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This Is What Happened
From CWA Gold & Steel Dagger winner Mick Herron comes a shocking, twisted novel of thrilling suspense about one woman’s attempt to be better than ordinary.
Twenty-six-year-old Maggie Barnes is someone you would never look at twice. Living alone in a month-to-month sublet in the huge city of London, with no family but an estranged sister, no boyfriend or partner, and not much in the way of friends, Maggie is just the kind of person who could vanish from the face of the earth without anyone taking notice. Or just the kind of person MI5 needs to infiltrate the establishment and thwart an international plot that puts all of Britain at risk.
Now one young woman has the chance to be a hero—if she can think quickly enough to stay alive.
Twenty-six-year-old Maggie Barnes is someone you would never look at twice. Living alone in a month-to-month sublet in the huge city of London, with no family but an estranged sister, no boyfriend or partner, and not much in the way of friends, Maggie is just the kind of person who could vanish from the face of the earth without anyone taking notice. Or just the kind of person MI5 needs to infiltrate the establishment and thwart an international plot that puts all of Britain at risk.
Now one young woman has the chance to be a hero—if she can think quickly enough to stay alive.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2018
770 people are currently reading
2772 people want to read
About the author
Mick Herron
54 books5,375 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 635 reviews
April 4, 2018
According to me, this is what happened.
Mick Herron behaved badly, and Meredith Barnes was furious. As an apology, he wrote this as a way to let Meredith know this is what happened. It was a personal account and littered with clues only Meredith would understand. Unfortunately for us, Mick's publisher accidentally picked up the manuscript amidst other papers. During an evening of excessive alcohol consumption, the publisher read it, proclaimed, “Yesh, thizziz good!” and proceeded to publication.
According to me, this is what happened. If another reader has an alternate theory of why this book exists, I’d love to hear it.
Mick Herron behaved badly, and Meredith Barnes was furious. As an apology, he wrote this as a way to let Meredith know this is what happened. It was a personal account and littered with clues only Meredith would understand. Unfortunately for us, Mick's publisher accidentally picked up the manuscript amidst other papers. During an evening of excessive alcohol consumption, the publisher read it, proclaimed, “Yesh, thizziz good!” and proceeded to publication.
According to me, this is what happened. If another reader has an alternate theory of why this book exists, I’d love to hear it.
September 1, 2020
I listened to this because I was mislead by the summary, "Maggie is just the kind of person MI5 needs to infiltrate the establishment and thwart an international plot that puts all of Britain at risk."
That summary is a complete lie! This is a story of deceit and victimization from start to finish at the hands of her captor. Had I known this, I would never have bothered and you shouldn't either...unless you're a fan of female torture. 0 of 10 stars!
That summary is a complete lie! This is a story of deceit and victimization from start to finish at the hands of her captor. Had I known this, I would never have bothered and you shouldn't either...unless you're a fan of female torture. 0 of 10 stars!
March 11, 2018
The description of the plot of this book is totally wrong. THIS is what REALLY happened in This Is What Happened: three of the most idiotic knuckleheads imaginable somehow come together and vie for the award of "World's Most Stoopidest Person Ever." It is a very close contest, but in the end . Oh, and MI5.
November 10, 2017
I took a risk on this book, knowing nothing of British author Nick Herron’s work, and aware that suspense thrillers often lead into generic, bloodthirsty, and gratuitous cliché--mediocre TV-in-a-book exploitation with hackneyed dialogue and soap-opera-beautiful victims. Fortunately, I discovered early that this was going to be the opposite of my fears, with a thoughtfully provocative plot and contoured characters. But little did I anticipate how derailed I would be as the book shifts from the story I thought I was reading to a more sinister and menacing twist. Darkly comic at times, and one step ahead of the reader, Herron proves he’s a master at creating danger and dissembling.Look--it's one story. No, it's another!
It would be poor form to ruin the reader experience by revealing too much of the plot, so I will describe the protagonist and the set-up. Maggie Barnes is a plain Jane who recently moved to London to escape from her abusive boyfriend and to increase her prospects of success. She has no college degree, unlike her estranged sister, Meredith, with her “shiny flat…shiny car, and a shiny man.” Instead, Maggie struggled to make ends meet, currently in the postal department of a large corporate office. “A quiet cup of coffee in a noisy park café made up the kindest minutes of her day.”
London was a place that was defined by the river Thames, it had been said. But when Maggie walked by the Thames, she was pressed in the crowd by a river of strangers, and “the only embrace it offered was equally cold. London’s heart was carefully guarded. If it had a soul…it could be found in the street names that had survived fire and the blitz…” Living in London had made Maggie feel the wrong kind of anonymity—unloved, unacknowledged, and excluded.
Maggie, at 26, was already burned out on the future, trying to get by in the present and unable to forget the past. She didn’t just feel ordinary—she felt invisible. So, one day, when approached by a British M15 agent to work as an asset, she was intrigued. He needed someone low-key and inconspicuous to infiltrate the offices of where she worked and interface with their security systems via a flash drive. It was a simple-seeming task, with just the right amount of danger to pique her interest. She could be a hero, just by installing a surveillance system into the company’s network. Cyber infiltration to stave off cyber-terrorism, and save Britain from destruction.
When we meet Maggie on the first page, we are in media res—in the middle of a scene. She’s hiding in the corporate office bathroom until midnight, when it was safest to climb to the top floor of executives and install the flash-drive. Her heart is beating wildly and she is trembling with fear.
What keeps Maggie going is the importance of the task and her role in it—and her growing reliance on the agent, Harvey, to keep her safe. “If you could be part of something huge—something life-savingly important—what risk would you be willing to run?” The stakes are about to escalate as Maggie risks everything to save others and herself. Just expect the unexpected.
