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Slough House #2.5
The List
Dieter Hess, an aged spy, is dead, and John Bachelor, his MI5 handler, is in deep, deep trouble. Death has revealed that deceased had been keeping a secret second bank account—and there’s only ever one reason a spy has a secret second bank account. The question of whether he was a double agent must be resolved, and its answer may undo an entire career’s worth of spy secrets.
112 pages, ebook
First published January 27, 2015
747 people are currently reading
3540 people want to read
About the author
Mick Herron
52 books4,707 followersMick Herron was born in Newcastle and has a degree in English from Balliol College, Oxford. He is the author of six books in the Slough House series as well as a mystery series set in Oxford featuring Sarah Tucker and/or P.I. Zoë Boehm. He now lives in Oxford and works in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 519 reviews
January 30, 2024
Do not read The List if you haven't already read book 1 and 2 in the Slough House series. Actually, if you haven't read them, what are you waiting for? Go read them, it is an excellent series about spy stuff. Also, very funny.
This novella represents another opportunity for Lamb to prove what a badass he is, when he wants to. Which is not often. Most of the time he is busy with boozing, farting and torturing his Slow Horses.
The Blurb: "Dieter Hess, an aged spy, is dead, and John Bachelor, his MI5 handler, is in deep, deep trouble. Death has revealed that deceased had been keeping a secret second bank account—and there’s only ever one reason a spy has a secret second bank account. The question of whether he was a double agent must be resolved, and its answer may undo an entire career’s worth of spy secrets." There are a few new characters such ad J.K. Coe, who is in his first week with MI5, and who apparently will become a recurring character in the series. The usual team is not too active here but we get to experience a few delicious one liners from Lamb and Taverner. I do no know why but Taverner grew on me. She is fascinating in her schemes and the interactions with lamb are among my favorites.
Also , it seems that this op will have consequences in future instalments so read it when you should, between book 2 and 3 in the series.
This novella represents another opportunity for Lamb to prove what a badass he is, when he wants to. Which is not often. Most of the time he is busy with boozing, farting and torturing his Slow Horses.
The Blurb: "Dieter Hess, an aged spy, is dead, and John Bachelor, his MI5 handler, is in deep, deep trouble. Death has revealed that deceased had been keeping a secret second bank account—and there’s only ever one reason a spy has a secret second bank account. The question of whether he was a double agent must be resolved, and its answer may undo an entire career’s worth of spy secrets." There are a few new characters such ad J.K. Coe, who is in his first week with MI5, and who apparently will become a recurring character in the series. The usual team is not too active here but we get to experience a few delicious one liners from Lamb and Taverner. I do no know why but Taverner grew on me. She is fascinating in her schemes and the interactions with lamb are among my favorites.
Also , it seems that this op will have consequences in future instalments so read it when you should, between book 2 and 3 in the series.
October 5, 2021
4 ☆
In The List, John Bachelor has a very particular job with the British Security Service (or MI5) as a babysitter or minder. Nicknamed the "milkman," Bachelor makes the rounds of all the assets who had helped the UK government and who are now receiving pensions in compensation for their service. Obsolescence is built into Bachelor's job as most of his charges date their assistance back to the Cold War, and they're succumbing to old age.
Formerly of East Germany, Dieter Hess has just passed. While getting pleasantly tipsy at the wake, Bachelor receives a visit from "Lady Di" Taverner, who is in charge of Ops and thus far above him in the chain of command. Bachelor is quickly disabused that Taverner is making a courtesy consolation call. It looks like Hess has been compromised because he had a bank account that had been hitherto unknown to MI5.
Initially, Bachelor believes that the worst punishment he'd face would be reassignment to MI5's equivalent of Siberia - Slough House with its string of "slow horses." Sobriety surfaces quickly when it is propelled by fear, and Taverner lays out far more frightening possibilities. Bachelor assures Lady Di that he will "fix" the situation.
Less than 2 hours as an audiobook, nonetheless it packed in quite a bit. The List is the first of 3 short stories featuring John Bachelor. He is not a heroic figure. Herron set this within the Slough House milieu, so he can continue his spoof of the intelligence service as noble and all-knowing.
No, you don't have to read any of the Slough House novels in advance. But if you're already a fan, Herron introduces J.K. Coe, who is in his first week with MI5, and who will become a recurring character in the series. Archivist Molly Doran and two other Slough House denizens make guest appearances. But most significantly, Herron describes the origins of a minor op that comes to a head later in the series.
I read this after completing the seven full length novels and appreciate it more as a consequence. GR designates The List as #2.5 because it had been published between the second and third novels. This does not, however, mean that this is when this story actually takes place. Chronologically, The List is set within the same year as events in Slow Horses #1. All this, of course, is irrelevant to new readers.
In The List, John Bachelor has a very particular job with the British Security Service (or MI5) as a babysitter or minder. Nicknamed the "milkman," Bachelor makes the rounds of all the assets who had helped the UK government and who are now receiving pensions in compensation for their service. Obsolescence is built into Bachelor's job as most of his charges date their assistance back to the Cold War, and they're succumbing to old age.
Formerly of East Germany, Dieter Hess has just passed. While getting pleasantly tipsy at the wake, Bachelor receives a visit from "Lady Di" Taverner, who is in charge of Ops and thus far above him in the chain of command. Bachelor is quickly disabused that Taverner is making a courtesy consolation call. It looks like Hess has been compromised because he had a bank account that had been hitherto unknown to MI5.
Taverner said, "how old are you, John?"
It wasn't a question you asked because you wanted to know the answer. It was a question you asked when you wanted to crush your underling under foot.
Initially, Bachelor believes that the worst punishment he'd face would be reassignment to MI5's equivalent of Siberia - Slough House with its string of "slow horses." Sobriety surfaces quickly when it is propelled by fear, and Taverner lays out far more frightening possibilities. Bachelor assures Lady Di that he will "fix" the situation.
