May 18, 2025
The Lost Mick Herron Story
There are three short story collections by spy/mystery writer Mick Herron (All the Livelong Day, Dolphin Junction and Standing by the Wall), all of which, curiously, do not contain the author’s 2013 tale “Kicking Off.” Published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine in its February issue that year, the tale has become the lost Herron work.
The trouble is that it doesn’t fit with the genres for which he’s known. For the most part, it’s not a mystery, and it doesn’t have anything to do with MI5 or MI6 for that matter. It’s about an ex-footballer, a local hero named Terry Maclean, Tezza to his fans. When a career-ending injury intrudes, he begins “kicking off” at bars, where he is treated like a king regaling his followers with anecdotes and reminiscences. It’s a lifestyle he settles into too comfortably.
The story explores the various nuances of its title, a British term with the dual meaning of commencing play in a game of football and starting an argument. The subtle shade of gray between the two is where the story resides and what makes the tale so effective. It’s a work about beginnings as well as endings, about arguments both internal and external and it’s about “what’s on your hands matter[ing] more than what’s on others.’”
“Kicking Off” is a reminder of how good a short story writer Herron is. His choice of narrator, tone and detail mirror those of his novels, but working in a more limited format requires a conciseness that he handles masterfully. And, while it’s unique in his catalog, there are still the twists and turns familiar from his novels and other shorter tales. It’s a work of his worth seeking out – reasonably priced copies of the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine issue can be found online – and it’s not just for completists.
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