Mick Herron: Slough House Series and Modern Spy Thrillers
Introduction
Mick Herron is a modern master of espionage fiction, celebrated for his award-winning Slough House series. Known for blending dark humor, gripping suspense, and unforgettable characters, Herron has revitalized the spy thriller genre with a contemporary edge. His works have earned comparisons to the classics of John le Carré and Len Deighton while carving out a distinctive voice all his own.
The Slough House Series
At the heart of Herron's success is the Slough House series, which follows a group of disgraced MI5 agents—known as the “Slow Horses”—exiled to a decrepit London office. Led by the abrasive and sharp-tongued Jackson Lamb, these misfits find themselves embroiled in espionage, political intrigue, and unexpected danger.
Key Books in the Series:
- Slow Horses (2010) – The gripping introduction to Slough House and its unlikely heroes.
- Dead Lions (2013) – Winner of the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award.
- Real Tigers (2016) – A tale of betrayal and conspiracy within MI5.
- Spook Street (2017) – A deeply personal mission for the Slough House team.
- London Rules (2018) – Satirical and chilling commentary on British politics.
- Joe Country (2019) – An emotional exploration of loyalty and loss.
- Slough House (2021) – A testament to Herron’s continued mastery of the genre.
- Bad Actors (2023)
- Clown Town – Coming in 2024!
Explore the full Slough House series here.
Other Works by Mick Herron
While the Slough House series has cemented Herron’s place as a leading voice in spy fiction, he has also written standalone novels and other series, including:
- The Oxford Series: Early crime novels set in Herron’s hometown of Oxford, featuring unconventional detective Zoë Boehm.
- Down Cemetery Road (2003)
- The Last Voice You Hear (2004)
- Why We Die (2006)
- Smoke and Whispers (2009)
- Standalone Thrillers:
- Nobody Walks (2015) – A gripping tale of vengeance and secrets.
- Dolphin Junction (2021) – A collection of short stories showcasing Herron’s versatility.
Themes and Style
Mick Herron’s novels are marked by their sharp wit, biting satire, and layered plots. His works explore themes of bureaucracy, loyalty, betrayal, and the human cost of espionage. The Slough House series, in particular, offers a scathing critique of institutional decay and political corruption, making his books as thought-provoking as they are entertaining.
Why Read Mick Herron?
Fans of espionage fiction, dark humor, and complex characters will find much to love in Herron’s work. Whether you’re a longtime fan of spy novels or new to the genre, his books are a must-read.
Mick Herron – Ranked 8th in Tim Shipam's Best Spy Fiction Writers of all time list!
Gary Oldman on Working With Mick Herron and John le Carré
Tim Shipman on Mick Herron
Mick Herron is the best British spy thriller writer of his generation. That such a statement is barely controversial these days says a lot. Only Charles Cumming has a rival case on the basis of similarly sustained excellence. When I spoke to Mick recently for my Sunday Times ‘Spy Fiction's New Golden Age‘ piece he said that he switched from writing about his private detective Zoe Bohme (2003-09) to write about spies because he wanted to spread his wings.
“I wanted to write about a cast of characters,” Herron told me when I interviewed him recently for my Sunday Times piece. “I left my private detective behind to write about a group of people. I didn’t want to write police thrillers because you have to research that and get it right and I’m not interested in writing a police procedural. You can make a lot of stuff up when you write about spies and convince people you know what you're talking about.”
This was a masterstroke because Mick devised a quite brilliant concept – that failed spies are not fired but sent to purgatory in a dilapidated office near the Barbican, Slough House. He also went on to populate the building with an ensemble that has no peer among his contemporaries and perhaps only a couple of rivals in the history of the genre.
In Jackson Lamb he may have created the greatest maverick spy chief we have ever seen. My own favourites, after Lamb, are Roddy Ho and Shirley Dander. It is their interactions which make the series, the fantastic plots are almost a bonus.Herron remarked: “If I could get away with it I would just have my characters sitting in the office squabbling, which would be truer to the concept I have, that these are people who don’t get out much. They’re in Slough House because they’re not allowed to do anything important, but they always end up in hugely important things. They’re like the Famous Five: every time they went on holiday, they had an adventure.”