"What makes me look bad makes you look redundant ... Not everyone who screws up gets to join the slow horses, only those it would be impolitic to sack."
He'd not had a good night. Good nights anyway were rare. At 40, Bachelor had discovered you began dreaming of gravestones. After 50, it was what you dreamed of when you were awake that frightened you most. Could Diana Taverner really engineer him behind bars?
Less than 2 hours as an audiobook, nonetheless it packed in quite a bit. The List is the first of 3 short stories featuring John Bachelor. He is not a heroic figure. Herron set this within the Slough House milieu, so he can continue his spoof of the intelligence service as noble and all-knowing.
No, you don't have to read any of the Slough House novels in advance. But if you're already a fan, Herron introduces J.K. Coe, who is in his first week with MI5, and who will become a recurring character in the series. Archivist Molly Doran and two other Slough House denizens make guest appearances. But most significantly, Herron describes the origins of a minor op that comes to a head later in the series.
I read this after completing the seven full length novels and appreciate it more as a consequence. GR designates The List as #2.5 because it had been published between the second and third novels. This does not, however, mean that this is when this story actually takes place. Chronologically, The List is set within the same year as events in Slow Horses #1. All this, of course, is irrelevant to new readers.
January 31, 2022
4.5★
“Lady Di would have him flayed alive. Just knowing there were names being bandied round in code: she’d have him peeled and eaten by fish.”
John Bachelor is a spy whose sole responsibility is to do the ‘milk run’ – make the rounds of the pastures to which the elderly spooks have been retired. Some are in flats or their own houses, some are in nursing homes.
It’s a job that Regent’s Park figured he could manage without screwing up. Diana Taverner, ‘Lady Di’, as she is (not fondly) called, is a powerful Second Desk at the Park and someone to be feared. Yes, she might well send John Bachelor to the fishes!
Bachelor discovers old Dieter Hess has died, very comfortably in his chair with his wine and cigar half-consumed, a book in his lap, and his music playing. People like to say it’s how Hess would have liked to go (sounds good to me), but John Bachelor reckons he might have liked to enjoy a bit more of his wine (sounds even better to me!) and cigar, etc, but his job is not to judge but to inspect Hess’s home for incriminating evidence of his spy history.
There is evidence that Hess was receiving undisclosed payments for something, but what? If there is a digital or paper trail, where is it?
“It was all neat enough. Everything where it was supposed to be. What if the only things hidden were hidden inside Dieter’s head?”
Great (not). Bachelor searches, finds a list of numbers, and whoops! Bachelor was supposed to be on top of everything Hess was doing. Babysitting him, yes, but making sure there was nothing secret going on. This is not looking good for Bachelor. If he looks like coming a cropper because of this, what can he do?
“He could flit home, grab his getaway kit – passport and a few appearance-adjusting tools, including fake glasses and a shoe-insert, to give him a limp:”
Sadly, there is no longer money in his kit, and besides, he now has an idea!
“He had a plan. It wasn’t much of a plan, and involved a lot of luck and twice as much bullshit, but it was the best he could do at short notice. And let’s face it, he told himself as he headed for the Underground, you’ve been coasting for years. If there’s any spook left in you, let’s see if he can pull this off.”
This was a bit of tension-filled fun, with Bachelor finding himself at Slough House, talking to ‘Slow Horses’ J.K. Coe and the inimitable Jackson Lamb. The dialogue at Slough House is as memorable as ever, and I realise how much I’m missing the series.
I went straight from this to The Drop, which I enjoyed equally and reviewed here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
“Lady Di would have him flayed alive. Just knowing there were names being bandied round in code: she’d have him peeled and eaten by fish.”
John Bachelor is a spy whose sole responsibility is to do the ‘milk run’ – make the rounds of the pastures to which the elderly spooks have been retired. Some are in flats or their own houses, some are in nursing homes.
It’s a job that Regent’s Park figured he could manage without screwing up. Diana Taverner, ‘Lady Di’, as she is (not fondly) called, is a powerful Second Desk at the Park and someone to be feared. Yes, she might well send John Bachelor to the fishes!
Bachelor discovers old Dieter Hess has died, very comfortably in his chair with his wine and cigar half-consumed, a book in his lap, and his music playing. People like to say it’s how Hess would have liked to go (sounds good to me), but John Bachelor reckons he might have liked to enjoy a bit more of his wine (sounds even better to me!) and cigar, etc, but his job is not to judge but to inspect Hess’s home for incriminating evidence of his spy history.
There is evidence that Hess was receiving undisclosed payments for something, but what? If there is a digital or paper trail, where is it?
“It was all neat enough. Everything where it was supposed to be. What if the only things hidden were hidden inside Dieter’s head?”
Great (not). Bachelor searches, finds a list of numbers, and whoops! Bachelor was supposed to be on top of everything Hess was doing. Babysitting him, yes, but making sure there was nothing secret going on. This is not looking good for Bachelor. If he looks like coming a cropper because of this, what can he do?
“He could flit home, grab his getaway kit – passport and a few appearance-adjusting tools, including fake glasses and a shoe-insert, to give him a limp:”
Sadly, there is no longer money in his kit, and besides, he now has an idea!
“He had a plan. It wasn’t much of a plan, and involved a lot of luck and twice as much bullshit, but it was the best he could do at short notice. And let’s face it, he told himself as he headed for the Underground, you’ve been coasting for years. If there’s any spook left in you, let’s see if he can pull this off.”
This was a bit of tension-filled fun, with Bachelor finding himself at Slough House, talking to ‘Slow Horses’ J.K. Coe and the inimitable Jackson Lamb. The dialogue at Slough House is as memorable as ever, and I realise how much I’m missing the series.
I went straight from this to The Drop, which I enjoyed equally and reviewed here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
May 28, 2024
My first Mick Herron, though it’s a little cheat, as it’s a novella. I’ve been reading my friends highly rated reviews of the Slough House novels, for quite some time.
