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The Oxford Investigations #4
Smoke and Whispers
When a body is hauled from the River Tyne, Sarah Tucker heads to Newcastle for a closer look. She identifies the dead woman as private detective Zoë Boehm, but putting a name to the corpse only raises further questions. Did Zoë kill herself, or did one of her old cases come back to haunt her? Why was she wearing the jacket a murderer had stolen years before? And what's brought Sarah's former sparring partner Gerard Inchon to the same broken-down hotel where she's staying? Coincidence is an excuse that soon appears pretty unconvincing. Sarah can't leave until she's found the answers to her questions, however dangerous they might turn out to be.
273 pages, ebook
First published March 26, 2009
531 people are currently reading
1409 people want to read
About the author
Mick Herron
57 books5,613 followersMick Herron was born in Newcastle and has a degree in English from Balliol College, Oxford. He is the author of six books in the Slough House series as well as a mystery series set in Oxford featuring Sarah Tucker and/or P.I. Zoë Boehm. He now lives in Oxford and works in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
August 17, 2021
I have never been as invested in this series as I am in Slough House but I still enjoy it. Zoe Boehm fails to grab me as a main character and I think I lost my involvement in the books because of this.
Actually Zoe is not that much involved in Smoke and Whispers, for most of the book anyway. She starts it on a slab in the mortuary and ends it - well read it yourself to find out how! Mick Herron plays a crafty game in this book and this is the reason the whole thing is so worth reading. He is always the ultimate in craftiness!
Someone commented that this series included the most boring serial killer ever and I think I have to agree with that. The ending of this book is fairly inconclusive as to his fate but hopefully he will not pop up again.
Any book by Mick Herron is worth reading but some are still better than others . More Slow Horses please!
Actually Zoe is not that much involved in Smoke and Whispers, for most of the book anyway. She starts it on a slab in the mortuary and ends it - well read it yourself to find out how! Mick Herron plays a crafty game in this book and this is the reason the whole thing is so worth reading. He is always the ultimate in craftiness!
Someone commented that this series included the most boring serial killer ever and I think I have to agree with that. The ending of this book is fairly inconclusive as to his fate but hopefully he will not pop up again.
Any book by Mick Herron is worth reading but some are still better than others . More Slow Horses please!
January 9, 2026
“Sarah closed her eyes, and opened them again. The body on the slab hadn't moved. It was Zoë. But it was not Zoë. It was like looking at a lamp from which the bulb had been removed, and trying to gauge how much light it once shed. The last time Sarah had seen Zoë Boehm... Almost two years ago, because Zoë had never been one for keeping in touch, but at least she'd been alive; the light she'd cast being that dark glow Sarah had grown used to: laughing and joking but holding something back...”
Smoke and Whispers is the fourth book in the Oxford Investigations series by British author, Mick Herron. Sarah Tucker is in Newcastle to identify a body pulled from the Tyne. All the signs point to it being her old friend, Zoë Boehm. But before Sarah has even seen the body, she runs into an acquaintance from years earlier: “What was Gerard doing, that was the question, at the same hotel Zoë had stayed in before winding up in the river? If this was coincidence, Sarah could live with it, because strange things happened. But to believe it coincidence, she had to lean on it first, to see if it broke.”
And when she does get to see the body, another niggle: it was wearing Zoë’s black leather jacket, the one that was stolen a few years ago by the still-at-large serial killer using the name Alan Talmadge. So is he on the scene somewhere? Her partner might not like the idea, but Sarah feels she can’t just walk away from this; after all, Zoë did save her life once.
Herron’s final(?) book in this series is another page-turner with a good dose of tension as well as several twists and red herrings to keep the reader guessing to the end. The dialogue is sharp and witty, creating plenty of (often dark) humour throughout, but especially during the exciting climax. There’s also a delightful irony in the phone call Sarah receives while searching a certain hotel room. Utterly brilliant!
Smoke and Whispers is the fourth book in the Oxford Investigations series by British author, Mick Herron. Sarah Tucker is in Newcastle to identify a body pulled from the Tyne. All the signs point to it being her old friend, Zoë Boehm. But before Sarah has even seen the body, she runs into an acquaintance from years earlier: “What was Gerard doing, that was the question, at the same hotel Zoë had stayed in before winding up in the river? If this was coincidence, Sarah could live with it, because strange things happened. But to believe it coincidence, she had to lean on it first, to see if it broke.”
And when she does get to see the body, another niggle: it was wearing Zoë’s black leather jacket, the one that was stolen a few years ago by the still-at-large serial killer using the name Alan Talmadge. So is he on the scene somewhere? Her partner might not like the idea, but Sarah feels she can’t just walk away from this; after all, Zoë did save her life once.
Herron’s final(?) book in this series is another page-turner with a good dose of tension as well as several twists and red herrings to keep the reader guessing to the end. The dialogue is sharp and witty, creating plenty of (often dark) humour throughout, but especially during the exciting climax. There’s also a delightful irony in the phone call Sarah receives while searching a certain hotel room. Utterly brilliant!
February 8, 2026
Smoke and Whispers is the fourth and final book in the Zoe Boehm series. Heads up, no way does this work as a stand-alone. In fact, I struggled a little because of the time that had passed since I read the first book in the series.
The story starts with Zoe turning up dead in Newcastle. Her friend, Sarah Tucker comes to identify the body. But it’s been in the river so long, she’s not 100% sure other than recognizing Zoe’s beloved leather jacket. A jacket that was stolen from her years before.
