The Catch, by Mick Herron

Billed as a Slough House novella, this is more a short story that fills in a small gap between a couple of the novels. John Bachelor is a fringe member of the secret services, employed part time as a ‘milkman’ – keeping contact with superannuated agents. Bad choices and bad luck have left him on the brink of homelessness, which leaves him vulnerable to exploitation. Enter a murky off-the books MI5 operation to save a royal reputation by misleading and embarrassing the media, with John the perfect patsy to ensure it all comes off. As with the novels, Herron perfectly captures the tenor of the times, tapping into current events without naming names and painting a bleakly funny picture of how the secret services operate in the public interest – or not.