Have decided it’s time to give this author a go. I’m not into spy novels for the most part, but a few have surprised me. This is one. Enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Now to give the full length novels a try.
Have decided it’s time to give this author a go. I’m not into spy novels for the most part, but a few have surprised me. This is one. Enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Now to give the full length novels a try.
November 13, 2023
This was a little filler which I imagine intros future players, namely new agent, J K Coe. Also we see a small appearance by Diana Taverner at her usual brusque best, and Jackson Lamb at his arrogant and farty best. Wearing a tea towel around his neck, notes Catherine Standish, which just happened to be missing from the tea room. What's that around your neck? she says (I paraphrase). Lamb is such a good protagonist, flawed and awful, but not awful? He will always put a glass of scotch in front of Catherine in their office chats, regardless of the obvious fact she's a sober alcoholic.
J K Coe is a new operative, pulled into a case by Bachelor, tasked on keeping an eye on retired assets. One such asset dies with an unknown bank account, with secret funds. Bachelor is in deep for this, and ropes Coe into decoding a list left behind by the dead operative.
Coe is interesting as he is almost 30 and new to the job, with a psychology/banking and finance background. He ultimately finds himself at Jackson Lamb's desk, seeking answers.
I do look forward to number 3 in this series, my need for book order a definite!
I listened to this short audio book via the uLIbrary app, which is behaving itself after awful previous technical issues. Thanks to my friend Marianne for her help with this!
J K Coe is a new operative, pulled into a case by Bachelor, tasked on keeping an eye on retired assets. One such asset dies with an unknown bank account, with secret funds. Bachelor is in deep for this, and ropes Coe into decoding a list left behind by the dead operative.
Coe is interesting as he is almost 30 and new to the job, with a psychology/banking and finance background. He ultimately finds himself at Jackson Lamb's desk, seeking answers.
I do look forward to number 3 in this series, my need for book order a definite!
I listened to this short audio book via the uLIbrary app, which is behaving itself after awful previous technical issues. Thanks to my friend Marianne for her help with this!
September 25, 2022
Another thoroughly enjoyable entry in the Slough Horse series. This one was read by Gerald Doyle, who is always a treat to listen to. Mick Herron's writing is amazing! I truly enjoy the unique turns of phrase and the imparting of subtle details that you need to listen to with care.
Here are some quotes that caught my attention:
"Information is a tart - information is anybody's, it reveals as much about those who impart it as it teaches those who hear."
"Best of all, better than anything else was having it both ways, was having someone the enemy thought was only their asset inside your own bunker. So, while your enemy thought he was feeding you moldy crumbs and harvesting cake, the reality was the other way round."
"Lamb, who carried his dead round with him, didn't spend a lot of time in graveyards."
"A shadow life, scurrying round the fringes of other people's history, ensuring that none of it raised its head in polite company."
"Deep inside [the crowd's] beating heart, she hugged secret knowledge to herself."
Here are some quotes that caught my attention:
"Information is a tart - information is anybody's, it reveals as much about those who impart it as it teaches those who hear."
"Best of all, better than anything else was having it both ways, was having someone the enemy thought was only their asset inside your own bunker. So, while your enemy thought he was feeding you moldy crumbs and harvesting cake, the reality was the other way round."
"Lamb, who carried his dead round with him, didn't spend a lot of time in graveyards."
"A shadow life, scurrying round the fringes of other people's history, ensuring that none of it raised its head in polite company."
"Deep inside [the crowd's] beating heart, she hugged secret knowledge to herself."
July 5, 2024
3 stars
short review for busy readers: A pleasant Slough House “deleted scenes” extra that details the death of Dieter Hess and how (easily) triple spy Hannah Weiss entered into the British Secret Service.
in detail:
This story isn't strictly necessary to the understanding of events, and the scene between Lamb and Standish is rather out-of-character for Lamb. It’s more how we’d like him to be, than how he is. Seems like a slight characterisation slip-up on Herron's part.
One thing I’ve noticed with these SH extras is that they seem to be amounting to a parallel dossier that could be called “Notes on John Bachelor”. Maybe Bachelor doesn't fit into how Herron views the main series, but he's too background key to be ignored.
short review for busy readers: A pleasant Slough House “deleted scenes” extra that details the death of Dieter Hess and how (easily) triple spy Hannah Weiss entered into the British Secret Service.
in detail:
This story isn't strictly necessary to the understanding of events, and the scene between Lamb and Standish is rather out-of-character for Lamb. It’s more how we’d like him to be, than how he is. Seems like a slight characterisation slip-up on Herron's part.
One thing I’ve noticed with these SH extras is that they seem to be amounting to a parallel dossier that could be called “Notes on John Bachelor”. Maybe Bachelor doesn't fit into how Herron views the main series, but he's too background key to be ignored.
November 23, 2023
3. 5 Stars
The List is a tasty snack in the Slough House series. A novella, it doesn't have the heft of the novels. Herron introduces a few new characters and has written some fabulous scenes for Lady Di. Jackson Lamb is in the background here; and while I know he'd overshadow everyone in such a short piece, I find myself missing his larger than life presence in a bigger role. I'm eagerly looking forward to my next adventure with the Slough House gang.
Publication 2015
The List is a tasty snack in the Slough House series. A novella, it doesn't have the heft of the novels. Herron introduces a few new characters and has written some fabulous scenes for Lady Di. Jackson Lamb is in the background here; and while I know he'd overshadow everyone in such a short piece, I find myself missing his larger than life presence in a bigger role. I'm eagerly looking forward to my next adventure with the Slough House gang.
Publication 2015
April 29, 2018
This Slough House novella is listed as 2.5 in the series, putting it between “Dead Lions,” and “Real Tigers.”
