I didn't get all the way through this - I liked the characters but the plot didn't really grab me. Sorry - I usually like thriller and detective stories and the initial set up was great - I think you lost me at the civil servants!

Griselda and Malcom are tasted with an investigation into the secret service . First desk wants it shut down but before she can do so the inquiry stumbles onto a real story worthy of investigating. A little slow until the reader gets into the story as told by the witness Alison North. It helped that I had seen the two series so that I could understand ether the writer was coming from!

This was a fantastic companion to the Slow Horses novels, this time exploring life in Berlin after the wall came down, and how events then have modern day repercussions. A must read.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of this book, then I got overwhelmed by the characters and who was who.
Well written, but just not quite my type of story.

Mick Herror delivers and writes another gripping and brilliant novel. Not one in Slough House series but a very entertaining one. It features well rounded and interesting characters and a fast paced plot
Even if there's humour there's also some heartbreaking moments.
It starts and ends with a BANG, drags at times in the middle but the master storyteller keeps you reading and interested.
A great story., 4..5 upped to 5
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Monochrome - the government inquiry into misdeeds by the Secret Service meanders towards oblivion. The members are bored with it and the civil servants worried about what it will mean for their CV, When OTIS arrives the game suddenly changes. What happened in Berlin as Germany knitted back together becomes vital and may change everything. A standalone from the wonderful Mick Herron but there are a few flags in there that will register with dedicated fans of the Slough House series. Superb writing and a story that pulls you in and then motors through.

A fast paced, action packed read. Kept me turning the pages. I will definitely read more by this author.

In the midst of ongoing battles between the Prime Minister and the British Intelligence Service, a new team called Monochrome is set up, to investigate wrongdoing in the secret service. After a long period of hearing nothing but dead ends and gossip from their “witnesses”, agents Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle feel as though their careers are languishing in this project, until a classified file is anonymously passed to Malcolm, detailing an operation from Berlin in the 1990s, known as OTIS.

Able to secure a witness to talk to them about this period, we then follow the story of this spy operation through her testimony and flashbacks, as well as the current day flight of a man named Max Janacek, who finds himself on the run after an attempt on his life is made at around the same time the file is passed to Malcolm.

This is a very clever book, and the three sets of characters across two timelines are intriguingly linked and revealed as the action progresses. I did find myself getting a bit muddled at times, and I think my enjoyment of the novel was hampered by the fact that I wasn’t familiar with the Slough House series, as there are some crossover characters even if this is a standalone novel. I appreciated the writing, however, and would read more by this author. 3.5 rounded up to 4.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

This is a fantastic read for a Mick Herron superfan like me. I've been waiting (im)patiently for some back story and history to the series, and this had it in spades. The Cold War setting was just up my street, and the little Easter Eggs here and there were much appreciated. An excellent Slough House series adjacent book, wonderfully written and as wry as ever.

A fantastic follow up of Mick Herons slough house series. I wouldn’t recommend reading as a stand alone as the style and links to previous characters aren’t clearly accessible

I have never read any of Mick Herron's novels before but have friends who are very positive about his work. This is a stand alone book allegedly and an ideal place to start reading his work.

I thought it started very well with lots of excitement. It then turned into what was for me a bewildering read. As it refers back to previous incidents in the Cold War, I think I would have been better reading Slow Horses first. I was lost over what was going on and it didn't help that I had to keep going back over what I'd read. I'm normally a very quick reader but this took me months to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this, a great spy thriller. Works really well either before reading the Slow Horses series, or for giving more background if you have already read some or all. I liked the bits best when on the run or in Berlin, rather than the committees and meetings parts. Excellent writing, dry, witty and well observed. Woukd recommend.

Being a huge fan of the Slough House series, and the various tie-in novels that dovetail loosely into that yarn, I deeply enjoyed The Secret Hours. Reflecting on past events, and learning more detail behind casually dropped mentions of Berlin in the 90s and The Park (under different stewardship), this shed a lot of light on why we are where we are. Smartly constructed, this book carries on from the tie-in novels, which run in parallel with the Slough House books. There is much gold dust to be mined from the unofficial books. For fullest enjoyment, I find it is best to read all the books in order as characters have been known to bridge the gap between the two parallel storylines.

Mick Herron is a masterful story teller, weaving beautiful turns of phrase flawlessly with cutting sarcasm. He is easily one the best British writers of the moment. His skill with constructing complex stories and delivering them at pace with tension and action is noteworthy. In The Secret Hours we have two stories to follow: a current day inquiry into security service wrong-doing and Berlin in the 90s. The events of the 90s have been hinted at briefly in the preceding books but are illustrated in full colour with plenty of detail here, leaving us in no doubt on a few fronts. It's a bittersweet story for me but one that adds to the greater Slough House universe. Pure spy catnip that improves with each book, this series in not to be missed.

Two years ago, the Monochrome inquiry was set up to investigate the British secret service. Monochrome's mission was to ferret out misconduct, allowing the civil servants seconded to the inquiry, Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, unfettered access to confidential information in the service archives but they are blocked at every turn, Monochrome is circling the drain. Until the OTIS file appears out of nowhere.
A stand alone book but it does have links to Slough House. A very well written book with strong characters who are well portrayed. The pace is good & never lags. An interesting & intriguing read. I both read the book & listened to the audiobook & I must admit I preferred the audiobook as Gerard Doyle did a great job with the narration.
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I would like to thank Netgalley and John Murray Press for an advance copy of The Secret Hours, an ostensible stand-alone spy thriller set in the present day and Berlin in 1994.

