Clown Town
- 353
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 1 week on the list, peaked at #3
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About the book
“Old spies grow ridiculous, River. Old spies aren’t much better than clowns.” Or so David Cartwright, the late retired head of MI5, used to tell his grandson. He forgot to add that old spies can be dangerous, too, especially if they’ve fallen on hard times—as River Cartwright is about to learn the hard way. David Cartwright, long buried, has left his library to the Spooks’ College in Oxford, and now one of the books is missing. Or perhaps it never existed. River, once a “slow horse” of Slough House, MI5’s outpost for demoted and disgraced spies, has some time to kill while awaiting medical clearance to return to work, and starts investigating the secrets of his grandfather’s library. Over at the Park, MI5 First Desk Diana Taverner is in a pickle. An operation carried out during the height of the Troubles laid bare the ugly side of state security, and those involved are threatening to expose details. But every threat hides an opportunity, and Taverner has come up with a scheme. All she needs is the right dupe to get caught holding the bag. Jackson Lamb, the enigmatic and odiferous head of Slough House, has no plans to send in the clowns. On the other hand, if the clowns ignore his instructions, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault. But they’re his clowns. And if they don’t all make it home, there’ll be a reckoning.
Reading order · Slough House
Full order & progress →- Slow HorsesStart here
7.87.8 / 10 - Dead Lions
–Not ranked yet - Real Tigers
7.97.9 / 10 - Spook Street
–Not ranked yet - London Rules
–Not ranked yet - Joe Country
–Not ranked yet - Slough House
–Not ranked yet - Bad ActorsBad Actors–Not ranked yet
- Clown TownThis book
7.97.9 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.7 across 47 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 24% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Rankings average of 7.8. That is how 7.9 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 8.7 | 47 | 100% |
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.