Londyńskie zasady

Outrageous and I love it for that. There's dark humour but there's also outlandish hijinks and I am here for the mix. Don't get me wrong, this is a novel about failed spies, a number are unlikeable and most are haunted in one way or another. My memory is that the last book in the series was particularly heavy (hence my long break between books), and I appreciate that this one had a bit more silly among the cloak and dagger and human tragedy.
Flawed individuals all, but as much as Jackson Lamb is abrasive and dogged in reminding the ‘slow horses' of their faults, the author manages to display some mistakes in a compassionate light. The aspiring politician who fell from grace because he wanted to help his brother, the ex-con who was provided a chance to do better and only fell into folly because he was trying to help. I was particularly struck by Herron's wording prefacing the memorial service scene: “This is what London and its sister cities have learned: that hate crime pollutes the soul, but only the souls of those who commit it. When those who mourn stand together, their separate chimes sounding in unison if only for a moment, they remain unstained.” 
Despite the metric ton of cynicism, this book falls into the grand tradition of a mystery with people trying to do good up against those who have decided to do bad. Whether the ones doing good ARE good is another matter. 
This entry is definitely an ensemble piece. If you'd asked me after the first book who the main character is, I'd have said River Cartwright. Subsequently, each book has focused a bit more on different characters, but I think the main thread is the forceful personality of Jackson Lamb. Wouldn't want to meet him, but happy to have him corral the struggling spooks and solve the puzzles. I'd say if you find Hawthorne from the Horowitz mysteries infuriating in his attitudes, you're not going to like reading about Lamb. Sincerely hoping Roddy learns a valuable lesson, and that Shirley doesn't backslide too far. I like the breadcrumbs sprinkled for River and Catherine, revelations that could lead to further developments in future books. 😉

Some details reflecting the time of publication and prevailing attitudes towards certain minority groups, though not necessarily the views of the author, because I feel like they need their own warning:
1) the terrorists being indoctrinated, incompetent young men from North Korea 
2) the model minority Muslim mayoral candidate turning out to be a drinker who pays for illegal IDs for a not-dead radicalized relative to disappear without any acknowledgement of any wrongdoing
3) a politician having his career threatened via evidence that he chose to wear traditionally feminine clothing/did drag in a club, because the one threatening knows it wouldn't be accepted by his constituents, even if it's acknowledged there's nothing wrong with it, because the politician has some pretty repugnantly conservative views in other areas
4) Man with acknowledged mental health concerns presented as ‘possibly a psychopath' who gets a bit chipper after killing someone on purpose or accidentally 

⚠️animal death, racism, Islamophobia, terrorism, drug addiction, dementia, ableism