I found this the least satisfying of the series. We spend a lot of time in Sarah’s head. Too much talk, not enough action, until the final 25%. Sarah struggles to figure out what brought Zoe to Newcastle and why she died. Was it suicide or murder? She’s also confused by running into Gerald Inchon, a long ago acquaintance which just seems like one coincidence too many, especially when he keeps trying to include her in his plans. She spends way too much time just dithering. The last part does tie it all up nicely but by then, it was a little too late for me.
It’s obvious this series was written before Slow Horses. It has some of Herron’s trademark humor. But his writing style and ability to craft an engaging storyline have definitely improved.
I listened to this and Alix Dunmore did a decent job as the narrator.
The story starts with Zoe turning up dead in Newcastle. Her friend, Sarah Tucker comes to identify the body. But it’s been in the river so long, she’s not 100% sure other than recognizing Zoe’s beloved leather jacket. A jacket that was stolen from her years before.
I found this the least satisfying of the series. We spend a lot of time in Sarah’s head. Too much talk, not enough action, until the final 25%. Sarah struggles to figure out what brought Zoe to Newcastle and why she died. Was it suicide or murder? She’s also confused by running into Gerald Inchon, a long ago acquaintance which just seems like one coincidence too many, especially when he keeps trying to include her in his plans. She spends way too much time just dithering. The last part does tie it all up nicely but by then, it was a little too late for me.
It’s obvious this series was written before Slow Horses. It has some of Herron’s trademark humor. But his writing style and ability to craft an engaging storyline have definitely improved.
I listened to this and Alix Dunmore did a decent job as the narrator.
August 17, 2017
For my money, there is no smarter, stronger crime writer out there than Herron.
This is the final book of his original PI series. It started with a jaw dropping question and stayed powerful through virtually the whole book. This isn't a flashy, high adrenaline series, there is plenty of genuine suspense, and blasts of adrenaline in the right places.
Mostly through, these are such smart, engaging, reflective reads that they nearly spoil me for others. His female leads are strong, genuine, insightfully female without crossing into stereotypes or predictable "femininity". I don't know how he does it.
Herron leaves this series in a strong enough place for conclusion, but leaves generous space to pick it up again (oh, please), and he could go any of a number of ways with it.
Crime reading bliss.
This is the final book of his original PI series. It started with a jaw dropping question and stayed powerful through virtually the whole book. This isn't a flashy, high adrenaline series, there is plenty of genuine suspense, and blasts of adrenaline in the right places.
Mostly through, these are such smart, engaging, reflective reads that they nearly spoil me for others. His female leads are strong, genuine, insightfully female without crossing into stereotypes or predictable "femininity". I don't know how he does it.
Herron leaves this series in a strong enough place for conclusion, but leaves generous space to pick it up again (oh, please), and he could go any of a number of ways with it.
Crime reading bliss.
December 16, 2025
Nice conclusion to Herron's four-book "Oxford Mystery" series; in fact, this was probably my favorite. Cover of this version has changed the "An Oxford Novel" line to "A Zoë Boehm Thriller," which is certainly a little catchier if actually somewhat inaccurate, as this one is really much more a Sarah Tucker story than Zoë.
Anyway, don't know if Herron will ever return to this series, considering the ongoing success of his other "Slow Horses" books and TV show. But if not this wrapped things up very neatly, bringing back and further developing characters from the first and third books. It also largely explains Sarah's strained relationship with Zoë that’s mentioned — and to an extent resolved — in the story “What We Do” in Herron’s short story collection, Dolphin Junction: Stories. (“Among the things that hadn't survived was her friendship with Sarah Tucker, and only now that was gone had Zoë come to realize how much she’d relied on it.”)
Fun fact:
Anyway, don't know if Herron will ever return to this series, considering the ongoing success of his other "Slow Horses" books and TV show. But if not this wrapped things up very neatly, bringing back and further developing characters from the first and third books. It also largely explains Sarah's strained relationship with Zoë that’s mentioned — and to an extent resolved — in the story “What We Do” in Herron’s short story collection, Dolphin Junction: Stories. (“Among the things that hadn't survived was her friendship with Sarah Tucker, and only now that was gone had Zoë come to realize how much she’d relied on it.”)
Fun fact:
July 17, 2022
I'm pretty sure I wrote a review when I read this, but it seems to be gone. I don't remember it well enough now, so I guess I'll have to reread the series and write a new one. Good excuse to reread more Mick Herron.
August 24, 2009
In this tight mystery Sarah Tucker comes to Newcastle to identify the remains of a friend Zoe, who allegedly has been fished out of a local river dead. The woman is wearing Zoe's clothes and kind of looks like Zoe but she is also wearing a jacket that was stolen by a man named Alan Talmadge, who Zoe suspects is a murderer. Although Sarah says that it is the body of her sometimes friend, she is unsettled. Whether its the inchoate feeling that Zoe would not be caught drowned in a river or the fact of how the lost jacket was on Zoe, is not really important.
At the hotel Bobec, Sarah bumps into her friend Gerard Inchon, who is in town raising money for some project, and one of his investors is a man named Jack, who turns out to be the son of a local gangster, who is trying to obtain money for John Wright, a scientist trying to cure asthma. This all forms part of a subplot in the novel, as Sarah uses Jack to find out that one of the hotel guests is not Talmadge and discovers that Inchon is not really in town to raise money.