Nick Herron reminds me more of the crime authors Herman Koch and Sascha Arango—the clean, spare prose, nuanced characters, dark wit, and the face of evil. In a few well-chosen sentences, and with a cunning suspense, he breathes an atmosphere of melancholy and bleak irony, with a menace that resides in the boundary between false truths and credible lies. I read it in two intense sittings. The very end was my only complaint, and the total ignorance of one character, but I will stop there.
It would be poor form to ruin the reader experience by revealing too much of the plot, so I will describe the protagonist and the set-up. Maggie Barnes is a plain Jane who recently moved to London to escape from her abusive boyfriend and to increase her prospects of success. She has no college degree, unlike her estranged sister, Meredith, with her “shiny flat…shiny car, and a shiny man.” Instead, Maggie struggled to make ends meet, currently in the postal department of a large corporate office. “A quiet cup of coffee in a noisy park café made up the kindest minutes of her day.”
London was a place that was defined by the river Thames, it had been said. But when Maggie walked by the Thames, she was pressed in the crowd by a river of strangers, and “the only embrace it offered was equally cold. London’s heart was carefully guarded. If it had a soul…it could be found in the street names that had survived fire and the blitz…” Living in London had made Maggie feel the wrong kind of anonymity—unloved, unacknowledged, and excluded.
Maggie, at 26, was already burned out on the future, trying to get by in the present and unable to forget the past. She didn’t just feel ordinary—she felt invisible. So, one day, when approached by a British M15 agent to work as an asset, she was intrigued. He needed someone low-key and inconspicuous to infiltrate the offices of where she worked and interface with their security systems via a flash drive. It was a simple-seeming task, with just the right amount of danger to pique her interest. She could be a hero, just by installing a surveillance system into the company’s network. Cyber infiltration to stave off cyber-terrorism, and save Britain from destruction.
When we meet Maggie on the first page, we are in media res—in the middle of a scene. She’s hiding in the corporate office bathroom until midnight, when it was safest to climb to the top floor of executives and install the flash-drive. Her heart is beating wildly and she is trembling with fear.
What keeps Maggie going is the importance of the task and her role in it—and her growing reliance on the agent, Harvey, to keep her safe. “If you could be part of something huge—something life-savingly important—what risk would you be willing to run?” The stakes are about to escalate as Maggie risks everything to save others and herself. Just expect the unexpected.
Nick Herron reminds me more of the crime authors Herman Koch and Sascha Arango—the clean, spare prose, nuanced characters, dark wit, and the face of evil. In a few well-chosen sentences, and with a cunning suspense, he breathes an atmosphere of melancholy and bleak irony, with a menace that resides in the boundary between false truths and credible lies. I read it in two intense sittings. The very end was my only complaint, and the total ignorance of one character, but I will stop there.
October 2, 2024
After reading the synopsis I was mistakenly under the impression Herron's This Is What Happened was going to be similar to the Slough House MI5 spy novels. The major difference being that it is a standalone.
Though a completely different storyline, This Is What Happened is still overflowing with the duplicity, underhandedness, and danger I have come to expect from this author. It has just as much suspense and spectacular twists as anything I have read by Mr. Herron to date.
The characters are dynamic and full of nonstop surprises. Just when it seems apparent what their motives and goals are a major zinger is thrown into the fray.
In summary, this is a fabulous nonstop rollercoaster ride of pulse pounding suspense and thrilling psychological warfare. To think, this came close to being a pass because it has a lower than average rating score for one of Herron's novels. Lesson learned.
Though a completely different storyline, This Is What Happened is still overflowing with the duplicity, underhandedness, and danger I have come to expect from this author. It has just as much suspense and spectacular twists as anything I have read by Mr. Herron to date.
The characters are dynamic and full of nonstop surprises. Just when it seems apparent what their motives and goals are a major zinger is thrown into the fray.
In summary, this is a fabulous nonstop rollercoaster ride of pulse pounding suspense and thrilling psychological warfare. To think, this came close to being a pass because it has a lower than average rating score for one of Herron's novels. Lesson learned.
April 5, 2018
Review to follow.
February 21, 2019
This Is What Happened is the third stand-alone novel by award-winning British author, Mick Herron. Twenty-six-year-old Maggie Barnes hadn't made any friends in the time she'd been in London. She lived in a tiny flat and worked a fairly boring job in the post room down in the basement of the Quilp House. A toxic ex-boyfriend had her avoiding Facebook; she'd dipped a toe into the Twittersphere and had seven followers, several of those probably bots.
When Harvey Wells came along to the café she frequented in the park, Maggie was at first wary. But he knew all about her, and when he explained what he needed her to do, and why, she was both flattered and excited. The idea that she could do something worthwhile for her country was rather thrilling.
Dickon Broom had a not-quite PhD in Philosophy at Cambridge, and worked as a language instructor. He’d had a good position at Marylebone Intensive School of English until a student made trouble for him. That rather queered the pitch at his last interview for a teaching position, and these days he relied on giving private lessons (not ideal) for an income. But now he had another problem to deal with, one that stood in the way of the life he deserved to have
Meredith’s younger sister had apparently been missing for two years. She felt bad about that: they'd lost contact after their parents’ funeral. The police didn't seem interested, treating the whole thing as a case of someone who had decided to disappear, so Meredith was making her own enquiries, and now she had someone in her sights.
Herron’s third stand alone is a little different, but still has many of his trademarks: it has all his careful scene setting; his characters are quite believable; their dialogue natural. While the astute reader will, by the first third of the story, have figured out much of what is going on, there are still a good number of twists, surprises and red herrings to keep it interesting.
The humour is there, but much more subtle than the often laugh-out-loud moments in his Jackson Lamb series, and mostly quite black. Readers hoping for any Slough House character cameos will be disappointed, but fans knowing Herron’s tendency to kill off characters will be racing to the dramatic final pages to discover who survives. Excellent British crime fiction.
