At last in one volume: the collected Slough House spy novellas, including the never-before-published Christmas interlude Standing by the Wall. Espionage. Blackmail. Revenge. Cunning. Slapstick. State secrets dating back to the fall of the Berlin Wall. All this and more in a tight package of five novellas by Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger–winning author of Slow Horses. From the troubled recruitment of a new MI5 informant to a botched information transfer, Herron’s novellas capture the drama, humor, and high stakes of everyday life in the world of spycraft, a world rife with both legends and secrets, where thrill-seeking and loneliness are ubiquitous and deadly, and where the lines between friends, enemies, and lovers are perpetually blurred by circumstance and subterfuge. For fans new and old, Standing by the Wall is an excellent introduction to the extended literary universe of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses. Collection includes: The List, The Marylebone Drop, The Catch, The Last Dead Letter, and Standing by the Wall.
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17 books in catalog
Contemporary spy fiction underwent a significant shift with the creation of Slough House, a fictional dumping ground for disgraced MI5 operatives known as 'slow horses.' British novelist Mick Herron established this acclaimed espionage universe, introducing a dark, workplace-driven vision of intelligence operations centered on the dysfunctional officer Jackson Lamb.
The series gained widespread recognition through its published novels and its screen adaptation Slow Horses on Apple TV+, starring Gary Oldman. Beyond his flagship espionage novels, Herron has built a versatile body of work spanning mystery series, standalone thrillers, and award-winning short fiction.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne on July 11, 1963, Herron was raised in North East England before moving to Oxford to study English Literature at Balliol College. He settled in Oxford, where he continues to live with his partner Jo. Before pursuing fiction full-time, Herron wrote poetry and worked as a sub-editor in London. During his daily train commute between Oxford and London, he managed to write approximately 350 words a day. This routine led to his debut novel, Down Cemetery Road, published in 2003. The book inaugurated his Oxford-set Zoë Boehm detective series featuring private investigator Zoë Boehm and civilian Sarah Tucker, followed by The Last Voice You Hear, Why We Die, and Smoke and Whispers. During this period, he also published numerous short stories in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.
In 2008, inspired by contemporary world events, Herron began writing about a group of exiled MI5 agents. The resulting novel, Slow Horses, was published in 2010, establishing the Slough House series. Hailed by the Daily Telegraph as one of the twenty greatest spy novels of all time, the series expanded rapidly and earned major industry honors, including the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the CWA Gold Dagger for Dead Lions in 2013, and the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2025 for lifetime achievement. His works have been published in twenty-five languages.
Herron's work is characterized by deadpan humor, sharp workplace satire, and a focus on administrative cynicism rather than idealized heroism. Instead of triumphant secret agents, his stories highlight the frustrated, sidelined, and thrummingly miserable figures caught in institutional machinery. His dialogue relies on dry wit and misanthropic banter, balanced by intricate thriller plotting and genuine suspense. In addition to the Slough House saga, Herron has explored related themes in standalone novels like Nobody Walks and The Secret Hours, alongside television adaptations of his work, including a screen project for the Zoë Boehm series starring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson.
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