THis is not an action packed novel and is relatively short at a tad less than 300 pages, but the writing is clear and precise and the atmosphere is genuine. Whether Zoe is dead or not I leave up to the next reader, but I may find myself curled up again with Sarah Tucker, who is a good little detective.
At the hotel Bobec, Sarah bumps into her friend Gerard Inchon, who is in town raising money for some project, and one of his investors is a man named Jack, who turns out to be the son of a local gangster, who is trying to obtain money for John Wright, a scientist trying to cure asthma. This all forms part of a subplot in the novel, as Sarah uses Jack to find out that one of the hotel guests is not Talmadge and discovers that Inchon is not really in town to raise money.
THis is not an action packed novel and is relatively short at a tad less than 300 pages, but the writing is clear and precise and the atmosphere is genuine. Whether Zoe is dead or not I leave up to the next reader, but I may find myself curled up again with Sarah Tucker, who is a good little detective.
March 12, 2019
A little humor, a little poetry, one okay mystery, one okay detective. The return of the world's most boring serial killer, pursued by a tedious detective. Not much to enjoy.
November 27, 2017
'Smoke and Whispers' is another of Mick Herron's mysteries starring Sarah Tucker and the intrepid PI Zoe Boehm. I was at a bit of a disadvantage in getting into it as I hadn't read a previous novel that introduced the 'bad guy', but there was enough in the narrative that I could make sense of the story.
The plot was an odd one. Sarah, who's just a normal everyday Brit (not a cop, in other words), is asked to travel to Newcastle to identify a body found floating in a river that is assumed, due to the identification found on it, to be that of her friend, Zoe. Since the body had been in the water for awhile, Sarah couldn't make a positive ID in her own mind, although she did tell the police that it was Zoe. However, the presence of a leather jacket that was taken previously from Zoe by an alleged serial killer was enough to sew doubt in her mind and to cause her to begin her own 'investigation'. She sets up camp at the rather derelict hotel that Zoe had stayed in prior to her assumed demise and the fun begins.
Gerard Inchon, an over-the-top figure introduced in the initial book in this series, becomes an omnipresent character whose involvement in whatever led to Zoe or her lookalike's death is hinted at but not clarified until late. The aforementioned serial killer, assumed by Sarah to be the key to uncovering the truth, makes appearance throughout, or does he? Add a few other gangsters, business guys, cops, and assorted ne'er-do-wells to the mix and you have quite a challenge for Sarah to conduct her own unofficial investigation.
Herron's a really proficient writer, but I'm not sure this series is a great use of his talents. Neither Sarah nor Zoe are 'traditional' characters in this genre, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but can put some limitations on their abilities. I also have a bit of a problem with the dialogue, which too often sounds almost too perfect, with a character having the perfect response or a couple characters having back and forth conversation that seems scripted. Not a huge problem, since the rest of Herron's writing is so good.
'Smoke and Whispers' is an unusual take on a missing person theme that readers, especially those fond of great Brit writing, will appreciate.
The plot was an odd one. Sarah, who's just a normal everyday Brit (not a cop, in other words), is asked to travel to Newcastle to identify a body found floating in a river that is assumed, due to the identification found on it, to be that of her friend, Zoe. Since the body had been in the water for awhile, Sarah couldn't make a positive ID in her own mind, although she did tell the police that it was Zoe. However, the presence of a leather jacket that was taken previously from Zoe by an alleged serial killer was enough to sew doubt in her mind and to cause her to begin her own 'investigation'. She sets up camp at the rather derelict hotel that Zoe had stayed in prior to her assumed demise and the fun begins.
Gerard Inchon, an over-the-top figure introduced in the initial book in this series, becomes an omnipresent character whose involvement in whatever led to Zoe or her lookalike's death is hinted at but not clarified until late. The aforementioned serial killer, assumed by Sarah to be the key to uncovering the truth, makes appearance throughout, or does he? Add a few other gangsters, business guys, cops, and assorted ne'er-do-wells to the mix and you have quite a challenge for Sarah to conduct her own unofficial investigation.
Herron's a really proficient writer, but I'm not sure this series is a great use of his talents. Neither Sarah nor Zoe are 'traditional' characters in this genre, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but can put some limitations on their abilities. I also have a bit of a problem with the dialogue, which too often sounds almost too perfect, with a character having the perfect response or a couple characters having back and forth conversation that seems scripted. Not a huge problem, since the rest of Herron's writing is so good.
'Smoke and Whispers' is an unusual take on a missing person theme that readers, especially those fond of great Brit writing, will appreciate.
February 19, 2020
Spoiler alert
How can the Slough House books be so solid and these be so sloppy?
Too much talking—Sarah going off on the antagonist for pages.
Sarah making such bad choices: wandering in the dark, not plugging in her phone, forgetting her phone, being snippy.
In a previous book, Zoe led a manic to a farm. This time she’s the maniac.
I have vowed to give up on this series before. Then I bought this book, but not again. I will continue to read the SH series, which is brilliant.
How can the Slough House books be so solid and these be so sloppy?
Too much talking—Sarah going off on the antagonist for pages.
Sarah making such bad choices: wandering in the dark, not plugging in her phone, forgetting her phone, being snippy.
In a previous book, Zoe led a manic to a farm. This time she’s the maniac.
I have vowed to give up on this series before. Then I bought this book, but not again. I will continue to read the SH series, which is brilliant.