When Harvey Wells came along to the café she frequented in the park, Maggie was at first wary. But he knew all about her, and when he explained what he needed her to do, and why, she was both flattered and excited. The idea that she could do something worthwhile for her country was rather thrilling.
Dickon Broom had a not-quite PhD in Philosophy at Cambridge, and worked as a language instructor. He’d had a good position at Marylebone Intensive School of English until a student made trouble for him. That rather queered the pitch at his last interview for a teaching position, and these days he relied on giving private lessons (not ideal) for an income. But now he had another problem to deal with, one that stood in the way of the life he deserved to have
Meredith’s younger sister had apparently been missing for two years. She felt bad about that: they'd lost contact after their parents’ funeral. The police didn't seem interested, treating the whole thing as a case of someone who had decided to disappear, so Meredith was making her own enquiries, and now she had someone in her sights.
Herron’s third stand alone is a little different, but still has many of his trademarks: it has all his careful scene setting; his characters are quite believable; their dialogue natural. While the astute reader will, by the first third of the story, have figured out much of what is going on, there are still a good number of twists, surprises and red herrings to keep it interesting.
The humour is there, but much more subtle than the often laugh-out-loud moments in his Jackson Lamb series, and mostly quite black. Readers hoping for any Slough House character cameos will be disappointed, but fans knowing Herron’s tendency to kill off characters will be racing to the dramatic final pages to discover who survives. Excellent British crime fiction.
July 2, 2024
DNF.
Tiresome, boring, doesn’t make sense. I’m baffled because I love the Slough House series, but maybe it is actually better on TV.
Tiresome, boring, doesn’t make sense. I’m baffled because I love the Slough House series, but maybe it is actually better on TV.
May 21, 2018
I am a huge fan of Mick Herron’s Jackson Lamb series and so was delighted to get a copy of this new, stand-alone, novel. Having finished it, I feel it is both difficult to review (without giving spoilers) and also very different from Slough House. Indeed, if you read this looking for similarities, you will be disappointed. This is very different, both in terms of being both a more straight forward telling of the story and in terms of the characters.
Maggie Barnes is a young woman who has recently come to London and, so far, she is not having the exciting and thrilling time she hoped for. The only person she knows in the city is her sister and she doesn’t see her that often. She has a lowly job in the post room of a office block and her one treat is coffee and cake in the park tea room after work. It is there that she meets Harvey Wells, who approaches her with a story that suddenly makes life far more interesting and dangerous…
I possibly read too many thrillers, but I could see where this was going, in terms of plot twists, far before it got there. That surprised me; especially as Mick Herron is the master of exciting and unusual storylines. However, although the story was, I felt, fairly obvious, I did enjoy the characters. I particularly liked the naïve, young Maggie. A woman who is doing her best to survive in the city and yet, despite having a job, is lonely and somewhat isolated. Overall, an enjoyable read, but not, perhaps, Herron’s most memorable work. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
Maggie Barnes is a young woman who has recently come to London and, so far, she is not having the exciting and thrilling time she hoped for. The only person she knows in the city is her sister and she doesn’t see her that often. She has a lowly job in the post room of a office block and her one treat is coffee and cake in the park tea room after work. It is there that she meets Harvey Wells, who approaches her with a story that suddenly makes life far more interesting and dangerous…
I possibly read too many thrillers, but I could see where this was going, in terms of plot twists, far before it got there. That surprised me; especially as Mick Herron is the master of exciting and unusual storylines. However, although the story was, I felt, fairly obvious, I did enjoy the characters. I particularly liked the naïve, young Maggie. A woman who is doing her best to survive in the city and yet, despite having a job, is lonely and somewhat isolated. Overall, an enjoyable read, but not, perhaps, Herron’s most memorable work. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
February 15, 2018
1.5 stars, I am usually a big Mick Herron fan but this book was awful. Was he trying to go for some kind of cheap and easy Gone Girl rip off? The plot 'twist' wasn't much of one at all and came fairly early, the rest of the book was a slow churn of boredom and overly dense phrases about life in London. However, the characters were truly the worst, as they were also boring and only varied in variety on their level of how mind numbingly pathetic they were.
Recommend skipping this and reading anything else by Herron.
Recommend skipping this and reading anything else by Herron.
November 27, 2017
False advertising. This book is NOT about a nobody learning to become a super-secret-agent-y-thing. If that's what you're hoping for, click away now and save yourself the disappointment (and disgust, geez, how many of these 'thrillers' do we need?).
December 6, 2020
3.5 stars that won’t round up.
Herron’s writing talent is apparent no matter what he writes, and the first half of the book, before fatigue and resignation set in, is more of a four star read.
Herron does like to mix it up with his novels, trying out new things. Most often the result lands between satisfying and delightful. He is one of my favorite, don’t-miss authors, a fresh voice that stays fresh in part because he seems to loathe the idea of a formula or taking the same approach twice.
There have been only two misses, with this one most firmly in the miss category relative to the strength of his work as a whole.
Herron writes deeply flawed characters who excel at different degrees of ineffectuality and whose existence, sometimes with wry, quirky humor, is a stark or dark commentary on the ludicrous natures of contemporary human systems.
This is a tricky feat to manage without ending up with a dismal read.
This is What Happened barely misses being dismal. But by the midpoint, when you’ve settled in to the idea that this is not the book the publishing summary promises (there’s a reason for the misleading setup, but the twist ends up falling flat), and spent enough time realizing the two central characters are unremittingly dreary in their own flawed and ineffectual ways and the plot is going right where you expect it to, there’s not much to do but move through the last half with some resignation.
The book leans as hard on quirky characters as his others, but is short on the redemptive effect of the reluctant and poorly executed heroism of the characters in many of Herron’s novels.
