Line #13 Literature/RealTigers


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4	''Real Tigers'' is the third of Mick Herron's ''Literature/JacksonLamb'' novels, following on from ''Literature/DeadLions''.
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6	Slough House is supposed to be a punishment for problematic [=MI5=] agents who can’t easily be fired. These 'Slow Horses' are assembled from the incompetent, the inconvenient and the unreliable. The seemingly burnt-out UsefulNotes/ColdWar veteran Jackson Lamb runs the department and is consistently horrible to his staff, ridiculing them as they work through a hundred different pointless tasks.
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8	Slough House is not supposed to get involved in the real, important business of [=MI5=]. But by this point that rule's been broken more than once, each time with fatal consequences.
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10	When one of the Slough House team is kidnapped and another receives an ultimatum from the kidnappers, things start to spiral into chaos once again.
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12	----
13	!! Real Tigers contains examples of:
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15	* AssassinOutclassin: [[spoiler:After Lamb refuses to cooperate with the cover-up at the end of the book, Peter Judd decides to silence him and retrieve the evidence. Judd's usual killer, Seb, then sneaks into a darkened Slough House, follows the sound of Lamb's snoring - and finds Lamb waiting for him, gun in hand, fully awake. The Slow Horses are apparently tasked with disposing of Seb's body]].
16	* BlackSite: [[spoiler:The secret prisons that are indirectly documented by the Project Waterproof files, which are at the heart of Judd and Taverner’s plan to oust Tearney]].
17	* ContinuityNod: When [[spoiler:Project Waterproof]] is discussed, there’s a brief mention of rumors that Tearney also had some people [[spoiler:imprisoned in black sites]] for more personal reasons, abusing her power. This gets discussed in more detail in ''Literature/NobodyWalks''.
18	* CorruptPolitician: Peter Judd, established in this role by previous books, is now Home Secretary and at the heart of the plot.
19	* DragonWithAnAgenda: [[spoiler:Sean Donovan]] to [[spoiler:Sly Monteith. Monteith has no idea that Donovan is working with Taverner. Or that he created a vacancy by trying to kill his predecessor]].
20	* EnemyCivilWar: [[spoiler:In other circumstances it might be DividedWeFall, as [=MI5=] is not generally portrayed as a villainous organisation. But the feud and scheming is between Taverner and Tearney, who are both deeply unpleasant people, and both are entirely prepared to kill innocents to get the upper hand]].
21	* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Donovan and Traynor]] end up allying with some of the Slow Horses after [[spoiler:Tearney sends Duffy and the Black Arrow mercenaries to kill everyone on the site]].
22	* FalseFlagOperation: The kidnappers who seize Catherine Standish and demand River retrieves a file are [[spoiler:a 'Tiger Team' testing [=MI5=] security for the Home Secretary]]. [[spoiler:Which doesn't mean that they don't have their own agenda, of course]].
23	* FictionalCounterpart: "Fair Deal for Fathers" is essentially British fathers' rights organisation "Fathers 4 Justice", famed for their superhero costumed-stunts. The real Fathers 4 Justice get a ShoutOut later in the book, but aren't involved in the protest or attempted murder.
24	* HostageForMacguffin: River is instructed to steal a file from the Park to ensure Catherine's continued safety.
25	* InternalReveal: [[spoiler:Catherine Standish finally discovers that her old boss Charles Partner was a MoleInCharge. But not the truth about his death]].
26	* LeaveNoWitnesses: [[spoiler:Tearney's order to Duffy when she realises how deep Taverner's scheme goes. Donovan, Traynor, the Slow Horses and the archive staff all need to be killed, to avoid any risk of Project Waterproof implicating her]].
27	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: [[spoiler: The car accident that killed Captain Dunn, arranged via sabotage and spiked drinks. Framing Donovan made it look more convincing]].
28	* SheKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:Captain Dunn found out too much about Project Waterproof from a foreign contact, at which point certain people within [=MI5=] panicked and arranged her murder]].
29	* ShoutOut:
30	** [=MI5=]'s document classification system is based on ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}''. Some of the staff are amused by the thought that Dame Ingrid doesn't realise this (she does).
31	** 'Fathers 4 Justice', the British pressure group, gets a mention when their FictionalCounterpart 'Fair Deal for Fathers' is discussed.
32	** The two 'Fair Deal for Fathers' protesters in the opening scene are dressed as ComicBook/SpiderMan and ComicBook/{{Batman}}.
33	* TheStarscream: Di Taverner, who’s scheming to remove Dame Ingrid Tearney as First Desk of [=MI5=].
34	* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: [[spoiler:Catherine Standish quits after Lamb's revelation about her old boss Charles Partner]].
35	* UncertainDoom:
36	** [[spoiler:'Spider' Webb. It's suggested that Di Taverner may have arranged for his life support to be unplugged after River invents a story about Spider's wishes, claiming that he has no family to speak for him]].

Context Literature / RealTigers