Slough house (John Murray Press)

*THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*'A gripping thriller' Ian Rankin'Genuinely thrilling' Daily Telegraph'Herron's best novel yet' Sunday Express'Pure joy' The Observer'Brilliant' Literary ReviewSlough House - the crumbling office building to which failed spies, the 'slow horses', are banished - has been wiped from secret service records. Reeling from recent losses in their ranks, the slow horses are worried they've been pushed further into the cold, and fatal accidents keep happening. With a new populist movement taking a grip on London's streets, the aftermath of a blunder żeby the Russian secret service that left a British citizen dead, and the old order ensuring that everything's for sale to the highest bidder, the world's an uncomfortable place for those deemed surplus to requirements.The wise move would be to find a safe place and wait for the troubles to pass. But the slow horses aren't famed for making wise decisions. 'I think this might be the best Jackson Lamb outing yet' Christopher Brookmyre'Herron has certainly devised the most completely realised espionage universe since that peopled aby George Smiley' The Times'This is a darker, scarier Herron.The gags are still there but the satire's more biting. The privatization of a secret service op and the manipulation of news is relevant and horribly credible' Ann Cleeves'I'll tell you what, to have been lucky enough to play Smiley in one's career; and now go and play Jackson Lamb in Mick Herron's novels - the heir, in a way, to le Carre - is a terrific thing' Gary Oldman'Mick Herron is one of the finest writers of his generation' Steve Cavanagh'I enjoyed Slough House tremendously. Witty, clever and horribly on point.Lots to laugh about while being careful not to miss a word. This isn't a book to skim read' Kit de Waal'[Jackson Lamb] Herron's glorious creation propels the story to the bitter end where the non-stop barrage of jokes is fatally undercut by a final shocking twist' Evening standard'An excellent writer' Sunday Times