Clown Town, by Mick Herron

Slow Horse River Cartwright is still waiting for medical clearance to return to MI5’s Slough House repository for failed spies, following his Novichok poisoning. Meanwhile Louisa is considering an opportunity to go private. All plans are disrupted by First Desk Diana Taverner’s need to address a threat from the past and at the same time rid herself of her bête noir, Johnsonesque ex Tory Minister and constant troublemaker Peter Judd. As usual her machinations put the Slow Horses in the line of fire and it is up to their boss, the execrable Jackson Lamb, to sort it out. The action jumps around multiple points of view within chapters, which can get confusing. Herron has never been afraid to kill off his horses, but the long drawn out teaser as to which has been put down this time is an unnecessary and annoying cliffhanger. His withering and succinct analysis of the current state of UK politics and the intelligence service is chilling confirmation of the book title.

The Drop & The List, by Mick Herron

These are two more Slough House-adjacent novellas that fill in the gaps between some of the full novels. Actual slow horses make only token appearances. The stories feature ‘milkman’ John Bachelor, who is charged with monitoring superannuated spooks and whose future looks increasingly bleak as he desperately claws to hold his place within the security services. Two future slow horses are introduced and, if you read this out of order – which is likely as the novellas are not well promoted – your heart will ache for what is to come for them.

The Secret Hours, by Mick Herron

There’s not a tardy nag in sight in this Slow Horses-adjacent tale that offers the perspective of long-suffering civil servants who support the parliament. The Monochrome inquiry into misconduct of the British secret services has been set up by politicians and their apparatchiks to spike the guns of MI5’s First Desk (she goes unnamed but it’s clearly Diana Taverner). She has found a way to make it totally ineffectual, wasting the time, lives and careers of everyone involved. That is until the Otis file is leaked to the inquiry and the first genuine witness is interviewed after two years of operation. Monochrome is quickly shut down, but the civil servants involved decide not leave any loose ends and hear the witness out. Her tale reveals an off-the books operation in post-wall Berlin and its lingering effects to the present day. Although the protagonists are not identified by their real names, it becomes clear that this is the story of how Jackson Lamb came to run Slough House. It fills in the details of several backgrounds and connections along the way, leading to a very satisfying resolution that provides both justice (or revenge) and understanding on a number of levels.

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.

Bad Actors, by Mick Herron

A political advisor has gone missing and the head of MI5, Diana Taverner, finds herself unexpectedly at the pointy end. It’s ironic that her career is in jeopardy for something she is innocent of, rather than one of the many terrible things she has done. Lady Di is in so much trouble she has to call on frenemy Jackson Lamb and his slow horses for help. It’s uncomfortable for the reader to find themselves on the side of the despicable Diana, but it’s a case of the least worst actor in a story that sheds a chilling light on the state of democracy in post-Brexit, post Covid Britain. River Cartwright is completely missing from this tale, following his encounter with a nerve agent in the last book, and it is not clear until the end whether or not he survived. After a shaky start new slow horse Ashley Kahn looks a promising addition to the team, so she’ll probably get killed off in the next Slough House book. Sadly for addicts, that may be a while off as this one is the latest published to date.

Slough House, by Mick Herron

The head of MI5, First Desk Diana Taverner, has sold what remains of her soul to the diabolical powermonger Peter Judd in order to gain resources and freedom from her political masters. This inadvertently (for a change) puts the current and former slow horses of Slough House at great risk as they become targets in a war of revenge. She is forced into an unholy alliance with Jackson Lamb, the wily but execrable chief of the secret service dumping ground, in order to save all their bacon. Judd, as ever, has his own agenda and is sponsoring Britain’s version of MAGA, a la Steve Bannon. He is not about to let Taverner wriggle free of his clutches. In the face of death the slow horses find themselves dealing with a resurrection, which has been flagged in a previous book but still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. This tight, tense read again puts favourites in the firing line and leaves the fate of heroes and villains alike hanging in the balance until the next tale. Herron has also written a smartly sardonic Christmas short story that follows this novel and is therefore better read after it, as the timelines get confusing and it contains spoilers.

Joe Country, by Mick Herron

In the depths of a London winter, life is looking even more bleak than usual for the stable of dud MI5 agents at Slough House. River Cartwright’s venerable grandfather has died and his errant father shows up to spoil the funeral. Louisa has been guilted into chasing up her dead lover’s missing son and Catherine is at risk of falling off the wagon. The latest slow horse, Lech, may be guilty of a heinous crime, or may have been set up. Diana Taverner has finally achieved top dog status at the agency and quickly embodies all the maxims on power, while maintaining her determination to obliterate Slough House. Herron uses recent British history, with its dodgy populist politicians and seedy royals, to highlight the deficiencies of the security services in a declining democracy. One interesting angle is the impact of Brexit, with former European allies not only stopping cooperation but becoming potential antagonists. Almost all of the slow horses are at risk of becoming casualty of the week in this book, and the suspense of who succumbs is maintained until the end. This is a particularly brutal and bloody sequence of events, again ending in a cliffhanger that calls into question the future of the Slough House, with Taverner tempted down a very slippery slope.

