along at a rate of knots, so you never get bored.

A tiny sample, one of many: “Perhaps de Greer had simply decided she’d had enough, and gone to seek more agreeable company: a bunch of drunk golfers, or a basket of rats.” It’s not a big deal, but there’s a constant supply, and there’s also smart plotting and confident movement between different characters. A writer who won’t ever be boring, but keeps me interested and entertained - and I’ve still got plenty to go.