And it’s likewise short on the propulsion afforded by a fight for justice, salvation, or redemption that’s just about required for a satisfying crime novel and is just-present-enough in most of his books. Here it is not missing entirely, but is clearly short when it’s most needed to overcome the drag of these particular characters and plot.
So I didn’t hate this, but my time traveling comment to my past self that’s about to start this book is that it’s ok to miss this one.
Herron’s writing talent is apparent no matter what he writes, and the first half of the book, before fatigue and resignation set in, is more of a four star read.
Herron does like to mix it up with his novels, trying out new things. Most often the result lands between satisfying and delightful. He is one of my favorite, don’t-miss authors, a fresh voice that stays fresh in part because he seems to loathe the idea of a formula or taking the same approach twice.
There have been only two misses, with this one most firmly in the miss category relative to the strength of his work as a whole.
Herron writes deeply flawed characters who excel at different degrees of ineffectuality and whose existence, sometimes with wry, quirky humor, is a stark or dark commentary on the ludicrous natures of contemporary human systems.
This is a tricky feat to manage without ending up with a dismal read.
This is What Happened barely misses being dismal. But by the midpoint, when you’ve settled in to the idea that this is not the book the publishing summary promises (there’s a reason for the misleading setup, but the twist ends up falling flat), and spent enough time realizing the two central characters are unremittingly dreary in their own flawed and ineffectual ways and the plot is going right where you expect it to, there’s not much to do but move through the last half with some resignation.
The book leans as hard on quirky characters as his others, but is short on the redemptive effect of the reluctant and poorly executed heroism of the characters in many of Herron’s novels.
And it’s likewise short on the propulsion afforded by a fight for justice, salvation, or redemption that’s just about required for a satisfying crime novel and is just-present-enough in most of his books. Here it is not missing entirely, but is clearly short when it’s most needed to overcome the drag of these particular characters and plot.
So I didn’t hate this, but my time traveling comment to my past self that’s about to start this book is that it’s ok to miss this one.
November 10, 2018
Well. This is one of those things I never saw coming, that Mick Herron could write a book I didn't rate highly.
Sadly though, here it is. Possibly I've been spoilt by the incredibly brilliant Slough House series, where the writing is genius, the plotting is superb and you just devour them first page to last.
This is What Happened is a weird kind of hybrid, drawing on the "spy thriller" premise this author is so very good at but mish mashing it up with psychological thriller elements in Gone Girl style but it just doesn't work. Or at least it didn't for me.
The story is terribly predictable, although it started well enough it soon fell into disarray, with really quite nonsensical events. Maggie is entirely stupid. I don't mind character's misreading things or making wrong choices or whatever but Maggie is just simply stupid.
It's a short book that packs no punch whatsoever and if I had been given it under a pseudonym or blind to the author I would not for even a second have picked the undoubtedly talented Mr Herron as it's creator.
My rating reflects what I expected v what I got. If I'm honest this feels like a cash in attempt to fit in with the current trend and market for psych thrillers with that "twist you won't see coming " but most avid readers see from a mile away.
I don't think the author's heart was in it to be fair. It just doesn't feel like him at ALL.
I can't recommend it. Read Slow Horses instead would be my advice.
Sadly though, here it is. Possibly I've been spoilt by the incredibly brilliant Slough House series, where the writing is genius, the plotting is superb and you just devour them first page to last.
This is What Happened is a weird kind of hybrid, drawing on the "spy thriller" premise this author is so very good at but mish mashing it up with psychological thriller elements in Gone Girl style but it just doesn't work. Or at least it didn't for me.
The story is terribly predictable, although it started well enough it soon fell into disarray, with really quite nonsensical events. Maggie is entirely stupid. I don't mind character's misreading things or making wrong choices or whatever but Maggie is just simply stupid.
It's a short book that packs no punch whatsoever and if I had been given it under a pseudonym or blind to the author I would not for even a second have picked the undoubtedly talented Mr Herron as it's creator.
My rating reflects what I expected v what I got. If I'm honest this feels like a cash in attempt to fit in with the current trend and market for psych thrillers with that "twist you won't see coming " but most avid readers see from a mile away.
I don't think the author's heart was in it to be fair. It just doesn't feel like him at ALL.
I can't recommend it. Read Slow Horses instead would be my advice.
May 7, 2018
Ugh. Verbose verbosity x 100.
Not a good experience. This is a nice 25 page short story stretched to super-irritating novella length.
I probably skimmed 75% of it.
One quote worth noting -
All those gadgets which once seemed gifts to the adulterous –mobile phones, email systems –were now links in the chains of evidence used to drag guilty parties through the divorce courts. So pens and paper were reached for instead, which she thought an improvement. An erotic email was pornographic, one more speck of dirt in the landfill of the internet.
.
Not a good experience. This is a nice 25 page short story stretched to super-irritating novella length.
I probably skimmed 75% of it.
One quote worth noting -
All those gadgets which once seemed gifts to the adulterous –mobile phones, email systems –were now links in the chains of evidence used to drag guilty parties through the divorce courts. So pens and paper were reached for instead, which she thought an improvement. An erotic email was pornographic, one more speck of dirt in the landfill of the internet.
.
March 4, 2022
I have to admit I struggled with the first 20/30 pages of this book as I thought it was going nowhere. A young woman, Maggie Barnes is trying to plug in a flash drive to a computer system at her place of work - at night, when she's not supposed to be there. She spends a long time in a toilet, trying to avoid security guards and motion sensors. Then, she has to set off a fire alarm and things really get out of hand.
Gradually the story broadens out and we discover more about Maggie's background. She moved to London to escape an abusive relationship and she has a sister Meredith, already living in the city who is very successful and has a life which Maggie envies. She feels vulnerable and alone and jumps at the chance to help out Harvey, an agent with M15, the United Kingdom's counter-intelligence and security agency.