John Bachelor is an MI5 agent on the ‘milk round.’ That is, he is a handler for a number of agents that the service is taking care of. One is the elderly German, Dieter Hess; an aged informant, living out his days in St Albans. Hess is an elderly man who likes to talk to Bachelor, play his music, smoke his cigars and spend his time reading. When he is found dead, sitting comfortably in his armchair, Bachelor thinks that all he has to do is to clean up and tidy Hess away. It is not to be that easy…
Hess often complained about the money that he was paid for his years of service and it seems that he had been finding a way to supplement his income. When a second, secret bank account of his is uncovered, it reveals the possibility that he may have been a double agent. If he was, then this happened on Bachelor’s watch and now his future is in doubt. When Diana Taverner threatens him from everything from a prison sentence, to cancelling his pension, and even Slough House doesn’t look like an option, Bachelor knows he has to clean up the mess that Taverner is clear that he has created.
Although this is not quite as satisfying as a full novel, this is still excellent. We get to meet J.K. Coe when he has just joined the service and there is always joy from a scene which features Jackson Lamb. There is a second novella due out in November, 2018, “The Drop,” which again features John Bachelor. I look forward to reading that and love anything set in the world of the Slow Horses.
John Bachelor is an MI5 agent on the ‘milk round.’ That is, he is a handler for a number of agents that the service is taking care of. One is the elderly German, Dieter Hess; an aged informant, living out his days in St Albans. Hess is an elderly man who likes to talk to Bachelor, play his music, smoke his cigars and spend his time reading. When he is found dead, sitting comfortably in his armchair, Bachelor thinks that all he has to do is to clean up and tidy Hess away. It is not to be that easy…
Hess often complained about the money that he was paid for his years of service and it seems that he had been finding a way to supplement his income. When a second, secret bank account of his is uncovered, it reveals the possibility that he may have been a double agent. If he was, then this happened on Bachelor’s watch and now his future is in doubt. When Diana Taverner threatens him from everything from a prison sentence, to cancelling his pension, and even Slough House doesn’t look like an option, Bachelor knows he has to clean up the mess that Taverner is clear that he has created.
Although this is not quite as satisfying as a full novel, this is still excellent. We get to meet J.K. Coe when he has just joined the service and there is always joy from a scene which features Jackson Lamb. There is a second novella due out in November, 2018, “The Drop,” which again features John Bachelor. I look forward to reading that and love anything set in the world of the Slow Horses.
September 16, 2022
A small hors d'oeuvre rather than a full Slow Horses meal, though this is set within the Slough House universe and features cameos from some of the crew: Jackson Lamb, Catherine Standish, Diana Taverner, Molly Doran- and debuts JK Coe (Jason Kevin!) when he's in his first week at Regents Park.
It all feels like a set up to a richer story and while it technically stands alone, it feels like an offcut - though maybe the bread and butter nature of most ops is the point? I have the feeling John Batchelor returns later though... Easily read in about an hour.
It all feels like a set up to a richer story and while it technically stands alone, it feels like an offcut - though maybe the bread and butter nature of most ops is the point? I have the feeling John Batchelor returns later though... Easily read in about an hour.
April 13, 2024
Everyone who made the comment was correct: Reading the Slough House novellas does fill in some gaps in story lines of the main books in the series. In this one a few characters in Joe Country that seemed to appear out of nowhere acquire a backstory. I liked the feel of the resolution. If you like the series, you’ll like this.
July 21, 2019
Herron is among the few at the top of my favorite authors list, a high and growing percentage of them Brits like Herron.
This novella is as high quality as his full length books in the Slough House series. I’m not usually excited to read between-books novellas in a series, and often skip them. I don’t skip Herron.
He gets it all just right.
Original and quirky but not off-putting.
Whip smart despite nothing highbrow or attention-seeking.
Compelling characters that defy likability or unlikability. It seems like an irrelevant question I’m Herron’s Slough House world.
Enough unfamiliarity to be interesting while remaining believable and immersive.
Clever, ironic banter and pervasive attitude that unaccountably doesn’t seem silly or contrived, doesn’t irritate me or get in the way of anything. It just expresses certain of the characters naturally, and adds a layer of amusing complexity to the experience of this uniquely perceived world of British espionage, featuring brilliant screw-ups, cringe-worthy yet sympathetic characters, and hateful top bureaucrats.
One more novella to go and I let myself dive into his new full-length release.
This novella is as high quality as his full length books in the Slough House series. I’m not usually excited to read between-books novellas in a series, and often skip them. I don’t skip Herron.
He gets it all just right.
Original and quirky but not off-putting.
Whip smart despite nothing highbrow or attention-seeking.
Compelling characters that defy likability or unlikability. It seems like an irrelevant question I’m Herron’s Slough House world.
Enough unfamiliarity to be interesting while remaining believable and immersive.
Clever, ironic banter and pervasive attitude that unaccountably doesn’t seem silly or contrived, doesn’t irritate me or get in the way of anything. It just expresses certain of the characters naturally, and adds a layer of amusing complexity to the experience of this uniquely perceived world of British espionage, featuring brilliant screw-ups, cringe-worthy yet sympathetic characters, and hateful top bureaucrats.
One more novella to go and I let myself dive into his new full-length release.
February 13, 2024
This was intended to be a quick palate cleanser before moving on. It is a very short entertaining story for anyone who likes Herron’s Slough House series. Perhaps it sets up a storyline that will be part of a larger tale in the future.
May 12, 2022
A Slow Horse Novella
Review of the Recorded Books audiobook edition (July 12, 2019) of the original Soho Crime eBook (January 27, 2015)
The Slough House aka 'Slow Horses' novellas are running a parallel plot to the full novels of the series. I'd previously read The List (#2.5 2015) and The Marylebone Drop aka The Drop (#5.5 2018). These are currently followed by The Catch (#6.5 2020). I decided to re-read The List in an audiobook edition as a refresher prior to reading the next full novel in the series Real Tigers (#3 from 2016).
The main characters of the series make only cameo appearances in the novellas. The MI5 Regent's Park Head Office Second Desk Diana Taverner and Slough House's Jackson Lamb are the main regular series characters who appear in The List.