Herron’s willingness to kill off his main characters is also brave and to be commended and it’s one which actually heightens the worth of those who survive, deepens the emotional impact of those who don’t make it, as well as keeping the reader on their toes and making the sense of peril seem very real. For this reason it is also important to read the books in order.It’s not just the characters that impress.
Herron has also created a fully realised world, complete with its own language. “Regents Park” may not be quite at “the Circus” levels of recognition yet but “first desk”, “the dogs” and other terms seem likely to enter spy yore. The three novellas (The List, The Drop and The Catch add another layer).
His main achievement, of course, is to combine character and place with genuinely gripping terror and espionage plots, biting satire and genuine humour. He sees the latter as vital: “The times got so crazy, especially since 2016, that I think the appropriate response to it is incredulous laughter, deep sarcasm, bad-tempered humour.”Slow Horses (2010), longlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, is a triumph and for my money Dead Lions (2013) is even better. It won the Gold Dagger.
Check out our podcast with Mick Herron on Spybrary
But it is the third book, Real Tigers (2016), the first which John Murray, his English publisher, championed, where Herron really hit his stride, perfecting his formula and taking it further. I think it’s still my favourite and Herron agrees it is one of his very best.
He has a very interesting insight on how this came about. Both the first two books won critical acclaim and prizes and that liberated Mick. He told me: “Real Tigers is the one where I really started having fun. There are a couple of moments in that book where I thought ‘I can’t possibly do this, it’s ridiculous.’ I had won the dagger for the previous one and I had it on my shelf. I looked at the dagger on my shelf and thought, ‘Yes, I can! I can do whatever I want’. It really made a difference. I started to feel at home with the characters.”
Spook Street (2017) is where Herron really went interstellar and eight years of slog really paid off. It won the Steel Dagger and was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger (In total, Mick has 10 dagger nominations and two wins, which is an astonishing haul). “That was when the publishers really got behind me and were making great things happen.”
The author had an ambivalent relationship with the manuscript before it was published. “Relationships with individual books go through a very familiar kind of rollercoaster,” he said. “When I’m writing them I will love them one day and hate them the next. In that gap between delivery and publication, I generally hate them and I start the next book as an apology for the last one. But after a while, you wait a year and it settles down.
I hated Spook Street when I delivered it. I actually apologised to my editor and said, ‘This is definitely a downturn in the series’, and now I think it’s probably the best. It’s the one I’m fondest of. Looking back at it now, that one had a bit more depth to it.” Taken with Joe Country (2019), the direct sequel, it is Herron’s opus.
If I have one reservation, and it is a small one, tonally, the humour can sometimes distract from the drama and the subject matter of spy books is inherently serious. There are moments in London Rules (2018), which contains some of Mick’s best action writing, that verge dangerously close to farce. Others would say it is a great amuse bouche between the heavier “River’s dad” plots of Spook Street and Joe Country.
As the series went on Herron began to use his barely veiled simulacrum of Boris Johnson, the loathsome Peter Judd, more and more. By Slough House (2021) he was integral to the plot, rather than comic relief. Time will tell whether this ages the books in due course, but it certainly adds another layer.
Herron must now share ownership of Jackson Lamb with Gary Oldman and the producers of the TV series, but I’m not worried that he will get bored of this creation. John Le Carre eventually said he didn’t want to write more George Smiley because he had bequeathed the character to Alec Guinness.
Herron says he wrote Bad Actors (2022), coming soon, without such burdens. “I don’t feel that it’s taken over the characters when I'm writing them. I love seeing them on screen but the Jackson I'm writing to is the one in my head.”
Nor will whatever fame the TV series brings him change him I suspect (“I think writers are better off when they aren’t recognised and they can focus on the work”)
One of the great pleasures of the last decade has been the chance to spend time in Mick Herron’ head. He has devised a series for the ages. He writes wonderful character, action and comedy. It would not be a surprise if he ended his career in my Top 5. I hope that moment is a long way off.
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