London Rules, by Mick Herron

Moscow rules say watch your back; London rules say cover your arse. MI5 dumping ground Slough House apparently loses one of its Slow Horse agents in unfortunate circumstances in each book. The early candidate here is obnoxious techie Roddy Ho, who is targeted from the start. This comes to the attention of the thoroughbreds of Regent’s Park when it is linked to a terrorist attack on an English village. The investigation of who is behind it stretches to Birmingham and to the actual town of Slough, where a comedy of errors facilitates a political assassination rather than preventing it. Often a step ahead of their Regents’ Park superiors, the Slow Horses swing wildly between heroics and fuck-ups. As usual their execrable leader Jackson Lamb operates on Moscow Rules to ensure the continued existence of his team. This time it leads to handing arch enemy Diana Taverner a weapon to secure her power that seems likely to come back to bite him. The sardonic humour is laugh-out-loud in places and there is joy in identifying thinly disguised political figures, especially from the populist right, and speculating on the accuracy of their depiction. This tale ends on several cliffhangers, likely to reverberate in the next instalment.

Spook Street, by Mick Herron

Slow Horse River Cartwright’s grandfather is descending into dementia, which is a particular problem for a former senior member of the British security services. When an attempt is made on his life is it his past coming back to bite him, or the current security chiefs cleaning house? At the MI5 dumping ground of Slough House, there are two new Slow Horses to help or hinder the investigation into a clandestine cuckoo operation with terrorist links. But how far is David Cartwright culpable and will he pay for his mistakes or will his grandson pay for him? As usual the internal politics make everything more complicated, as the power hungry Diana Taverner tries to rid herself of another boss without losing ground. Meanwhile Catherine Standish’s attempt to resign is frustrated as she is drawn back in to help her fellow losers stay alive despite themselves. These books are not stand-alone tales; you need to have read Slow Horses, Dead Lions and Real Tigers to fully appreciate what is happening on Spook Street. Mick Herron’s blackly humorous take on the security services does make one wonder if the world would actually be better off – or at least no worse off – without them.

Real Tigers, by Mick Herron

One of the Slow Horses has been abducted and held hostage for another of their number to carry out a task for the kidnappers. Their stable, Slough House, already serves as a retirement paddock for dud and disgraced agents who are too hard to sack. Now its existence is under threat as a dodgy private security firm is employed to involve them in political machinations. New Home Secretary Peter Judd has a grudge against the intelligence service and is not above using it as a tool to further his political ambitions. In this he could be helped or hindered by the ongoing power struggle between Head of MI5 Dame Ingrid Tearney and her diabolical second desk, Diana Taverner. The Slow Horses must find a way to save themselves from increasingly dire circumstances, in a fight that looks to have no winners. Written with a dry, cynical wit, this tense and edgy thriller deepens the intrigue established in the first two books of the series. It paints a truly bleak picture of the intelligence services and political class, where the focus is firmly on personal power grabs and private vendettas and damn the public interest. Bystanders and obstacles are expendable and cover ups the norm. It is only too believable, which is kind of depressing.

Dead Lions, by Mick Herron

A relict of the Berlin Zoo of the 80s, former minor spy asset Dickie Bow is found dead on a regional bus, with mystery surrounding the whys and wherefores. Is a long-dormant Russian sleeper cell awake, or is it an elaborate ruse to fool the intelligence services and divert their resources? And can the Slow Horses save the day or will they completely balls it up? Ambition rules decisions made at all levels of MI5. Those in the inner sanctum at Regents’ Park want to climb the ranks. Those in the outer reaches of Slough House, the screw-up ‘slow horses’, are desperate to make it back to the main game. A sequel to Slow Horses, this tight, tense and tart tale keeps the outcome in doubt until the end. Some relationships among the Slough House crew are strengthened and some are lost as the ill-assorted team gropes its way to the truth, and makes progress in operating as a team.

Slow Horses, by Mick Herron

Slough House is where British Intelligence agents who have messed up or transgressed are sent to pasture. Burning with resentment at being set up to fail, River Cartwright wants to get his teeth into some real work and prove that he belongs in the inner sanctum in London’s Regent’s Park. But he has only been retained by the service at all because of his legendary grandfather’s influence. When a young man is kidnapped by terrorists threatening to behead him on a livestream, River and his fellow ‘slow horses’ are inadvertently drawn into the intelligence operation. Can they overcome their dodgy pasts to make an impact on the case? That will depend on whether their horrible old-school chief, Jackson Lamb, can outwit the ruthless Regent’s Park suit, Diana Taverner. Herron paints a chillingly grim and believable picture of the modern intelligence services, leavened with wry humour. The books have recently been made into an acclaimed TV series starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Gary Oldfield.