Spook Street (Slough House, #4)

by Mick Herron

The vampires being those whose job it was to draw blood from stones.

paperwork was what kept battleships afloat: you could have all your admirals out on deck in their fancy get-up, but without the right paperwork, you’d never get out of the harbour.

When the cat was away, Lamb had been known to remark, the mice started farting about with notions of democratic freedom. Then the cat returned in a tank.

And no amount of Kevlar offered protection from a woman’s disappointment.

We may not be getting anywhere, the subtext read, but at least we’ve had very little sleep.

A loose bullet rips a hole in normality, through which more violence might slip.

Lately, Marcus and money had been undergoing a trial separation. And things didn’t look good for them.