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<DIV>“London Rules”, by Mick Herron (London: John Murray, 2018),
pp.302,342:</DIV>
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style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none"><SPAN
lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">NOON COMES WITH BELLS on, because this is London and
London is a city of bells. From its heart to its ragged edges, they bisect the
day in a jangle of sound: peals and tinkles and deep bass knells. They ring from
steeples and clock towers, from churches and town halls, in an overlapping
celebration of the everyday fact that time passes. In the heat, it might almost
be possible to see their sound travel, carried on the haze that shimmers in the
middle distance. And in time with the bells, other devices strike up: clocks on
corners and hanging over jewellers’ premises strike the hour in their staggered
fashion, all a little behind or a little ahead of the sun, but always - always -
there's one single moment when all chime together. Or that’s what it would be
nice to pretend: that twice a day, around midnight and noon, the city speaks as
one. But even if it were true, it would be over in a moment, and the normal
cacophony re-establish itself; voices arguing, chiding, consoling and cracking
jokes; begging for ice cream, for lovers to return; offering change and seeking
endorsement; stumbling over each other in a constant chorus of joy and
complaint, bliss and treachery; of big griefs, small sorrows, and unexpected
delight. Every day is like this one: both familiar and unique. Today, like
tomorrow, is always different, and always the same.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ; LETTER-SPACING: 0.15pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 9.5pt"></FONT></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; LETTER-SPACING: 0.15pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></FONT></FONT></SPAN> </P>
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face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-US
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; LETTER-SPACING: 0.05pt"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">When
dusk at last comes it comes from the corners, where it's </FONT></SPAN><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; LETTER-SPACING: -0.1pt">been waiting all day, and seeps
through Slough House the way </SPAN></FONT><SPAN lang=EN-US
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">ink seeps through water;
first casting tendrils, then becoming <SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.35pt">smoky
black cloud, and at last being everywhere, the way </SPAN>it <SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.1pt">always wants to be. Its older brother night has
broader footfall, </SPAN><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.05pt">louder voice, but
dusk is the family sneak, a hoarder of secrets. In each of the offices it prowls
by the walls, licking the skirting </SPAN><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.4pt">boards, testing the pipes, and out on the landings
it fondles </SPAN><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.05pt">doorknobs, slips through
keyholes, and is content. It leans hard </SPAN><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.05pt">against the front door </SPAN>- <SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.1pt">which never opens, never closes </SPAN>- <SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.35pt">and </SPAN><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.1pt">pushes softly on the back, which jams in all
weathers; it presses </SPAN><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.05pt">down on every
stair at once, making none of them creak, and </SPAN><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.2pt">peers through both sides of each window. In locked
drawers </SPAN><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.5pt">it </SPAN><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.1pt">hunts for its infant siblings, and with every one
it finds it </SPAN>grows <SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.35pt">a little darker.
Dusk is a temporary creature, and always has </SPAN></FONT><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.3pt"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">been. The faster it
feeds, the sooner it yields to the night.</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
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face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: "><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.3pt"><FONT
size=2></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: "><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.3pt"></SPAN></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.3pt">Stuart</SPAN><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: 0.15pt"></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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