Harvey explains that the firm in Quilp House where she works is up to no good and he wants her to help him find out a way to stop them from causing problems for Great Britain. And so, Maggie did as she was asked and suddenly, it's 2 years later and Maggie is living in an MI5 safe house with Harvey as her only visitor. And, it's possible she killed someone at Quilp House.
Meanwhile, we discover that Harvey is not all he seems. And her sister Meredith has finally discovered that Maggie is missing.
Mick Herron peppers the story with his usual dark humour and wry observations on the people of London, their hopes and dreams and their politics! As the mystery of Maggie's role as an MI5 asset becomes clearer, so to is the reason for Harvey's insistence that she cannot leave the safe house. And what to do about her missing sister causes Meredith to make some uncomfortable decisions as, slowly but surely, these people's worlds begin to collide.
The author asks us to make at least one major suspension of belief, but - after all - it's a work of fiction and, despite the title, it didn't really happen.
Gradually the story broadens out and we discover more about Maggie's background. She moved to London to escape an abusive relationship and she has a sister Meredith, already living in the city who is very successful and has a life which Maggie envies. She feels vulnerable and alone and jumps at the chance to help out Harvey, an agent with M15, the United Kingdom's counter-intelligence and security agency.
Harvey explains that the firm in Quilp House where she works is up to no good and he wants her to help him find out a way to stop them from causing problems for Great Britain. And so, Maggie did as she was asked and suddenly, it's 2 years later and Maggie is living in an MI5 safe house with Harvey as her only visitor. And, it's possible she killed someone at Quilp House.
Meanwhile, we discover that Harvey is not all he seems. And her sister Meredith has finally discovered that Maggie is missing.
Mick Herron peppers the story with his usual dark humour and wry observations on the people of London, their hopes and dreams and their politics! As the mystery of Maggie's role as an MI5 asset becomes clearer, so to is the reason for Harvey's insistence that she cannot leave the safe house. And what to do about her missing sister causes Meredith to make some uncomfortable decisions as, slowly but surely, these people's worlds begin to collide.
The author asks us to make at least one major suspension of belief, but - after all - it's a work of fiction and, despite the title, it didn't really happen.
May 28, 2020
Lonely, very needy, a perfect "M" for any "S," the passive heroine (?) Maggie arrives in London from the UK provinces, and drifts into a forlorn, always needy existence. She radiates her naivete, her desire to be courted (and dominated), her desperate craving for attention -- WHAM! she gets it all.
A plain woman in her 20s who wouldnt be noticed anywhere, she's recruited by a spy to screwup/hack a computer at the company she works for -- you know, in the interests of national security. My god, she's thrilled. She feels almost as important as the savvy sister from whom she's estranged. Author Mick Herron has devised a wickedly clever "Gaslight"-type of suspense that will keep you whooping w delight and anger, as the docile Maggie embraces what she always wanted!
The facts are revealed slowly in a deadly-dry comic manner, and although Maggie is not bright, her smart sister discovers the scary James Bondian spy who, as Stanley sniffed Blanche, wants to keep those "colored lights" going....This psychological novel will piss off, or baffle, the puritans among us. ~ How can anyone w a droll sensibility resist a suspenser that opens, para #1, w the heroine on a wc?
A plain woman in her 20s who wouldnt be noticed anywhere, she's recruited by a spy to screwup/hack a computer at the company she works for -- you know, in the interests of national security. My god, she's thrilled. She feels almost as important as the savvy sister from whom she's estranged. Author Mick Herron has devised a wickedly clever "Gaslight"-type of suspense that will keep you whooping w delight and anger, as the docile Maggie embraces what she always wanted!
The facts are revealed slowly in a deadly-dry comic manner, and although Maggie is not bright, her smart sister discovers the scary James Bondian spy who, as Stanley sniffed Blanche, wants to keep those "colored lights" going....This psychological novel will piss off, or baffle, the puritans among us. ~ How can anyone w a droll sensibility resist a suspenser that opens, para #1, w the heroine on a wc?
February 4, 2018
This is What Happened by Mick Herron is, in a way, two books in one and that is not a good thing. The story opens with a taut, suspenseful bit of espionage. Everywomen Maggie Barnes has been recruited by MI-5 to install something on a computer where she works in the mailroom–a low profile job that gives her access to every floor. She’s amazing, she extemporizes and saves herself when things go wrong, she keeps calm and collected. This is the story I expected to read from descriptions of the book and boy, it delivered right from the first page.
However, that Maggie is gone by the next time we connect with her two years in the future. It was not surprising, though, the clues were there from the beginning. It is fair and maybe even credible.
I felt betrayed by this book. I was looking forward to Maggie coming into her own, enjoying this new self who figured out how to escape after being caught, who didn’t panic when she lost a vital element of her mission and risked her life for her country, who took her chance to be a hero. Even though I saw the twist coming so I can’t complain it was unfair, I still was upset. Frankly, the first story is fresher than the twist. The twist is tired.
To be fair, it is suspenseful. I also enjoyed Herron’s sometimes wry examination of idioms. For example, the idiom “to a degree” where Herron reminds us that working to a degree is less impressive if we remember there are 360 of them. I actually laughed out loud when a character responds to someone saying “doors would open” by remarking that person hadn’t gotten through very many despite being nearly fifty years old. These sly, gimlet-eyed skewering of cliches were the best thing about the book. I loved them and they do make me want to read more by Mick Herron.
Herron also showed how someone can just wonder, speculate, and daydream themselves into evil, even into murder. How simply shopping can become persuasive, how if you really want to do something, the soapbox speaker and the butcher, baker, and candlestick maker can all give you ideas and reasons to do what you really want to do. I saw real insight and humor in that.
