by Mick Herron
First published 2025
River Cartwright has time on his hands while waiting for medical clearance to return to Slough House, MI5's dumping ground for failed spies. His grandfather David Cartwright, the former head of MI5, donated his library to Oxford's Spooks' College before his death. Now one book has vanished, or maybe it never existed at all. River starts digging into the mystery of his grandfather's collection. Meanwhile, Diana Taverner at MI5 headquarters faces her own crisis. An old operation from the Troubles threatens to explode into public scandal, with former operatives ready to spill secrets. Taverner devises a scheme to contain the damage, but she needs someone expendable to take the fall. Jackson Lamb, the crude and cunning boss of Slough House, has no intention of volunteering his team for Taverner's trap. But his agents rarely follow orders. If they stumble into danger despite his warnings, that's their choice. Still, they belong to him. Anyone who harms his people will answer to Lamb.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, espionage
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Slough House, MI5, Oxford, Spooks' College
Period: Troubles
352 pages · Hardcover · Soho Crime