I'm keeping a record here of most of the plot as I'll need a refresher when I get to the later novels and novellas of the series. So I've blocked this section as:
The narration by the series regular reader Gerard Doyle was excellent as always.
Trivia and Link
Dieter Hess was listening to the "Für Alina" CD by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt before he died. This was enough to add The List to the GR Listopia of Books with Fictional Characters Who Love Arvo Pärt.
Review of the Recorded Books audiobook edition (July 12, 2019) of the original Soho Crime eBook (January 27, 2015)
The Slough House aka 'Slow Horses' novellas are running a parallel plot to the full novels of the series. I'd previously read The List (#2.5 2015) and The Marylebone Drop aka The Drop (#5.5 2018). These are currently followed by The Catch (#6.5 2020). I decided to re-read The List in an audiobook edition as a refresher prior to reading the next full novel in the series Real Tigers (#3 from 2016).
The main characters of the series make only cameo appearances in the novellas. The MI5 Regent's Park Head Office Second Desk Diana Taverner and Slough House's Jackson Lamb are the main regular series characters who appear in The List.
I'm keeping a record here of most of the plot as I'll need a refresher when I get to the later novels and novellas of the series. So I've blocked this section as:
The narration by the series regular reader Gerard Doyle was excellent as always.
Trivia and Link
Dieter Hess was listening to the "Für Alina" CD by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt before he died. This was enough to add The List to the GR Listopia of Books with Fictional Characters Who Love Arvo Pärt.
December 23, 2018
A novella.
Terrific. Short and sweet and rich in character. 5-Stars.
Perfect pacing, and a femme fatale bursting with promise. Tradecraft respected, the old ways honoured. A middle-aged spy yearning for one last triumph. Plot developed with great promise. Full of quotable passages.
Perhaps the best that Herron has ever written.
Followed immediately by another novella, The Drop
Notes and quotes:
They still taught book ciphers to newbies, in the same way they still taught Morse, the idea being that when it all went to pot, the old values would see you through. A book cipher was unbreakable without the book in front of you.
She laughed what sounded like a smoker’s laugh. Last time he’d heard anything quite like it, he been sanding off the edge of a door.
On each landing a pair of office doors stood open. They were vacant and unlit, and drifting from their gloomy shadows came a mixture of odours Coe couldn’t help adumbrating: coffee and stale bread, and takeaway food, and cardboard, and grief.
It was extraordinary, thought Coe, how much a badly dressed shoeless fat man could look like a crocodile.
Information is a tart—information is anybody’s. It reveals as much about those who impart it as it teaches those who hear. Because information, ever the slut, swings both ways. False information—if you know it’s false—tells you half as much again as the real thing, because it tells you what the other feller thinks you don’t know, while real information, the copper-bottomed truth, is worth its weight in fairy-dust. When you have a source of real information, you ought to forsake all others and snuggle down with it for good. Even though it’ll never work out, because information, first, last and always, is a tart.
As if the idea had risen out of nowhere, and was bobbing even now between them like a balloon, red as the coat she wore. She could burst it with a word. If she did, he would do nothing to attempt to change her mind. Nothing at all. He swore this to himself on everything he kept holy, if anything still bore that description.
He might be trying to steal her soul, just as dead Dieter Hess had stolen her identity, but ultimately Hannah Weiss would hang onto everything that made her who she really was. That, too, he marvelled at, a trick he’d not managed himself.
.
Terrific. Short and sweet and rich in character. 5-Stars.
Perfect pacing, and a femme fatale bursting with promise. Tradecraft respected, the old ways honoured. A middle-aged spy yearning for one last triumph. Plot developed with great promise. Full of quotable passages.
Perhaps the best that Herron has ever written.
Followed immediately by another novella, The Drop
Notes and quotes:
They still taught book ciphers to newbies, in the same way they still taught Morse, the idea being that when it all went to pot, the old values would see you through. A book cipher was unbreakable without the book in front of you.
She laughed what sounded like a smoker’s laugh. Last time he’d heard anything quite like it, he been sanding off the edge of a door.
On each landing a pair of office doors stood open. They were vacant and unlit, and drifting from their gloomy shadows came a mixture of odours Coe couldn’t help adumbrating: coffee and stale bread, and takeaway food, and cardboard, and grief.
It was extraordinary, thought Coe, how much a badly dressed shoeless fat man could look like a crocodile.
Information is a tart—information is anybody’s. It reveals as much about those who impart it as it teaches those who hear. Because information, ever the slut, swings both ways. False information—if you know it’s false—tells you half as much again as the real thing, because it tells you what the other feller thinks you don’t know, while real information, the copper-bottomed truth, is worth its weight in fairy-dust. When you have a source of real information, you ought to forsake all others and snuggle down with it for good. Even though it’ll never work out, because information, first, last and always, is a tart.
As if the idea had risen out of nowhere, and was bobbing even now between them like a balloon, red as the coat she wore. She could burst it with a word. If she did, he would do nothing to attempt to change her mind. Nothing at all. He swore this to himself on everything he kept holy, if anything still bore that description.
He might be trying to steal her soul, just as dead Dieter Hess had stolen her identity, but ultimately Hannah Weiss would hang onto everything that made her who she really was. That, too, he marvelled at, a trick he’d not managed himself.
.
July 25, 2022
Despite having read all the other Slough House books, and currently enjoying a re-read of them all, this novella was one that had slipped through the net. It was great to finally get to read The List. This Slough House novella is listed as 2.5 in the series, putting it between Dead Lions and Real Tigers. Also between those two novels is the stand alone Nobody Walks (but I have read that one already, but will still be reading it again after I have finished this one).
I now realise that another Slough House novella The Drop (Slough House #5.5) follows on straight after this one and picks up the story. It makes most sense to read these novellas straight after each other as it's one continuous narrative.