But none of it overcomes my profound disappointment when the story jumps from the exciting bit of espionage to the Maggie two years later. Even if it was not completely unexpected, it still made me sad.
I received an e-galley of This is What Happened from the publisher through Edelweiss.
This is What Happened at Soho Press
Mick Herron author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
However, that Maggie is gone by the next time we connect with her two years in the future. It was not surprising, though, the clues were there from the beginning. It is fair and maybe even credible.
I felt betrayed by this book. I was looking forward to Maggie coming into her own, enjoying this new self who figured out how to escape after being caught, who didn’t panic when she lost a vital element of her mission and risked her life for her country, who took her chance to be a hero. Even though I saw the twist coming so I can’t complain it was unfair, I still was upset. Frankly, the first story is fresher than the twist. The twist is tired.
To be fair, it is suspenseful. I also enjoyed Herron’s sometimes wry examination of idioms. For example, the idiom “to a degree” where Herron reminds us that working to a degree is less impressive if we remember there are 360 of them. I actually laughed out loud when a character responds to someone saying “doors would open” by remarking that person hadn’t gotten through very many despite being nearly fifty years old. These sly, gimlet-eyed skewering of cliches were the best thing about the book. I loved them and they do make me want to read more by Mick Herron.
Herron also showed how someone can just wonder, speculate, and daydream themselves into evil, even into murder. How simply shopping can become persuasive, how if you really want to do something, the soapbox speaker and the butcher, baker, and candlestick maker can all give you ideas and reasons to do what you really want to do. I saw real insight and humor in that.
But none of it overcomes my profound disappointment when the story jumps from the exciting bit of espionage to the Maggie two years later. Even if it was not completely unexpected, it still made me sad.
I received an e-galley of This is What Happened from the publisher through Edelweiss.
This is What Happened at Soho Press
Mick Herron author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
November 5, 2017
I’ve read a few of Herron’s Spook Street books and enjoyed them but with This Is What Happened he ratchets up the suspense. There are three main characters and their viewpoints alternate to tell their perspective. Herron uses this technique to slowly dole out the story. It begins with a young woman, Maggie, who’s recently moved to London after some bad experiences in the small village where she grew up. Then the narrator switches to the voice of a seasoned big city bloke.
Things get dark. They get darker still. I suppose nothing too out of the ordinary for a mystery story happens but the way Herron builds the tension and understanding makes this book.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance reader’s copy.
Things get dark. They get darker still. I suppose nothing too out of the ordinary for a mystery story happens but the way Herron builds the tension and understanding makes this book.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance reader’s copy.
April 29, 2018
I have loved every one of Mick Herron's Slough House novels and tried the stand-alone This Is What Happened on the strength of them. It is nothing like as good.
It is hard to give an idea of the book without excessive spoilers, but although it appears to begin as an espionage novel in an exciting opening sequence, it becomes apparent very soon that all is not what it appears to be and the book develops into more of a run-of-the-mill thriller. Herron writes well (of course), but the plot and characters really didn’t convince me, with implausibilities and coincidences which stretched my tolerance well beyond its elastic limit.
So, I'm afraid I thought the book was rather silly, wholly unbelievable and simply unsatisfying as a book. I'm looking forward immensely to the next instalment of Jackson Lamb, but This Is What Happened didn't come anywhere near the quality of that series and I can't recommend it.
(My thanks to John Murray for an ARC via NetGalley.)
It is hard to give an idea of the book without excessive spoilers, but although it appears to begin as an espionage novel in an exciting opening sequence, it becomes apparent very soon that all is not what it appears to be and the book develops into more of a run-of-the-mill thriller. Herron writes well (of course), but the plot and characters really didn’t convince me, with implausibilities and coincidences which stretched my tolerance well beyond its elastic limit.
So, I'm afraid I thought the book was rather silly, wholly unbelievable and simply unsatisfying as a book. I'm looking forward immensely to the next instalment of Jackson Lamb, but This Is What Happened didn't come anywhere near the quality of that series and I can't recommend it.
(My thanks to John Murray for an ARC via NetGalley.)
November 17, 2019
My word, this is very clever. A slim book which crams a taut, tightly-knitted tale into not many pages. Herron is famous for his Slow Horses spook stories and at first you think this is what you might be reading… but this is an entirely different, a genuine standalone story.
Herron eschews his more grandiose form of stunt writing to craft a sinister, haunting mystery of exploitation and abuse. Just when you think you’ve see the whole of the picture, a new chapter reveals that you’ve only been viewing one aspect from an obscure angle, and nasty things are hiding in the shadows.
A masterclass in the teasing reveal – a genuinely suspenseful psychological thriller. I have a suspicion that Herron read a ‘domestic noir’ novel with an unreliable protagonist, figured he could do better and… knocked that ball right outta the park.
9/10
There are more reviews of crime, thrillers and mysteries over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
Herron eschews his more grandiose form of stunt writing to craft a sinister, haunting mystery of exploitation and abuse. Just when you think you’ve see the whole of the picture, a new chapter reveals that you’ve only been viewing one aspect from an obscure angle, and nasty things are hiding in the shadows.
A masterclass in the teasing reveal – a genuinely suspenseful psychological thriller. I have a suspicion that Herron read a ‘domestic noir’ novel with an unreliable protagonist, figured he could do better and… knocked that ball right outta the park.
9/10
There are more reviews of crime, thrillers and mysteries over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
February 12, 2018
Fast moving, tightly wound scare bear tale. My heart has returned to normal rhythm now that I have finished this book in one read.
later note: It would have disappointed me greatly had I paid the high price for this book because it is more of a short story, limited in scope but successful in portraying a real creep of a man.
later note: It would have disappointed me greatly had I paid the high price for this book because it is more of a short story, limited in scope but successful in portraying a real creep of a man.