June 22, 2025
Interesting, clever and extremely well written. I really enjoyed it, probably more than the other books in the series
August 6, 2017
Sarah Tucker travels from Oxford to Newcastle to identify the body of a woman fished out of the River Tyne near the Millennium Bridge. Private detective Zoë Boehm is missing or has gone to ground, not answering emails or her phone. The two are not close friends but Zoë once saved Sarah’s life, and a week earlier she received a postcard from Zoë showing the River Tyne and describing the rundown Bolbec Hotel where she stayed.
Sarah books in, ahead of viewing the body the next day. To keep dark thoughts at bay she goes to the empty hotel bar, where Aussie bartender Barry engages her in small talk, saying he remembers Zoë, and how the bar was full that night. This night is no different as local business identities gather around their host, a man Sarah remembers from her past: self-made millionaire Gerard Inchon. But why is a man of his wealth and connections staying there?
She is invited to join them for a buffet dinner and drinks, finally extricating herself to sleep and sober up ahead of her grim task. The body being in water is bloated and distorted; death by drowning, but is it Zoë? A leather jacket and items found in pockets point to it being Zoë. Something does not make sense, but not enough to go to the police …
As the novel unfolds it becomes clear there are two stories running, not so much in parallel as paired chromosomes entwined, with Zoë as the crossover point. Sarah suspects her disappearance is linked to the murders of two lonely middle-aged women, in both cases the killer Alan Talmadge vanished. Is the body another victim? Inchon’s bonhomie masks a personal tragedy; but what is his link to Zoë and why is he really in Newcastle?
From a promising beginning, about half way through the book I was tempted to toss it aside, not liking the direction it was moving, but I’m glad I stuck it to the end. Herron has a gift for drawing flawed characters; many not what or who they appear to be. Each story has an unlikely hero and predatory villain, set in a once-depressed Newcastle that this reader remembers from my student days, now revitalised though the past lingers on.
Overall it’s a good, thoughtful read, but unlike his “Slough House” spook series. There’s a continuity flaw in Sarah, on checking out of the hotel, leaves her bag with the helpful owner of an internet café. Later she picks it up and leaves it in the cloakroom at the Sage Gateshead, only to pick it up 40+ pages later from the internet café.
Sarah books in, ahead of viewing the body the next day. To keep dark thoughts at bay she goes to the empty hotel bar, where Aussie bartender Barry engages her in small talk, saying he remembers Zoë, and how the bar was full that night. This night is no different as local business identities gather around their host, a man Sarah remembers from her past: self-made millionaire Gerard Inchon. But why is a man of his wealth and connections staying there?
She is invited to join them for a buffet dinner and drinks, finally extricating herself to sleep and sober up ahead of her grim task. The body being in water is bloated and distorted; death by drowning, but is it Zoë? A leather jacket and items found in pockets point to it being Zoë. Something does not make sense, but not enough to go to the police …
As the novel unfolds it becomes clear there are two stories running, not so much in parallel as paired chromosomes entwined, with Zoë as the crossover point. Sarah suspects her disappearance is linked to the murders of two lonely middle-aged women, in both cases the killer Alan Talmadge vanished. Is the body another victim? Inchon’s bonhomie masks a personal tragedy; but what is his link to Zoë and why is he really in Newcastle?
From a promising beginning, about half way through the book I was tempted to toss it aside, not liking the direction it was moving, but I’m glad I stuck it to the end. Herron has a gift for drawing flawed characters; many not what or who they appear to be. Each story has an unlikely hero and predatory villain, set in a once-depressed Newcastle that this reader remembers from my student days, now revitalised though the past lingers on.
Overall it’s a good, thoughtful read, but unlike his “Slough House” spook series. There’s a continuity flaw in Sarah, on checking out of the hotel, leaves her bag with the helpful owner of an internet café. Later she picks it up and leaves it in the cloakroom at the Sage Gateshead, only to pick it up 40+ pages later from the internet café.
did-not-finish
November 13, 2021When Mick Herron is good, as in his Slough House series, he's very, very good. But in his earlier Oxford Investigations series, he seemed to be learning his craft, with two very good but this final volume not worth the effort when so many other novels await.
April 9, 2017
Lovely style of writing that is diminished by too much "deus ex machina." I really hope Herron does not return to the Zoe/Sarah duo but continues with the Slow Horses series.
July 19, 2023
Setting: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England; modern day.
In this fourth (and probably last) in the Oxford Investigations series, 'regular' character Sarah Tucker has to travel to Newcastle to identify the body of a woman pulled from the river, believing it to be her friend, private investigator Zoe Boehm.
Initially identifying the body as Zoe, which is accompanied by all her personal effects such as wallet, credit cards etc., Sarah later begins to have doubts. These are aroused even more when, in the cheap hotel where she is staying (and where Zoe also stayed), she encounters London businessman Gerard Inchon - so Sarah decides to stay on to investigate further. During her stay, Sarah encounters a number of potentially dodgy characters - an Australian barman, the son of a local crime lord and a Big Issue seller who doesn't have any magazines to sell - as well as Gerard himself, who seems to have another agenda to that which he is promoting, i.e. looking for investment opportunities. Sarah begins to suspect that the body may not be Zoe's and also that Zoe's nemesis, the elusive 'serial killer' Alan Talmadge, had followed her to Newcastle or that she was following him....