As for The List, it's probably of most interest to Slough House completists and obsessives (and there are a lot of us). It has the first appearance of future slow horse JK Coe, along with old favourites Diana Taverner, Catherine Standish, Molly Dornan, River Cartwright and Jackson Lamb. It's a mere 112 pages so takes no time to read. It's fun, with some great one liners, but perhaps a tad inconsequential.
3/5
Dieter Hess, an aged spy, is dead, and John Bachelor, his MI5 handler, is in deep, deep trouble. Death has revealed that deceased had been keeping a secret second bank account—and there’s only ever one reason a spy has a secret second bank account. The question of whether he was a double agent must be resolved, and its answer may undo an entire career’s worth of spy secrets.
I now realise that another Slough House novella The Drop (Slough House #5.5) follows on straight after this one and picks up the story. It makes most sense to read these novellas straight after each other as it's one continuous narrative.
As for The List, it's probably of most interest to Slough House completists and obsessives (and there are a lot of us). It has the first appearance of future slow horse JK Coe, along with old favourites Diana Taverner, Catherine Standish, Molly Dornan, River Cartwright and Jackson Lamb. It's a mere 112 pages so takes no time to read. It's fun, with some great one liners, but perhaps a tad inconsequential.
3/5
Dieter Hess, an aged spy, is dead, and John Bachelor, his MI5 handler, is in deep, deep trouble. Death has revealed that deceased had been keeping a secret second bank account—and there’s only ever one reason a spy has a secret second bank account. The question of whether he was a double agent must be resolved, and its answer may undo an entire career’s worth of spy secrets.
November 6, 2019
This was a very short story, which, to me, ended unexpectedly. But I suppose there was nothing else important to happen. It was a good read, and illustrated the nature of this series fairly well if you want to check it out without reading a full book.
An old agent has a job looking after a few old spies, and one of them dies of natural causes. But, it turns out he had some sort of secret bank account that his watcher didn't know about, and that could be trouble - big trouble, because he could get fired and lose his pension, which might put him out on the streets. So, he has to figure out some way to either spin the situation, or otherwise turn it around, doing it in the typical fashion for these guys - CYA.
As Diana Taverner, AKA Lady Di, says about mistakes: "She was prepared to accept her subordinates made them so long as they were prepared to take the blame. She didn't like finding other people's messes on her desk. From a distance, they might look like her own." This is the essence of these stories. It's always who to blame. Most of the regulars have messed up, and been sent to Slough House in the hopes they will retire and leave without needing to be fired. The head of Slough House is a real character, but very smart. He usually figures out what's going on sooner or later.
An old agent has a job looking after a few old spies, and one of them dies of natural causes. But, it turns out he had some sort of secret bank account that his watcher didn't know about, and that could be trouble - big trouble, because he could get fired and lose his pension, which might put him out on the streets. So, he has to figure out some way to either spin the situation, or otherwise turn it around, doing it in the typical fashion for these guys - CYA.
As Diana Taverner, AKA Lady Di, says about mistakes: "She was prepared to accept her subordinates made them so long as they were prepared to take the blame. She didn't like finding other people's messes on her desk. From a distance, they might look like her own." This is the essence of these stories. It's always who to blame. Most of the regulars have messed up, and been sent to Slough House in the hopes they will retire and leave without needing to be fired. The head of Slough House is a real character, but very smart. He usually figures out what's going on sooner or later.
May 3, 2022
This book was the best one so far in my opinion. The List by Mick Herron is a good short story with a somewhat surprising end.
February 20, 2023
Batchelor finds the old German asset, Dieter Hess, peacefully dead in his flat.
At Hess’s wake, Lady Di (Diana Taverner) makes Batchelor aware that he had an income from an unknown source, and if Batchelor did not discover said source, then his job, pensions, and essentially his entire current life … were on the line, with not even the possibility of the dubious honour of a relegation to Slough House.
“which wasn’t in Slough, wasn’t a house, and was where screw-up spooks were sent to make them wish they’d died.”
On another search of Hess’s flat, Batchelor finds an encoded list of people, who may or may not be German spies in Britain. Had Hess been acting as a double agent? Batchelor inveigles recent recruit, J.C. Coe, from over the river into helping him. Coe then asks for help from wheelchair legend, Mollie Doran, in records, who sends him to Slough House and Jackson Lamb.
Lamb – in traditional Lamb fashion – farts and then refuses to help, but keeps mulling over the problem.
Gradually, the problem is investigated, and considered resolved – but a big twist at the end leads you to believe otherwise.
As always, it is the wonderful characters rather than the story-line (which also happens to be very good) that grab you, as well as the excellent prose and turns of phrase. This book, and the whole series, are highly recommended.
“and in the CD tray Pärt’s Für Alina, long hushed by the time Bachelor found the body, but its lingering silences implicit in the air, settling like dust on faded surfaces. … but now that his complaints of not enough money and too little regard had been silenced by a heart no longer merely dicky but well and truly dicked.”
At Hess’s wake, Lady Di (Diana Taverner) makes Batchelor aware that he had an income from an unknown source, and if Batchelor did not discover said source, then his job, pensions, and essentially his entire current life … were on the line, with not even the possibility of the dubious honour of a relegation to Slough House.
“which wasn’t in Slough, wasn’t a house, and was where screw-up spooks were sent to make them wish they’d died.”
On another search of Hess’s flat, Batchelor finds an encoded list of people, who may or may not be German spies in Britain. Had Hess been acting as a double agent? Batchelor inveigles recent recruit, J.C. Coe, from over the river into helping him. Coe then asks for help from wheelchair legend, Mollie Doran, in records, who sends him to Slough House and Jackson Lamb.
“Lamb had been hived off to the curious little annex called Slough House, which was right side of the river, but wrong side of the tracks.”
Lamb – in traditional Lamb fashion – farts and then refuses to help, but keeps mulling over the problem.
Gradually, the problem is investigated, and considered resolved – but a big twist at the end leads you to believe otherwise.
