Plot Not Pulp Book Club: Slow Horses (#1) by Mick Herron

Plot Not Pulp Book Club: We're going for page-turners with memorable characters, original storytelling, or fascinating world-building. Think less My Favorite Murder and more Michael Connelly (Lincoln Lawyer, Bosch) & Mick Herron (Slow Horses), James S.A. Corey (The Expanse) & William Gibson (The Peripheral), Joe Abercrombie (Age of Madness) & Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archives).
Defining our To Be Read (TBR):

• Yes Please — Thriller, crime, sci-fi, fantasy, and comedic novels by classic and contemporary authors, from Ian Flemming and John le Carré to the likes of S.A. Crosby and Carl Hiaasen.
• No Thanks — YA, romance/"romantasy", psychological/horror thrillers, true crime, domestic drama, or murderino fiction, e.g. The Long Walk, It, Gone Girl, Where the Crawdads Sing, The Housemaid.

Our Monthly Meet-up:

• Read at Your Pace: Read or listen to the book. Finish it, or don't—you are welcome either way. A DNF or dislike of the book can make the conversation even more interesting.
• The Vibe: We meet for lunch, good company, & chat about the book.
• The Verdict: At the end, let's rate it for fun: Plot or Pulp? Sequel TBR or DNF & donate it?

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Inaugural (hopefully) November Book: In honor of Season 5 of Slow Horses, we're starting with the book that launched the series. Seen the show? Totally fine — the aim is to (hopefully) enjoy or love-to-hate the book on its own, storytelling merits.

Slow Horses (Slough House #1) by Mick Herron

• "London, England: Slough House is where washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what’s left of their failed careers. The “slow horses,” as they’re called, have all disgraced themselves in some way to get relegated there. Maybe they botched an Op so badly they can’t be trusted anymore. Maybe they got in the way of an ambitious colleague and had the rug yanked out from under them. Maybe they just got too dependent on the bottle—not unusual in this line of work. One thing they have in common, though, is they want to be back in the action. And most of them would do anything to get there─even if it means having to collaborate with one another.
• When a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to broadcast his beheading live on the Internet, the slow horses see an opportunity to redeem themselves. But is the victim really who he appears to be?"