June 4, 2019
I'm a huge fan of the Jackson Lamb thrillers and I went into this thinking I was getting a spy thriller, or indeed a good book. It isn't either, although you'd think it might be from the promising opening. To say more would be venturing into spoiler territory so I'll just leave it at this - if you want a spy thriller, read the impeccable Jackson Lamb books; if you want a psychological thriller, you don't want to read this, either. The good news is it's very short.
May 4, 2018
An unexpected clunk of disappointment
I was looking forward to this Mick Herron stand-alone hugely. Herron was a wonderful discovery for me last year with the excellent Slough House series which my book club chose the first of, and which sent me screaming for the rest of the series like a banshee.
I did try the first of his Zoe Boehm series, but found it rather too bloody for my tastes and thought there were some coincidences which just seemed a bit much, though I did enjoy Herron’s ability to spring genuine surprises
However….I do think the Slough House series are a joy – not least because though they are dark, they are also extremely witty and with a cast of characters we genuinely come to care about, however unappealing they might appear to be on one level.
I did have good hopes for this one, though I suspected it might be closer to a traditional thriller, despite the promise of an espionage linked, edgy beginning
As ever, Herron does spring surprises on his readers. The problem with this one (perhaps I have now read too many of his books and have sussed his tricks) is that I saw every one a mile off. To be honest, the horrible suspicion arose that there was a certain Herron-by-numbers a happening.
This was a very dark and bleak book indeed. The central characters are all pretty much without any redeeming features, and are more ‘types’ than anything else. This meant I found no one believable; they merely fit a kind of mould, and were firmly within a well-worn sub-genre of fiction. Which I can’t even describe as it would immediately reveal spoilers.
There is nothing, either to leaven the gloom, violence and darkness, no possibility of the welcome humour brought in Slough House, because none of the characters in this one are particularly quick thinking, or have the kind of mind that be flashed through with moments of wit. There are also a lot – A LOT of coincidences. The two ‘clues’ which brought our third major character into the plot journey and acted as ‘revelations’ for that character were pretty thin ones, to be honest
Sadly, I found the reading experience of this one leaden, and it left a bit of a bad taste.
I won’t be giving up on Herron – but am unlikely to follow him outside Slough House
I received this as a digital review copy from the publishers via NetGalley
I was looking forward to this Mick Herron stand-alone hugely. Herron was a wonderful discovery for me last year with the excellent Slough House series which my book club chose the first of, and which sent me screaming for the rest of the series like a banshee.
I did try the first of his Zoe Boehm series, but found it rather too bloody for my tastes and thought there were some coincidences which just seemed a bit much, though I did enjoy Herron’s ability to spring genuine surprises
However….I do think the Slough House series are a joy – not least because though they are dark, they are also extremely witty and with a cast of characters we genuinely come to care about, however unappealing they might appear to be on one level.
I did have good hopes for this one, though I suspected it might be closer to a traditional thriller, despite the promise of an espionage linked, edgy beginning
As ever, Herron does spring surprises on his readers. The problem with this one (perhaps I have now read too many of his books and have sussed his tricks) is that I saw every one a mile off. To be honest, the horrible suspicion arose that there was a certain Herron-by-numbers a happening.
This was a very dark and bleak book indeed. The central characters are all pretty much without any redeeming features, and are more ‘types’ than anything else. This meant I found no one believable; they merely fit a kind of mould, and were firmly within a well-worn sub-genre of fiction. Which I can’t even describe as it would immediately reveal spoilers.
There is nothing, either to leaven the gloom, violence and darkness, no possibility of the welcome humour brought in Slough House, because none of the characters in this one are particularly quick thinking, or have the kind of mind that be flashed through with moments of wit. There are also a lot – A LOT of coincidences. The two ‘clues’ which brought our third major character into the plot journey and acted as ‘revelations’ for that character were pretty thin ones, to be honest
Sadly, I found the reading experience of this one leaden, and it left a bit of a bad taste.
I won’t be giving up on Herron – but am unlikely to follow him outside Slough House
I received this as a digital review copy from the publishers via NetGalley
May 4, 2018
I have read all of Mick Herron's Slough House series and adore them. They contain the similar level of clever and compelling prose, memorable characters, and deftly handled plots as John le Carré’s Smiley books. This, as you probably realise, is very high praise. I was therefore very keen to try some of Mick Herron's other work.
When I saw 'This Is What Happened' on Netgalley I was delighted to be given a copy to review.
'This Is What Happened' is very different to the Slough House books. A quick and easy read, it is remarkably tense from the first page, and the tension doesn't let up until the final page. It is also cleverly structured, with the story slowly revealed through the perspective of just three characters, making the story feel very claustrophobic.
The less you know about the plot the better, so try to resist reading any summaries.
'This Is What Happened' is taut and compelling, and will keep you absorbed and trying to second guess what it is going on. The ending was a little sudden, and slightly anticlimactic, but overall this still leaves me keen to read more of Mick Herron's non-Slough House books.
3.5/5
When I saw 'This Is What Happened' on Netgalley I was delighted to be given a copy to review.
'This Is What Happened' is very different to the Slough House books. A quick and easy read, it is remarkably tense from the first page, and the tension doesn't let up until the final page. It is also cleverly structured, with the story slowly revealed through the perspective of just three characters, making the story feel very claustrophobic.
The less you know about the plot the better, so try to resist reading any summaries.
'This Is What Happened' is taut and compelling, and will keep you absorbed and trying to second guess what it is going on. The ending was a little sudden, and slightly anticlimactic, but overall this still leaves me keen to read more of Mick Herron's non-Slough House books.