Retired academic Max Janáček is aroused from sleep by a break in, but it’s more than that because they chase him through the Devon countryside. Why? He isn’t a retired academic and his name isn’t Max so that means his past has come calling. Is it linked to the Monochrome enquiry led by lowly civil servants, Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, which is an investigation into wrongdoing at the Secret Service going nowhere due to the obstacles placed in their way? This changes when they get hold of the Otis file and start interviewing witnesses about the events in Berlin decades ago.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Secret Hours, which explains the background to some of the characters in the Slow Horses series, although they aren’t all named and there is an element of guesswork or perhaps assumption involved. That, however, is background to a very good, stand-alone spy thriller.

The plot is absorbing and requires a certain level of attention to detail because it flits between 90s Berlin and present day London and there are several characters with skin in the game (or should that be games as there is more than one agenda in play?). There is machination upon machination, twist upon twist and more than enough cynicism to go round. And yet, it made me laugh at times as the author has an eye for the absurd and a deadly line in black comedy. There are also moments of sadness as the naïve Alison North learns some brutal life lessons in Belin, but, on the whole, it is a story about people, their motivations and disillusionment with where life has taken them.

To be honest the author paints an appalling picture of life in the corridors of power, where self interest appears to be the only principle in play. I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of a past prime minister and his consigliere- they are pointed enough, and not in a good way, to be highly believable.

The Secret Hours is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Although the premise is great and the beginning is a fantastic escape from capture, for me there was then far too much committee work and confusing back and forths to the Berlin operation before the initial character, on the run from his quiet existence in Devon even made a reappearance.
Overall enjoyable but took more concentration that I expected to have to expend to keep the various aliases and timelines straight.

The Park are being investigated by an enquiry called Monochrome. It's a bit of a joke as the panel effectively have their hands tried behind their backs, wearing blindfolds and have both legs in the same trouser leg. That is until some decides to help them out.
What comes out is a story nearly 30 years old of betrayal, murder, revenge and more betrayal. This in turn causes things to happen in the present, things that aren't necessarily good things.
This is a tale of spooks, joe and bad actors. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Max Janáček is being hunted by a gang who tried to kidnap him. This may be connected to an Inquiry set up two years ago by the then PM. ‘Max’ isn’t the retired academic his neighbours believe him to be, nor is his name that by which he used to be known. Having disabled his pursuers, he sets out to discover who are hunting him and why? He knows nothing about the Inquiry, codenamed Monochrome, or of its remit, which is to seek out historical ‘wrongdoings’ in the Secret Service. Run by two lowish ranking Civil Servants, Grizelda and Malcolm, and consisting of a typical mixed bag of second-rate MPs and placemen, it has the power to request any file from the Archive. However, in order to do that they have to know the detailed reference for the file and they don’t know any; nor do they know how the references are structured so they can’t even guess. First Desk, as the Head of the Secret Services is known, tells them she would be glad to supply any file but that the wording of their remit doesn’t allow her to volunteer such details, which are, after all, Top Secret. So Monochrome has been chuntering along for two years without producing anything useful – until someone slips Malcolm a genuine file. Working through this and interviewing ‘Alison’, the only traceable person in the file, they discover an off-the-books operation in late 1990s Berlin, i.e. post the fall of the Wall, featuring murder, mayhem, and malfeasance. At which point the Home Office suddenly shuts down Monochrome. Grizelda, an expert in analysing terms of reference, spots a loop hole in the original wording which means that she and Max can continue working on the file. How will this Berlin episode link up with ‘Max’, resolve the complex web of the Berlin case and solve the murder.
This is a standalone novel, but is based in the world of the author’s Slough House series. This not a problem, in fact it may well encourage the reader to seek out the books in that series. In some ways an entertaining, ‘normal’ spy story (think George Smiley, Harry Palmer) because of the fun involved in trying to work out who did what when and why, it is also fun because the writing style is humorous, light-hearted, insouciant and, in the many references to the current and recent political shenanigans, satirical. Although it is fairly easy to spot that bringing the two main story lines together is the object of the exercise, all of the well realised characters play their parts well and keep your focus on the resolution of the tale. The final events are delivered at a rather faster pace than the main story lines but all make sense and feel satisfying. Enjoy.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I read this book with an open mind - never having read this author before.
The writing is excellent, the story gradually evolves and you must keep concentrating or you will lose the thread of the people and the plot., but fascinating insight into the world of the secret service.
People who have read this series will absolutely love this - as did I.

This is described as a standalone novel, but really I think it’s a “stand before” as it ties into the Slough House world.

It starts with a retired agent on the run, then segues into an inquiry into the workings of the Secret Service. Initially the inquiry seems like a tick box exercise, and then the OTIS file appears (or should that be reappears?) from the archive. Suddenly we’re back in Berlin, just after the fall of the Wall.
I thought that the story started quite slowly, but then I began to pick up links to the main Slough House series. As I read, the back story became much clearer, and I began to recognise people. The ending is terrific, and the atmosphere of Berlin, returning to life, is beautifully evoked.

A treat for lovers of the spy genre.