Book Review: “Down Cemetery Road” by Mick Herron

Down Cemetery Road by Mick Herron

I’ve become quite a fan of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses.   Cemetery Road is earlier work, before Slow Horses, It was not a giant hit.

I believe this was his first published book, and it shows. 

Herron’s recent fiction is marked by some crazy plots, extreme danger, and unpredictable twists. His early book has all these elements, but nothing is as smooth or clever. His later works are better in many ways, though it is difficult to articulate exactly. Just better.

But with hindsight, we can see the talent shining through.  There are many touches we see in the later works: tension and twists, the noir sensibility toward the landscape and common life, a seriously bad attitude about pretty much everything except personal loyalty and friendship.

Anyway.

The story is set at the beginning of the second Iraq invasion, which is a long, long time ago now.  It’s actually surprising how well the “slice of life” holds up, considering.  The plot device is absurd, of course, though that’s really part of the point.

Plucky “bored housewife” Sarah is dragged into horrible and violent events.  Soon enough, people are dead and she is in mortal danger.  Her husband shows his true colors, and her “boring” world goes crazy.  With a little help from friends and even people she doesn’t like, she resolves to untangle the mystery, protect the innocent, and punish the wicked. 

In other words, she goes noir on their ass.

This story is set in Oxford (at least initially).  With yet more hindsight, it is interesting to read the descriptions of suburban life in Oxford after reading Jill Lepore’s profile in The New Yorker [2].  The profile makes me think that this first novel has considerable autobiographical elements.  (The Slow Horses is, as far as anyone knows, not autobiographical at all.   As far as anyone knows.)

There are several more “Oxford” stories that I haven’t read.  I am curious what happens next.

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1. Mick Herron, Down Cemetery Road, New York, Soho Press, 2003.
2. Jill Lepore, Is Mick Herron the Best Spy Novelist of His Generation?, in The New Yorker. 2022, Conde Nast: New York. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/05/is-mick-herron-the-best-spy-novelist-of-his-generation

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