This was not as gripping as earlier books in the series - the story itself seemed to meander and the ending was inconclusive (which actually seemed to fit the rather lackadaisical story), which seems a shame as it doesn't appear there are going to be any further books in this series. Still look to this author as a regular source of good reads! - 7/10.
In this fourth (and probably last) in the Oxford Investigations series, 'regular' character Sarah Tucker has to travel to Newcastle to identify the body of a woman pulled from the river, believing it to be her friend, private investigator Zoe Boehm.
Initially identifying the body as Zoe, which is accompanied by all her personal effects such as wallet, credit cards etc., Sarah later begins to have doubts. These are aroused even more when, in the cheap hotel where she is staying (and where Zoe also stayed), she encounters London businessman Gerard Inchon - so Sarah decides to stay on to investigate further. During her stay, Sarah encounters a number of potentially dodgy characters - an Australian barman, the son of a local crime lord and a Big Issue seller who doesn't have any magazines to sell - as well as Gerard himself, who seems to have another agenda to that which he is promoting, i.e. looking for investment opportunities. Sarah begins to suspect that the body may not be Zoe's and also that Zoe's nemesis, the elusive 'serial killer' Alan Talmadge, had followed her to Newcastle or that she was following him....
This was not as gripping as earlier books in the series - the story itself seemed to meander and the ending was inconclusive (which actually seemed to fit the rather lackadaisical story), which seems a shame as it doesn't appear there are going to be any further books in this series. Still look to this author as a regular source of good reads! - 7/10.
May 31, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Sarah Tucker, amateur
SETTING: Newcastle
RATING: 3.75
Zoe Boehm was one of those women who have an air of intrigue about them, who live a more free-spirited life than the norm and whose lives have an underlying sense of adventure. Shocked upon being notified that her friend's body has been pulled from the river Tyne in Newcastle, Sarah Tucker leaves behind her live-in lover and rather complacent life to identify Zoe.
Sarah can't believe that her independent friend would ever feel despondent enough to commit suicide, as the police seem to think. Zoe has been working as a private investigator and has been obsessed with finding a man known as Alan Talmadge. By her account, he is a very nondescript individual who worms his way into lonely women's lives and then kills them, but in a way that looks as if the death were natural. Sarah wonders if Talmadge has murdered Zoe. Among her effects at the morgue is a jacket that he had stolen from Zoe years earlier.
Sarah stays at the same run-down hotel as Zoe did and starts to piece together Zoe's last days. Shortly after her arrival, she runs into a former acquaintance and successful businessman, Gerald Inchon, who she discovers has Zoe's card. This is far too coincidental for Sarah's liking, and she works to uncover the truth about the situation. At the same time, she feels that Talmadge may be in the picture, perhaps right under her nose. The suspense continues to rise until the focus moves from Zoe and the mysterious Talmadge to whatever is going on with Gerald Inchon. Although that plot line isn't totally removed from the main thread, it served to measurably decrease the tension that was building. The suspense balloon deflated.
The manner in which the Talmadge plot resolved was a disappointment. It didn't seem connected to much of what had gone on before, and the character didn't have the menace that had been associated with him throughout most of the book. I felt that the way things transpired was a stretch.
Herron excels at building suspense, to the point where I was afraid to read this book at night while traveling for business. If he had been able to maintain that level of tension, SMOKE & WHISPERS would have rated highly with me. As it is, I did enjoy the book but felt that the secondary plot and resolution didn't quite work.
SETTING: Newcastle
RATING: 3.75
Zoe Boehm was one of those women who have an air of intrigue about them, who live a more free-spirited life than the norm and whose lives have an underlying sense of adventure. Shocked upon being notified that her friend's body has been pulled from the river Tyne in Newcastle, Sarah Tucker leaves behind her live-in lover and rather complacent life to identify Zoe.
Sarah can't believe that her independent friend would ever feel despondent enough to commit suicide, as the police seem to think. Zoe has been working as a private investigator and has been obsessed with finding a man known as Alan Talmadge. By her account, he is a very nondescript individual who worms his way into lonely women's lives and then kills them, but in a way that looks as if the death were natural. Sarah wonders if Talmadge has murdered Zoe. Among her effects at the morgue is a jacket that he had stolen from Zoe years earlier.
Sarah stays at the same run-down hotel as Zoe did and starts to piece together Zoe's last days. Shortly after her arrival, she runs into a former acquaintance and successful businessman, Gerald Inchon, who she discovers has Zoe's card. This is far too coincidental for Sarah's liking, and she works to uncover the truth about the situation. At the same time, she feels that Talmadge may be in the picture, perhaps right under her nose. The suspense continues to rise until the focus moves from Zoe and the mysterious Talmadge to whatever is going on with Gerald Inchon. Although that plot line isn't totally removed from the main thread, it served to measurably decrease the tension that was building. The suspense balloon deflated.
The manner in which the Talmadge plot resolved was a disappointment. It didn't seem connected to much of what had gone on before, and the character didn't have the menace that had been associated with him throughout most of the book. I felt that the way things transpired was a stretch.
Herron excels at building suspense, to the point where I was afraid to read this book at night while traveling for business. If he had been able to maintain that level of tension, SMOKE & WHISPERS would have rated highly with me. As it is, I did enjoy the book but felt that the secondary plot and resolution didn't quite work.