As always, it is the wonderful characters rather than the story-line (which also happens to be very good) that grab you, as well as the excellent prose and turns of phrase. This book, and the whole series, are highly recommended.
November 19, 2022
The List is a novella in the Slough House series by British author, Mick Herron. The audio version is narrated by Sean Barrett. John Bachelor does the milk run: he looks after those assets no longer active, retired spooks who have come in from the cold but might still have sensitive information in their possession. “…his role was to make sure they suffered no unwelcome intrusions, no mysterious clicks on the landline; above all, that they weren’t developing a tendency to broadcast the details of their lives to anyone who cared to listen. It sometimes amused Bachelor, sometimes depressed him, that he worked for the secret service in an era where half the population aired its private life on the web. He wasn’t sure the Cold War had been preferable, but it had been more dignified”
One of his assets, Dieter Hess has died of natural causes, but now Regent’s Park has uncovered a bank account that no one knows about, and that needs a closer look. Eventually, Bachelor finds a hand-written coded list that might offer a clue as to what Hess was up to, and whether he was a double agent.
Even Jackson Lamb’s almost cameo appearance in this small but excellent dose of Slough House confirms his “canny but obnoxious” description. It also introduces J K Coe, who joins the Slough House crew in a later book.
One of his assets, Dieter Hess has died of natural causes, but now Regent’s Park has uncovered a bank account that no one knows about, and that needs a closer look. Eventually, Bachelor finds a hand-written coded list that might offer a clue as to what Hess was up to, and whether he was a double agent.
Even Jackson Lamb’s almost cameo appearance in this small but excellent dose of Slough House confirms his “canny but obnoxious” description. It also introduces J K Coe, who joins the Slough House crew in a later book.
August 25, 2018
This is a novella from the Slough House series, although it doesn't focus so much on the slow horses themselves, as on introducing a new character or two(?) to the series.
Once a spook, always a spook. We know that from the OB. And the same is true of assets. So when a spook/asset retires, MI5 still has to keep an eye on them, just to make sure they aren't getting up to something they shouldn't. John Bachelor is one of MI5's Milkmen - doing the rounds of the retirees every week to make sure everything is ok. When one of Bachelor's assets dies of natural causes, a bank account that he didn't know about is discovered. Under threat from Taverner of being sent to Slough House, or worse, Bachelor must explain where the money in the account came from. He finds an old-school encoded list under the carpet. Clearly he knew the asset pretty well because he was able to break the cipher without too much trouble, but from there he decides to enlist the help of one-week-out-of-training new recruit JK Coe to make sense of it.
A few of the regulars make an appearance - Lamb, Standish, Molly Doran from Records, and of course Taverner - and the story is written with Herron's usual humour. Maybe due to the length, it just didn't grip me as the 2 previous books did, but then a twist at the end redeemed it somewhat.
It was a quick read - just a couple of hours, even for a plodder like me.
Once a spook, always a spook. We know that from the OB. And the same is true of assets. So when a spook/asset retires, MI5 still has to keep an eye on them, just to make sure they aren't getting up to something they shouldn't. John Bachelor is one of MI5's Milkmen - doing the rounds of the retirees every week to make sure everything is ok. When one of Bachelor's assets dies of natural causes, a bank account that he didn't know about is discovered. Under threat from Taverner of being sent to Slough House, or worse, Bachelor must explain where the money in the account came from. He finds an old-school encoded list under the carpet. Clearly he knew the asset pretty well because he was able to break the cipher without too much trouble, but from there he decides to enlist the help of one-week-out-of-training new recruit JK Coe to make sense of it.
A few of the regulars make an appearance - Lamb, Standish, Molly Doran from Records, and of course Taverner - and the story is written with Herron's usual humour. Maybe due to the length, it just didn't grip me as the 2 previous books did, but then a twist at the end redeemed it somewhat.
It was a quick read - just a couple of hours, even for a plodder like me.
May 5, 2024
Enjoyable novella after book 2 - I read it after book 3 and it made no difference as although the main characters are there it has no bearing on past or future books
A good tale of old time spies and what one of them got up to all told in the wonderful story telling style of the author
Without doubt a worthy read
A good tale of old time spies and what one of them got up to all told in the wonderful story telling style of the author
Without doubt a worthy read
July 13, 2017
MI5 officer John Bachelor has already been put out to pasture, in a manner of speaking. For some time now, it's been his job to track several former foreign assets who have retired to England. Then one of them, Dieter Hess, suddenly dies—and John has a problem. A big problem. Diana Taverner, a Deputy Director at MI5, corners him at Hess' wake and explains why he can't just forget about poor Dieter, even though the old man has clearly died of natural causes. As she lays down John's new assignment, he starts "to get an inkling of how mice felt, and other little jungle residents. The kind preyed on by snakes."
Here's John's problem: Taverner, known as "Lady Di," explains that "assets, even retired assets, even dead assets, fall on my desk. Which means I do not want the Dogs sniffing around this [in an internal investigation], because it makes me look bad." John now fears being relegated to Slough House, where the agency's misfits and royal screw-ups are sequestered with make-work assignments. But Lady Di makes it clear that John's fate could be worse.
Luckily for John, when he tears up Dieter's apartment in search of evidence that might point to something problematic, he comes across a list of names. Alone, he can't track down the people on the list. But, commandeering a newly trained officer and others inside MI5, he learns that everyone on the list is well past their sell-by dates (as my British friends might say). Most are in nursing homes, and several living in various stages of dementia—except for one young woman. Dieter had been presenting them all as his assets and collecting subsidies in their names from the German intelligence Service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst. Following direction from Jackson Lamb, the notorious director of Slough House, John can now proceed with a clever plan: to "turn" the young woman into a double agent to pass along disinformation to the Germans.
Will all this go well? Since this little novella was written by Mick Herron, we shouldn't expect anything of the sort. Like Slough Horses and Dead Lions, two novels that preceded The List in Herron's Slough House series, we know the story will twist and turn—and keep us laughing all the way.
