by Mick Herron
First published 2025
Jackson Lamb oversees Slough House, MI5's dumping ground for operatives who screwed up. River Cartwright failed his surveillance training. Louisa Guy's career crashed into political obstacles. Roddy Ho believes his skills surpass everyone else's. Min Harper has a drinking problem. These discarded spies want to return to legitimate intelligence operations, but they must first learn to function as a unit. A abduction transforms their situation. Kidnappers grab a young man from London's streets and promise to broadcast his murder online. The Slough House team recognizes their opportunity to demonstrate their continued value. They pursue the investigation, following clues that MI5's main operations ignore. The captured victim harbors secrets that complicate his apparent innocence. Their investigation reveals links leading directly to the intelligence community that rejected them. This case offers the broken spies their path to professional rehabilitation, assuming they can maintain mutual trust long enough to crack it.
Genres: mystery, thriller, 21st-century, espionage
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, redemption
Setting: London, Slough House
Period: 21st-century
368 pages · Hardcover · Soho Crime