January 20, 2018
A bit more detailed and serious than some of his earlier books. I'm in awe of the power of this writer. The level of observation and skill at portraying the suspects as liars is deep and satisfying. Zoe Boehm's body has been pulled from the river Tyne in Newcastle. Sarah hasn't seen Zoe in a couple of years and has no idea why she'd even come to Newcastle. She's not a detective so she's not sure how to figure out what happened to her friend but she did know Zoe shouldn't be wearing the iconic jacket that was stolen a few years ago by the stalker/murderer Alan Talmadge (the false name he went by when he stole it). Sarah runs into a college friend who seems to be up to no good arranging for investors in some new enterprise and the plot just gets thicker and more complex until you find out what the lies are covering up. Excellent read.
February 4, 2018
Really pleased to have got hold of this, as I read the first three "Zoe" books a while ago and had quite the wrong impression, as it turns out, about what happens in this one. It's set in Newcastle (the Tyneside one), and Zoe is not as centre stage as in the earlier books, but the story has the usual Mick Herron mix of good writing, approaching things from a completely unexpected direction, fear, mystery, and a conclusion of a kind which is perhaps final but doesn't completely close the door should he ever wish to revisit this series. Mick Herron is an unusual and individual writer (i.e. he just isn't quite like anyone else). He does women particularly well. I think you could read this on its own but would lose something of the Zoe back story if you missed the earlier novels in the series (which are mainly set in Oxford, but not the Oxford of the dreaming spires).
August 17, 2025
Just like the opening book, 'Down Cemetery Road', in this Oxford Investigations/Zoë Boehm Thrillers series, Zoë Boehm, besides a short cameo near the end, doesn't really feature mutch at all. Also in the same fashion, the novel’s main protagonist, is again, Zoë's friend, Sarah Tucker.
I do find it somewhat peculiar, that the two books in the series that I enjoyed, played out in this rather odd scenario, where the title character is superseded by what is effectively a secondary character. However, in all honesty, and unlike Sarah's reasoning as to why Gerard Incheon would be booked into the same Newcastle hotel, where Zoë had last been seen alive, I really don’t think that the book’s 'role swap' has anything to do with my enjoyment per se, and is indeed, nothing more than a mere coincidence.
For the true reason on why I enjoyed the first book and this final one, 'Smoke and Whispers', is to be found in nothing more than the fact that author, Mick Herron has really reigned in his tendency for going off on diverting tangents and long distracting digressions (see my reviews of 'The Last Voice You Hear' and 'Why We Die'). I mean, they were still there to a certain degree, but were much shorter, and done in his more honed, 'Slow Horses' style. So apart from the odd descriptive distraction here and there, my mind wasn't constantly being forced to tie in rambling word salads, and could concentrate on the actual story in hand.
The story itself is set mainly in Newcastle, which, thanks to the local vernacular and accent, enabled the author to regale us with quite a few extremely funny and highly witty scenes and lines, with Sarah Tucker often finding herself very much a fish out of water. Particularly one scene where she finds herself in a strange and very busy pub, even invoking the 'Western' trope of everybody stopping what they're doing to turn and stare at whoever has just entered the bar! We've all been there, very relatable writing.
Anyway, and speaking of water, the story revolves around Sarah going to Newcastle, against the better judgement and wishes of her partner Russell, to identify the body of a woman whom the police have fished out of the river Tyne. And because the corpse has Zoë Boehm's identification, they naturally assume it to be that of the Oxford private investigator, and have asked her friend to come up for a formal identification.
Needless to say, all is not what it seems, and as well as Ms Tucker having to untangle the mystery of a corpse dressed up to resemble Zoë, something she declined to share with the police, there's also a Zoë Boehm obsessed serial killer on the prowl! Known to the women as Alan Talmage, he's a master of disguise (although I did have him pegged as the homeless guy selling The Big Issue from the off, haha!), and has at least two female victims to his name, that Zoë and Sarah know of that is, and the 'floater' in the Tyne, eventually being credited to him also.
Unfortunately, Sarah mistakes the seemingly pleasant Australian barman at the hotel where she's staying (and where Zoë had stayed), for the egregious serial killer, Alan Talmage. This was because the unlucky bartender, who’d given Sarah the name ’Barry’ and had previously said he was Australian, and did indeed, speak with an Antipodean accent. But when Sarah surreptitiously heard him speak in a local shop, unobserved, he spoke with a genuine Geordie twang! So Sarah, after Barry had asked her, what she had presumed to be, some loaded questions about contacting Zoë and her suspicions were somewhat negatively aroused, relayed her fears to a 'Geordie' gangster she had become acquainted with. Who then proceeded to kidnap Baz, the luckless hotel barman, strapped him naked to a chair in a freezing, derelict dock yard and asked him with menaces, what his story was? Why the duplicitous change of accents?
Sarah, to her due, emitted shock and horror on seeing this sight, but she still hung about for Barry's answer, which was something that I'd also already guessed, haha! He had simply used the Aussie accent and subterfuge, to make it easier to find and get bar work! He was extremely sorry for doing so, had never meant any harm by it and would never do it again! I must say, my heart went completely out to him, he had my up most sympathy, poor innocent Bazza!
It also wouldn’t have been much of a Zoë Boehm thriller, without some sort of dark conspiracy lurking about in the background. This was in fact why the afore mentioned Gerard Incheon had been up in Newcastle and had been very much in Zoë’s orbit. In Gerard’s pay, the private detective had been sniffing out a ’mad scientist’ type person, whom had apparently been carrying out ’back street experiments’ on unsuspecting children from a certain orphanage that Gerard’s wife, Paula had lived as a child. Where the resulting tests, that were allegedly to find a ’cure for asthma’, had, in later life, caused Paula to give birth to a son with severe defects, namely with no arms, or legs! So how far can Gerard’s need for vengeance take him?