Here's John's problem: Taverner, known as "Lady Di," explains that "assets, even retired assets, even dead assets, fall on my desk. Which means I do not want the Dogs sniffing around this [in an internal investigation], because it makes me look bad." John now fears being relegated to Slough House, where the agency's misfits and royal screw-ups are sequestered with make-work assignments. But Lady Di makes it clear that John's fate could be worse.
Luckily for John, when he tears up Dieter's apartment in search of evidence that might point to something problematic, he comes across a list of names. Alone, he can't track down the people on the list. But, commandeering a newly trained officer and others inside MI5, he learns that everyone on the list is well past their sell-by dates (as my British friends might say). Most are in nursing homes, and several living in various stages of dementia—except for one young woman. Dieter had been presenting them all as his assets and collecting subsidies in their names from the German intelligence Service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst. Following direction from Jackson Lamb, the notorious director of Slough House, John can now proceed with a clever plan: to "turn" the young woman into a double agent to pass along disinformation to the Germans.
Will all this go well? Since this little novella was written by Mick Herron, we shouldn't expect anything of the sort. Like Slough Horses and Dead Lions, two novels that preceded The List in Herron's Slough House series, we know the story will twist and turn—and keep us laughing all the way.
August 17, 2022
This is a brief story from Mick Herron which takes about an hour to read. It's not in the same league as his full-length Slough House books, but it's an enjoyable diversion.
In The List, an old agent dies and it emerges that he was up to something a little shady. His old handler, threatened with destruction by Diana Taverner, attempts to find out what is behind it. On the way we meet some old friends including J.K. Coe, newly recruited to the Service and Jackson Lamb in a cameo role. It's a neat, twisty tale, although slightly unsatisfying in that even this small dose of Lamb seems oddly diluted – he answers a knock with "Who the hell's that?", for example. "Hell?" The Lamb we know and love would have used a considerably more forceful term than that, surely. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this for what it is.
Mick Herron doesn't write bad books and Slough House addicts like me will certainly want to read The List. It's a decent read but don’t expect too much.
In The List, an old agent dies and it emerges that he was up to something a little shady. His old handler, threatened with destruction by Diana Taverner, attempts to find out what is behind it. On the way we meet some old friends including J.K. Coe, newly recruited to the Service and Jackson Lamb in a cameo role. It's a neat, twisty tale, although slightly unsatisfying in that even this small dose of Lamb seems oddly diluted – he answers a knock with "Who the hell's that?", for example. "Hell?" The Lamb we know and love would have used a considerably more forceful term than that, surely. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this for what it is.
Mick Herron doesn't write bad books and Slough House addicts like me will certainly want to read The List. It's a decent read but don’t expect too much.
March 23, 2016
A fun little story that works well as an introduction to some of the major characters from the Slough House series, while also working as a standalone tidbit of spy stuff suitable for an evening's bedtime reading.
January 15, 2023
An old German spy who retired to England after the Cold War and has been receiving a pension from MI5 is found dead. There is nothing suspicious about his death until it appears that he had a bank account that his handler, John Bachelor, had missed. The effort to trace the funds introduce us to J.K Coe in his first week on the job as an analyst who will play a more important role in Nobody Walks. A twist in the tale that sets up The Drop. A good use of a short story to introduce characters for future instalments.
February 15, 2019
Short but satisfying novella - lots of the bone dry humor I expect from this author. Not a lot of Jackson Lamb, the slovenly, rude leader of Slough House (where screw-ups from MI5 land), but a tantalizing glimpse; a peek of Catherine Standish and Lady Di, too.
Here, middle-aged suit John Bachelor, whose job it is to basically babysit old assets for MI5, is on his milk rounds checking on his elderly “clients”. He finds Dieter Hess, a former East German spy, dead in his apartment; unfortunately, Lady Di, John’s boss, informs him that Hess also had a hidden bank account. John has to figure out why, and minimize any damaging fallout; Lady Di understands mistakes, but doesn’t want it to rub off on her - plausible deniability is her guiding principle!
Apparently, Bachelor appears in another novella I’ve yet to read, The Drop. Great series, if you can appreciate spy thrillers with plenty of dark humor, quirky characters and intricate plots.
Here, middle-aged suit John Bachelor, whose job it is to basically babysit old assets for MI5, is on his milk rounds checking on his elderly “clients”. He finds Dieter Hess, a former East German spy, dead in his apartment; unfortunately, Lady Di, John’s boss, informs him that Hess also had a hidden bank account. John has to figure out why, and minimize any damaging fallout; Lady Di understands mistakes, but doesn’t want it to rub off on her - plausible deniability is her guiding principle!
Apparently, Bachelor appears in another novella I’ve yet to read, The Drop. Great series, if you can appreciate spy thrillers with plenty of dark humor, quirky characters and intricate plots.
November 11, 2024
This was not what I expected, wow. Also, the writing is different and I like it. This series is very complex and I really like it. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.
December 26, 2023
Short but interesting. I didn't like how it ended without any resolution, but I guess that's supposed to make me want to read the next installment. All I can say is it's working.
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May 22, 2019I feel one of the advantages (or disadvantage for some) of reading a series not in its proper order is the privilege of hindsight, which is what The List provides me with. JK Coe has always been an intriguing character when I started reading Spook Street and London Rules. I mean, the guy's obviously smart but tortured so what exactly is his back story? Well, this book provides me with some answers and also reveals another side of Coe.
Another interesting character to me is Hannah Weiss. Is she just a naivete seeking the thrill of an adventure as a spy-wannabe or is that another persona she is adopting as a triple agent? This book introduces her yet held back much of who she really is, which basically sets the tone for the upcoming plot to the Slough House series.
Another interesting character to me is Hannah Weiss. Is she just a naivete seeking the thrill of an adventure as a spy-wannabe or is that another persona she is adopting as a triple agent? This book introduces her yet held back much of who she really is, which basically sets the tone for the upcoming plot to the Slough House series.
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