Having read all the Slough House spy novels by Mick Herron (the latest 'Clown Town' reviewed here in October 2025), I was intrigued to read an earlier Mick Herron novel 'This is What Happened' (published 2018). This is a slight but clever puzzle of a novel. I really enjoyed trying to work out where it was going so I don't want to say too much about the plot. But be warned that this is a fairly creepy story about coercive control. The narrative structure shows us events through the eyes of each of the main protagonists, one after the other. So we gradually start to understand things the characters themselves don't. Mick Herron drops in perfectly placed clues, allowing the reader very satisfyingly to spot each of the twists just before they are revealed. 'This is What Happened' is a black comic thriller with a macabre feel.
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