Now, I don’t know if experimentation like that ever actually took place, but given that the British government were found to have been injecting pregnant women with plutonium, without their consent in the 1950’s and ’60’s at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary , I certainly wouldn’t rule it out by a private enterprise!
So, yes, I could definitely say that I did enjoy this, the last book in the series, but I would have to caveat that by mentioning that the series overall, has certainly been pretty much a hit or a miss. However, I am very much looking forward to the Apple TV+ series starring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson.
I do find it somewhat peculiar, that the two books in the series that I enjoyed, played out in this rather odd scenario, where the title character is superseded by what is effectively a secondary character. However, in all honesty, and unlike Sarah's reasoning as to why Gerard Incheon would be booked into the same Newcastle hotel, where Zoë had last been seen alive, I really don’t think that the book’s 'role swap' has anything to do with my enjoyment per se, and is indeed, nothing more than a mere coincidence.
For the true reason on why I enjoyed the first book and this final one, 'Smoke and Whispers', is to be found in nothing more than the fact that author, Mick Herron has really reigned in his tendency for going off on diverting tangents and long distracting digressions (see my reviews of 'The Last Voice You Hear' and 'Why We Die'). I mean, they were still there to a certain degree, but were much shorter, and done in his more honed, 'Slow Horses' style. So apart from the odd descriptive distraction here and there, my mind wasn't constantly being forced to tie in rambling word salads, and could concentrate on the actual story in hand.
The story itself is set mainly in Newcastle, which, thanks to the local vernacular and accent, enabled the author to regale us with quite a few extremely funny and highly witty scenes and lines, with Sarah Tucker often finding herself very much a fish out of water. Particularly one scene where she finds herself in a strange and very busy pub, even invoking the 'Western' trope of everybody stopping what they're doing to turn and stare at whoever has just entered the bar! We've all been there, very relatable writing.
Anyway, and speaking of water, the story revolves around Sarah going to Newcastle, against the better judgement and wishes of her partner Russell, to identify the body of a woman whom the police have fished out of the river Tyne. And because the corpse has Zoë Boehm's identification, they naturally assume it to be that of the Oxford private investigator, and have asked her friend to come up for a formal identification.
Needless to say, all is not what it seems, and as well as Ms Tucker having to untangle the mystery of a corpse dressed up to resemble Zoë, something she declined to share with the police, there's also a Zoë Boehm obsessed serial killer on the prowl! Known to the women as Alan Talmage, he's a master of disguise (although I did have him pegged as the homeless guy selling The Big Issue from the off, haha!), and has at least two female victims to his name, that Zoë and Sarah know of that is, and the 'floater' in the Tyne, eventually being credited to him also.
Unfortunately, Sarah mistakes the seemingly pleasant Australian barman at the hotel where she's staying (and where Zoë had stayed), for the egregious serial killer, Alan Talmage. This was because the unlucky bartender, who’d given Sarah the name ’Barry’ and had previously said he was Australian, and did indeed, speak with an Antipodean accent. But when Sarah surreptitiously heard him speak in a local shop, unobserved, he spoke with a genuine Geordie twang! So Sarah, after Barry had asked her, what she had presumed to be, some loaded questions about contacting Zoë and her suspicions were somewhat negatively aroused, relayed her fears to a 'Geordie' gangster she had become acquainted with. Who then proceeded to kidnap Baz, the luckless hotel barman, strapped him naked to a chair in a freezing, derelict dock yard and asked him with menaces, what his story was? Why the duplicitous change of accents?
Sarah, to her due, emitted shock and horror on seeing this sight, but she still hung about for Barry's answer, which was something that I'd also already guessed, haha! He had simply used the Aussie accent and subterfuge, to make it easier to find and get bar work! He was extremely sorry for doing so, had never meant any harm by it and would never do it again! I must say, my heart went completely out to him, he had my up most sympathy, poor innocent Bazza!
It also wouldn’t have been much of a Zoë Boehm thriller, without some sort of dark conspiracy lurking about in the background. This was in fact why the afore mentioned Gerard Incheon had been up in Newcastle and had been very much in Zoë’s orbit. In Gerard’s pay, the private detective had been sniffing out a ’mad scientist’ type person, whom had apparently been carrying out ’back street experiments’ on unsuspecting children from a certain orphanage that Gerard’s wife, Paula had lived as a child. Where the resulting tests, that were allegedly to find a ’cure for asthma’, had, in later life, caused Paula to give birth to a son with severe defects, namely with no arms, or legs! So how far can Gerard’s need for vengeance take him?
Now, I don’t know if experimentation like that ever actually took place, but given that the British government were found to have been injecting pregnant women with plutonium, without their consent in the 1950’s and ’60’s at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary , I certainly wouldn’t rule it out by a private enterprise!
