Dead Lions

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-3

Part 1, Chapters 4-7

Part 2, Chapters 8-12

Part 2, Chapters 13-17

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Background

Authorial Context: Mick Herron and the Slow Horses

Mick Herron is a British author best known for his Slough House series, a collection of novels centered on MI5 outcasts working in a dingy office named Slough House. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1963, Herron spent his formative years in the Northeast of England. He later attended Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he studied English literature. After graduating, Herron remained in Oxford and worked as an editor for a legal publishing firm.

Herron’s writing career began with standalone mystery novels, including Down Cemetery Road (2003). Herron continued writing crime novels without garnering widespread attention. Herron began to gain international recognition with the publication of Slow Horses (2010), the first book in the Slough House series. The Slough House series revolves around a group of disgraced MI5 agents known as the “slow horses” who are exiled to Slough House after committing career-ending mistakes. Jackson Lamb, the leader of Slough House, is a deeply cynical, abrasive, and seemingly lazy former field agent who, despite his crude personality, displays sharp intelligence and loyalty to his “slow horses.” Lamb’s character encapsulates Herron’s approach to anti-heroism, blending acerbic wit with unexpected layers of depth.

With Slow Horses, Herron redefined the spy novel by exploring ideas of incompetence, bureaucratic decay, and moral ambiguity. His portrayal of British intelligence is unglamorous: Herron’s world is one of mundane paperwork, exhausted operatives, and cynicism. Herron emphasizes the realistic side of espionage, where agents are bogged down by red tape, office politics, and, at times, profound disappointment with their careers. The Slough House series is also laced with satire, critiquing contemporary British politics, the intelligence community, and the media’s role in shaping public perception. In particular, these novels offer an updated iteration of the classic world of British espionage, as explored by writers like John le Carré in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Following Slow Horses, Herron continued the series with Dead Lions (2013), which won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award, solidifying his reputation as a leading figure in crime fiction. As the Slough House series grows, it explores global and domestic affairs from cybersecurity threats to the consequences of nationalism. Herron’s commentary on current events, including Brexit and the influence of social media, lends the series a contemporary relevance. Books like Spook Street (2017), London Rules (2018), and Joe Country (2019) delve into the intricate web of relationships within Slough House, as well as the personal and professional lives of the slow horses.

Herron’s success continues to grow, with his novels being adapted into a television series by Apple TV+. The series, starring Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, has brought Herron’s work to a broader audience, sparking renewed interest in the Slough House series and introducing viewers to Herron’s distinct take on espionage fiction. Reviews have praised the adaptation for capturing the spirit of Herron’s writing, including the dark humor and satirical edge that are his trademarks.

Series Context: Slow Horses

Dead Lions is the second entry in the Slough House series. In Slow Horses, the first novel in the series, readers are introduced to a unique branch of MI5, known as Slough House, where disgraced British intelligence agents are exiled after career-ending mistakes. Among them is River Cartwright, a young, ambitious agent whose career was abruptly derailed by a disastrous training exercise. Desperate to prove himself, Cartwright seizes an unexpected opportunity when the slow horses get wind of a potential terror plot. A young British man of Pakistani heritage, Hassan Ahmed, has been kidnapped by a group of nationalist extremists known as the Sons of Albion. The group threatens to execute Ahmed live on the internet, exploiting anti-immigrant sentiments in the UK to create a public spectacle and gain attention for their cause.

While MI5 dismisses Slough House and gives no indication that it wants the slow horses involved, River, digs into the case with the help of his colleagues, who include Catherine Standish, an ex-secretary with a troubled past, and Louisa Guy, who longs to return to the real action. Despite their exile, the slow horses begin piecing together details of the kidnapping, suspecting that someone within MI5 is manipulating events behind the scenes.

As the slow horses delve deeper, they uncover evidence that the kidnapping is indeed a false flag operation orchestrated by MI5’s leadership, including Diana Taverner. The operation is designed to justify an expansion of MI5’s powers, catering to political ambitions and public fears while endearing the British intelligence service to a high-ranking general in Pakistan, who is Hassan’s estranged uncle. As the plot unravels, the slow horses realize that they have unwittingly become entangled in a high-stakes game in the heart of British intelligence. The undercover agent in the Sons of Albion is killed, and the slow horses are lined up by Taverner to take the fall.

The slow horses, led by Jackson Lamb, who proves sharper and more formidable than his demeanor suggests, race against time to find Ahmed and expose the truth before it is too late. Despite their limitations and the obstacles placed by MI5, the team’s determination and ingenuity drive them to a final confrontation with the kidnappers. They track the van used by the kidnappers and send a local police unit to find Hassan, who managed to escape.

At the end of the novel—set several months before Dead Lions—the slow horses have returned to Slough House. Lamb has compromising information on Taverner, which he can use to gain an advantage for Slough House, while River returns to his desk job, mourning the loss of his fellow agent and slow horse, Sidonie “Sid” Baker. Louisa and Min are on the brink of romantic involvement, while Catherine Standish and Roderick Ho have forged a new understanding.