In 2008, Mick Herron introduced the world to Slough House, the home for disgraced MI5 agents. The series inspired the highly popular and addictive Apple+ TV series Slow Horses.
When writing spy fiction, many authors choose to focus on the more glamorous aspects of spy craft.
But Herron drew on his experience working in the legal department researching employment issues. It made it easy to imagine the more mundane aspects of being a spy, namely the office politics and drudgery.
That doesn’t mean the plots are boring. Because he focuses on character decisions as the primary drivers in his plots, the stories feel dynamic and constantly evolving on the page.
And the fact that it’s a crew of misfits only adds to the tension.
(PS: The series makes a fantastic last-minute Father's Day gift, btw!)
Here is every book in the Slough House series by Mick Herron, in order.
Slow Horses (Slough House Book 1)
What happens to MI5 agents who have disgraced themselves? They go to Slough House. And just because the rest of the agency calls them slow horses doesn’t mean they’re ready to be out of the action.
Most of them will do anything for a real assignment—including working together. So when a young man is abducted and the kidnappers threaten to behead him live on the internet, the slow horses see their chance.
But when the victim isn’t who he appears to be, they realize they just might have a real case on their hands.
Dead Lions (Slough House Book 2)
When a Cold War-era spy is found dead on a bus far from any of his usual routines, the slow horses see an opportunity for redemption. They’re convinced it’s murder.
But as they dig into the agent’s past, they discover more Cold War secrets leading back to a single man. Is he a Soviet spy, or is he possibly the most dangerous man in the world?
And how many people have to die to keep his secrets?
Real Tigers (Slough House Book 3)
Catherine Standish knows treachery, double-dealing, and back-stabbing. She knows better than most that old sins linger. She also knows that there’s no such thing as a chance encounter with a spy.
It’s less clear why anyone would target her. Or why they’re holding her hostage. It can’t be personal. Which means it has to do with Slough House.
But if anyone knew the agents there, they’d know there’s one in particular that Catherine trusts with her life.
Spook Street (Slough House Book 4)
What happens when spies lose their minds? That’s the question River Cartwright has to ask himself when his grandfather, a Cold War-era operative, shows signs of dementia.
He’s convinced someone from the Home Office has been sent to watch him. But River has other problems. A bomb went off in a busy shopping center. He and the other Slough House agents have to find out who did it before they strike again.
And then hopefully, he can keep his grandfather’s secrets, too.
London Rules (Slough House Book 5)
Being First Desk for MI5’s Regent Park is no easy task. There’s no shortage of tasks to track and problems to solve. Especially while the country is being bombarded by a string of random terror attacks.
In the Slough House satellite office, someone might be trying to kill one of them. Is it an inside job? Hard to say.
The only thing they know for certain is that all of them have a talent for making bad situations much, much worse.
Joe Country (Slough House Book 6)
Disgraced agents have a lot of memories, and all of them are bad. Lech Wicinski isn’t innocent. His sins make him an outcast among outcasts.
But he is determined to figure out who destroyed his career—even if it destroys his life.
Meanwhile, Regent’s Park is struggling with stability, and an old enemy surfaces.
The man once killed a slow horse. So, when he comes out of hiding, the slow horses come together to even the score.
Slough House
It’s been a year since a Russian Secret Service agent left a British citizen dead. The lax response from the government has Regent’s Park up in arms.
And it’s not a good time to be a misfit spy. Slough House has officially been wiped from the government books. Which has all the slow horses more paranoid than usual.
But are they actually in danger? The smart move would be to lie low.
Unfortunately, the slow horses have never been ones to make the smart choices.
Bad Actors (Slough House Book 8)
A high-profile government think tank has lost one of its members. And the trail leads straight to Regent’s Park. Why is a Russian counterpart in London?
And do the slow horses know more than they’re telling? True to form, they’re adding a bit of instability to an already precarious situation.
But when you’re surrounded by lies, cheats, and dirty politicians, it’s hard for the good guys not to be outgunned, so you might as well make the best of it.
Standing by the Wall: The Collected Slough House Novellas
All five spin-off novellas in the Slough House series are now in one combined collection.
From a troubled new recruit to a botched job, the MI5 outcasts skirt the line between friends, enemies, and lovers—and everything in between.
Clown Town (Slough House Book 9)
Old spies might be ridiculous, but they’re also dangerous. And they’re never more so than when they’ve fallen on hard times.
When someone threatens to expose the details of a mission, one where the ugly side of state security is shown, the problems ripple from Regent’s Park to Slough House.
The slow horses have been instructed to stay at their desks. But when have they ever listened?
