5★
"Lamb was visible immediately, and it struck her that there were probably places on the globe where he might be taken for a figure of worship, like a giant toad in its grotto. Peasants would leave pebbles at his feet, in return for his pearls of wisdom. As she drew nearer, she heard him fart."

Diana Taverner, 'First Desk' at Regent's Park, (Herron's fictional MI5), is arriving at a clandestine meeting with Jackson Lamb, who runs Slough House under her watch. It's a fragile branch of the Park upon which are precariously perched the disgraced spies who can't be sacked but whom Lamb can make so miserable they will leave of their own accord.

These Slow Horses, as they are known, still believe they can win their way back into the good graces of the Park, so they refuse to flee their perch or their place on the payroll. Readers, of course, hope that bough never breaks.

Herron never guarantees us that they'll all make it to the end of any case, so in spite of the warmth and humour, be aware that the danger is real and things may end in tears. Slough House itself would be enough to deter most people.

"For if the murkiest of London’s depths are where its spooks congregate, Slough House – this being the name of the Aldersgate Street residence – is the lowest of the low; an administrative oubliette where the benighted moulder in misery. Their careers are behind them, though not all have admitted it; their triumphs are black laughter in the dark. Their duties involve the kind of paperwork designed to drive those undertaking it mad; paperwork with no clear objective and no end in sight, designed by someone who abandoned a course in labyrinth design in favour of something more uplifting, like illustrating suicide notes. The light in the building leaks away through cracks and fissures, and the air is heavy with regret."

It isn't the Slow Horses, but four pensioned-off old spooks who feel shabbily compensated for their service, who decide to blackmail Taverner over the failed Operation Pitchfork, which they ran back during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Herron has touched upon the fate of superannuated spooks before and the difficulties of keeping an eye on their whereabouts, their welfare, and their marble count.

If dementia sets in, as it did with favourite Slow Horse River Cartwright's late, esteemed grandfather, David Cartwright, (a Park hero, nothing slow about him), who knows what secrets could be let loose?

Taverner discusses the blackmail with Sid (Sidonie) Baker. She used to be a Slow Horse, but is now recovering from being shot in the head and left for dead, and is living with River Cartwright.

River is a favourite Slow Horse from the first in the series, but he's been out of action after being poisoned by a deadly nerve toxin on a doorknob.

He's convinced he's ready to go back to work – Taverner is not. But… she holds out the carrot to Sid that she will bring him back into the Slough House family if Sid acts as a go-between with the blackmailers.

" 'What does he want?'

'The clown in question is threatening to go public with one of the messier stories from our recent history. Unless we make his life a little more comfortable.'

'And you think he's a nutcase.'

'Trying to blackmail me, that's a medically recognised symptom.'"

Much later, Lamb, who misses nothing, especially a chance to insult, confronts Sid about her involvement.

" 'You're on Taverner's shilling, aren't you? Presumably because she promised she'd give young Uh-Oh Seven his Park privileges back if you did.' "

We meet the four old blackmailers. CC is the leader who is determined to do the extortion contact alone, but needs the others to work with him. Avril is one of them.

"[she] had given the best part of herself to her country, and in the giving had ensured that lives were saved and buildings stayed standing; that there were bombs that had never gone off. And in return, here she was; a damaged person allowed to become lost.
. . .
Avril herself had grown old in her own way; not so much a diminishment, more a concentration. Or so she hoped."

[I like the idea of becoming concentrated rather than diminished. But I digress.]

The others are equally 'concentrated'. About Alastair, she thinks:

"Danger, these days, was younger and faster than him, but that wouldn't stop him."

Alastair knows this.

" 'CC thinks he's running an op, that he's got his old crew back together, but we don't work like that any more. Christ, I need a piss break on a supermarket shop.'"

Daisy, the fourth team member, suffers PTSD and can't forget. She's a loose cannon with a short fuse. Or, more to the point (inadvertent pun, sorry), a sharp knife, looking for a fight.

"Pitchfork had coded this into her system: anyone not on her team was an enemy.

There was no need to check she had her blade. She always had her blade."

There's a lot of politics in the background and plenty of questionable characters to go around. Louisa Guy, another favourite Slow Horse, is approached by Devon Welles, a former Park operative who is headhunting for his new Personal Protective Services business.

Devon knows the score as far as the Park is concerned. There's no going back for her, but there could be a going forward. Can she be tempted?

"Whatever Devon was doing for money, he'd either climbed a ladder or crossed a line."

She discovers he's protecting Peter Judd, the smarmy ex-MP who, while he was an MP, was Taverner's frenemy, and the relationship has gone downhill from there.

The various dramas play out against the backdrop of Jackson Lamb's trademark repulsive behaviour and sarcasm.

"… he was engaged in the act of darning his socks while still wearing them, except for 'darning' read 'applying duct tape'.
=========

'And that was a brainstorm, was it? If brains were actual weather, none of you'd get wet.'