3.5/5
June 13, 2018
New mystery writer to me. Mr. Herron seems intrigued by the idea of including only the minimum of elaboration around the plot, as a measure for maintaining the pace and impact of the story. Very tight design, very lean narrative--(without coming across as that thrill-kill of the mystery genre-- the stylized scenario, where that minimalism is meant to translate as eerie or postmodern or something.)
Herron shifts the reader's perception of the players as we go, and also what's perceived by the other characters on their own account. There are everyday reasons for that sort of thing-- how much is revealed on a first date, for example, or what an employee reveals to employers or co-workers. But details emerge, soon enough, and after a nerve-rattling introduction, we find the clues keep changing color or complexion with time, and with the telling. There will be sinister motives.
That being the case, I don't think it does the reader any favors to summarize the novel here; better to dive in, without pre-consideration of the story. This is something of a chamber piece, a haunting urban drama that reminds me a bit of Wait Until Dark, the Frederick Knott* play (filmed eventually with Audrey Hepburn & Alan Arkin).
Best indicator of the success of a mystery is whether you're interested in reading further outings from the same author. Sign me up.
________________________________
* Knott also wrote the original Dial M For Murder for the stage.
Herron shifts the reader's perception of the players as we go, and also what's perceived by the other characters on their own account. There are everyday reasons for that sort of thing-- how much is revealed on a first date, for example, or what an employee reveals to employers or co-workers. But details emerge, soon enough, and after a nerve-rattling introduction, we find the clues keep changing color or complexion with time, and with the telling. There will be sinister motives.
That being the case, I don't think it does the reader any favors to summarize the novel here; better to dive in, without pre-consideration of the story. This is something of a chamber piece, a haunting urban drama that reminds me a bit of Wait Until Dark, the Frederick Knott* play (filmed eventually with Audrey Hepburn & Alan Arkin).
Best indicator of the success of a mystery is whether you're interested in reading further outings from the same author. Sign me up.
________________________________
* Knott also wrote the original Dial M For Murder for the stage.
November 11, 2017
Wow! Mick Herron's latest novel "This is What happened", is very very weird, but try to avoid any plot hints or comparisons to another very popular and well-received novel, and just surrender yourself and dive in! The first and last chapters read like a screenplay for an action-packed and suspenseful film, which this novel is sure to become.
Nondescript office worker Maggie Barnes, 26, has been recruited by a man named Harvey Wells, who says he's from MI5 (the British version of the CIA) to do some corporate sabotage - told that she will be an unsung hero protecting the Brittan from a financial take-over by the Chinese. Things get creepy fast; savvy readers will be highly suspicious of our clueless protagonist, but we must follow Maggie's very very strange tale before we learn the truth.
Seemingly abruptly we cut to a new character, Dickon Broom. Dickon is aptly named: he's a real jerk. And then we meet Sue...and here is where I'm going to stop relating anything about the plot because the fun of this story is how gradually Herron reveals the surprises and twists. If I have one criticism it's that the reader has to suspend disbelief that the main characters are so extreme in their prime characteristics, be that their incredible stupidity, nastiness, or preternatural intuition. But that's a relatively minor gripe because the novel is fast-paced and thoroughly entertaining.
Nondescript office worker Maggie Barnes, 26, has been recruited by a man named Harvey Wells, who says he's from MI5 (the British version of the CIA) to do some corporate sabotage - told that she will be an unsung hero protecting the Brittan from a financial take-over by the Chinese. Things get creepy fast; savvy readers will be highly suspicious of our clueless protagonist, but we must follow Maggie's very very strange tale before we learn the truth.
Seemingly abruptly we cut to a new character, Dickon Broom. Dickon is aptly named: he's a real jerk. And then we meet Sue...and here is where I'm going to stop relating anything about the plot because the fun of this story is how gradually Herron reveals the surprises and twists. If I have one criticism it's that the reader has to suspend disbelief that the main characters are so extreme in their prime characteristics, be that their incredible stupidity, nastiness, or preternatural intuition. But that's a relatively minor gripe because the novel is fast-paced and thoroughly entertaining.
August 16, 2023
A major change for Herron, as this is both a standalone novel and almost totally devoid of the humor that plays such a key role in his "Slow Horses" and "Oxford Investigations" series. The book also focuses on two largely unattractive characters, one of whom (possible spoilers?) is unbelievably stupid while the other is unspeakably psychopathic (probably using that wrong, but you'll know what I mean). Halfway through, a third character intrudes, and while he/she (no spoiler there!) is more relatable, he/she makes at least one crucial decision towards the very end that makes you wonder "why the $#@% would he/she possibly do that??"
That all said, still a good read that despite it's slow and confusing start throws in enough plot twists and builds enough momentum to keep you wondering just WTF will happen next - it just takes a little while to all kick in and come together.
This would be a 4 for any other author, but as I'm giving all the "Slow Horses" books either 4 or 5, this gets rounded down by comparison.
That all said, still a good read that despite it's slow and confusing start throws in enough plot twists and builds enough momentum to keep you wondering just WTF will happen next - it just takes a little while to all kick in and come together.
This would be a 4 for any other author, but as I'm giving all the "Slow Horses" books either 4 or 5, this gets rounded down by comparison.
April 4, 2018
It's best to go into this psychological thriller knowing very little* about the dark and twisted storyline. It reads like a novella or short story in the way it's broken into five parts with alternate POV's. The perfect antidote while awaiting the next Slough House novel.
*but fair warning: more Ruth Rendell than John le Carre
*but fair warning: more Ruth Rendell than John le Carre
did-not-finish
November 5, 2021A rare disappointment from Mick Herron. Not worth another try.
March 1, 2020
I'm not even writing a quick synopsis for this one as the best advice I could give is go into this one with no preconceived ideas of the plot. As it is definitely not what you think. Personally, I twigged onto what was happening pretty early on, but the plot works well. Definitely a dark read.
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