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Challenging the tropes of the spy world, Mick Herron’s Slough House book series follows secret intelligence officers banished to desk work owing to bad behaviour. Dubbed “slow horses” by their peers, they’re prone to leaving top-secret documents on trains and chasing down the wrong bad guys.
The first novel, Slow Horses, was published in 2010 – but it didn’t creep into the bestseller charts until years later. Herron has since penned eight more novels in the series, with the latest just released.
The series has reached a whole new audience thanks to the Apple TV+ adaptation starring Gary Oldman as the dishevelled, mildly alcoholic leader of Slough House, Jackson Lamb. Oldman stars in the show alongside Kristen Scott Thomas as MI5’s deputy director Diana Taverner and Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, an ambitious but naive field agent. Each season of the critically acclaimed show is based on a different book in Herron’s series, with season five dropping on 24 September.
The winning spy thriller formula follows disgraced, embarrassed and failed agents as they become accidentally embroiled in various espionage operations, high-profile assassinations and political conspiracies. The spy plots are as good as Ian Fleming’s or John Le Carre’s storylines, but the black comedy is as sharp as The White Lotus or The Studio.
The latest novel, Clown Town, picks up where the last tome left off. Cartwright is still sidelined from the field, Taverner is pulling political strings behind the scenes and Lamb is determined to expose career-ending MI5 secrets. Here’s everything you need to know.
‘Clown Town’ by Mick Herron, published by Baskerville
The 10th book in the Slough House series, Clown Town, begins with Cartwright waiting to hear if he’s allowed back on active duty. In the meantime, he delves into his late grandfather’s library to find clues about his mysterious past in the secret service.
Meanwhile, Taverner is resorting to blackmail for political gain and Lamb is forced to recruit a band of misfits at Slough House to foil her plans.
Read the full Slough House series in order
‘Slow Horses’ by Mick Herron, published by Baskerville
‘Dead Lions’ by Mick Herron, published by Baskerville
‘Real Tigers’ by Mick Herron, published by Baskerville
‘Spook Street’ Mick Herron, published by Baskerville
‘London Rules’ by Mick Herron, published by Baskerville
‘Joe Country’ by Mick Herron, published by Baskerville
‘Slough House’ by Mick Herron, published by Baskerville
‘Bad Actors’ by Mick Herron, published by Baskerville
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