So, yes, I could definitely say that I did enjoy this, the last book in the series, but I would have to caveat that by mentioning that the series overall, has certainly been pretty much a hit or a miss. However, I am very much looking forward to the Apple TV+ series starring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2018
Herron’s Oxford series mixes mysteries with suspense and even horror. This one sends Sarah to Newcastle to identify her PI friend Zoe’s body. A subplot emerges when Sarah runs into her old sparring partner, businessman Gerard Inchon. Zoe had been working for Inchon when she ran across her nemesis, serial murderer Alan Talmadge. The two plots don’t really intersect and much of this is too talky and meandering. There’s a pretty unbelievable intervention by a local gangster as well as the sad back story about why Inchon is off the beaten path in Newcastle. The resolution is neat but morally ambiguous, almost making up for the previous slackness. Herron does menace well as when Sarah ducks into a local pub to get out of the rain. . .
November 4, 2020
I have now read all four novels in this series and I am so glad to be done with them. The first one was the best because in Sarah Tucker there was a decent character you could care about - as for Zoe Boehm, who only appears relatively late in that story, she never catches hold. The story is also pretty good if rather stretched out.
The second and third novels aren't about Sarah at all although she does feature in the second, rather importantly as it happens. Ms. Boehm however is strangely unlikeable, at least to me.
This one is much more about about Sarah but was ultimately dull - it ties up a thread that had been running since the second novel but tenuously and the subplot was wholly tedious.
This is a series that went nowhere.
The second and third novels aren't about Sarah at all although she does feature in the second, rather importantly as it happens. Ms. Boehm however is strangely unlikeable, at least to me.
This one is much more about about Sarah but was ultimately dull - it ties up a thread that had been running since the second novel but tenuously and the subplot was wholly tedious.
This is a series that went nowhere.
Read
April 30, 2018Herron writes beautifully. I enjoy his prose. The dialogue of protagonist, Sarah, is subtly funny, in contrast to descriptions, which are almost literary at times. This serves to give Herron a unique and lovely voice. The plot was interesting enough to keep my attention, though it felt like it wandered in the middle. There are two parallel plotlines, I'm not sure that was the strongest choice. This is my first of his books, and it did make me want to read others. This is a slow mystery, not a thriller. Some on-the-page violence, but cozy readers who can handle minor violence would be okay. Nothing too graphic.
June 18, 2017
This series is definitely not as good as the Slough House books. Sarah, a character from the first book, is called on to identify Zoe's body. She is staying at a hotel with Gerard Ichon, also from the first novel. I really like his character and enjoyed his story line in this book. Sarah is looking for a master of disguise who she feels is responsible for Zoe's death. This part of the book ends up quite rushed at the end and a bit unconvincing.
November 5, 2025
The (probably) final entry into the investigations featuring inspector Zoë Boehm, a series Herron wrote before hitting paydirt with his Slow Horses series. It shows spark and humor that define Mick Herron's writing, with two truly appealing protagonists. But even though Sarah Tucker is the central figure here, it lacks the true originality of the Horses. Good to know it's being released as a series for those of us who can't get enough Mick Herron and don't want to wait a year.
January 9, 2020
Deft and admirable storytelling in places but overall not as engaging as Herron's amazing Slough House series. Felt like a tuneup read.
November 30, 2022
Excellent. Best book of the four in the series. Love the Sarah Tucker character, and wish there were more Oxford Investigations novels.
December 23, 2024
This is the fourth and final instalment of the Zoe Boehm series by Mick Herron. In this novel a female’s body is recovered in the River Tyne at Newcastle. The female bears a strong resemblance to Zoe Boehm, is wearing her clothes and carrying her identification and Sarah Tucker is summoned to Newcastle by the Police to formally identify the body. Although Sarah has her doubts as to whether the body is Zoe’s, she confirms the identification. However she decides to prolong her stay in Newcastle as she encounters Gerard Inchon, another old acquaintance of hers, who just happens to be staying at the same rundown hotel as herself, where Zoe also stayed prior to her apparent death. Inchon also has in his possession one of Zoe’s business cards and Sarah is sure it’s no coincidence and that she can’t leave until she uncovers the truth.
Mick Herron is most famous for his Slow Horses series but I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed this series too, as well as his other standalone novels, as he really is a master storyteller. The title ‘Smoke and Whispers’ really captures the essence of the novel, as Sarah’s initial suspicions are paper thin and are built on her instincts as opposed to any concrete evidence. The other unique premise of this series is that Zoe herself is not always the main protagonist in all the novels, although her presence is apparent throughout. The climax of the novel is also quite original too, as the reader has to draw their own conclusions as to what the final fate of the main characters will be.
I still have a few of Herron’s older novels still to read but hoping there will be a new Slough House in the not too distant future.
Mick Herron is most famous for his Slow Horses series but I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed this series too, as well as his other standalone novels, as he really is a master storyteller. The title ‘Smoke and Whispers’ really captures the essence of the novel, as Sarah’s initial suspicions are paper thin and are built on her instincts as opposed to any concrete evidence. The other unique premise of this series is that Zoe herself is not always the main protagonist in all the novels, although her presence is apparent throughout. The climax of the novel is also quite original too, as the reader has to draw their own conclusions as to what the final fate of the main characters will be.
I still have a few of Herron’s older novels still to read but hoping there will be a new Slough House in the not too distant future.
December 6, 2025
What a great series of books. Mick Herron has a use of words such that a short phrase illuminates a galaxy of feelings and gives clarity to the human condition. All with dry humour,fully fleshed characters, a keen sense of timing and place, and gripping story plots. I’m only sorry that there isn’t another book.
September 15, 2022
Wonderful
January 1, 2023
Mick Herron is now on my Authors I Like list! You might need the UK English dictionary for translation.
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