'Just bringing you up to speed,' River said.

'Yeah, right. You realise I have to decelerate when you do that?' Lamb looked round sourly."
==========

'… we're talking about Taverner, who if she tells you the time means she's faking an alibi.' "
==========

This is another exciting, dramatic episode in the lives of the Slow Horses. It's always hard for me, knowing that nobody is safe, and that being a character in a Herron novel is a risky business. But I admit to enjoying the new ones he brings in.

I heard him interviewed recently, where he said that Operation Pitchfork was loosely based on the Irish Operation Stakeknife that did, indeed, happen during the Troubles in the 80s. It sounds awful. But it made a great hook for this story.

Here's a link to The Guardian's interview with him.

"I love doing things that are against the rules" says Mick Herron in The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/sep/06/slow-horses-author-mick-herron-i-love-doing-things-that-are-against-the-rules

Thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press / Baskerville for a copy for review.

Three and a half stars.

Separately. first River Cartwright is recovering from Novichok poisoning, he hopes to be allowed back into Regents Park, little does he know First Desk Diana Taverner intends to have him kicked out of the service completely. Second, someone is trying to blackmail Diana with proof that the then government and First Desk aided and abetted a known sociopath during the Troubles in Ireland, and then gave him a large pension when peace was brokered. Third, someone has lodged a complaint with HR about Diana's behaviour. Fourth, Roddy Ho has got a tattoo. Fifth, the curator has discovered that a book from River's grandfather's library, which he donated to the Spooks College at Oxford, is missing ... not only that it isn't a real book. Diana Taverner tries to play chess on a global scale and things don't go well.

We are out of the COVID era and there is a new government. Peter Judd is as oily and obnoxious as (I actually mistyped ass but it did seem appropriate) ever, despite having no ostensible power, and his (and his paymasters') grip on Diana is tightening.

This didn't seem to have the humour and bite of the previous novels. It is difficult to distinguish the Slow Horses when they get murdered with such monotonous regularity, I didn't even remember that there was a new girl in the last book. The farting has abated, but sadly it has been replaced by a bad case of (deliberate) malapropisms which feels weak.

Maybe its me. I was super excited to see an ARC on NetGalley and 'wished for it', was stoked to get my wish granted and then ... nada, couldn't bring myself to start the book. Don't get me wrong, I started reading it last night and finished this afternoon, its a good read, but it doesn't have the vicious caricatures of the earlier books where Mick Herron skewered political figures, all we get are some side swipes at Liz Truss (who?) and Nigel Far(ight)age.

After the gut-wrencher that was The Secret Hours, probably my favourite book so far, Jackson Lamb felt less like a prize-winning racehorse hiding his talents and more like a blunt instrument.

Still love the series.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I'm grateful to the publisher for allowing me an early read, but I had already ordered this book as this series consumes me.
This particular book is an interesting addition to the series, continuing the recent subtle transition to a more dialogue led narrative, constantly jumping from perspective to perspective.
Attention is required to keep track, but the story is slippery and shifting constantly, as the Slow Horses tackle yet another crisis. And yes, there is a another cliffhanger of an ending and several outcomes unknown at the end.

This is book 9 in the slough house series following a bunch of misfit reject spies-the slow horses.

Herron’s particular style of writing is evident throughout the book and the characters are rich and fascinating whether likeable or not.

After the death of his grandad, Rover Cartwright discovers a missing book from his collection and sets about tracking it down.
Whilst Diana Taverner continues to manipulate people for her own gain.
As usual the gang find themselves in danger which is both thrilling and hilarious.

Another great read in the series!

Clown Town is another solid outing in the Slough House series. The dark humor and sharp dialogue are still here, and it’s always a joy to spend time with these characters—Jackson Lamb especially remains gloriously awful. Parts of the plot felt uneven, and the pacing in the first section dragged for me, but things picked up in the second half. It’s clever, funny, and very readable. Fans will find plenty to enjoy.

Clown Town is the ninth book in Mick Herron’s Slough House series, and it delivers everything I love from this tv show : espionage, dark humor, and the wonderfully dysfunctional “slow horses.” This time, River Cartwright is on sick leave but drawn into a mystery involving his late grandfather’s library and a missing “book” that holds dangerous secrets. Meanwhile, Diana Taverner faces blackmail over an old operation during the Troubles, and as always, her schemes risk dragging Slough House into the chaos.
The author weaves multiple storylines together with sharp plotting, wit, and his signature dark comedy. Jackson Lamb is as foul and brilliant as ever, and the banter among the team balances the tension nicely. The novel touches on betrayal, secrets, and shifting loyalties while never losing its sardonic edge.
Though it can be read as a standalone, I think you get the most out of it by following the series from the beginning. It was my first book that I’ve read but i absolutely loved the tv show and I’m excited to see where this goes next.
Very grateful to the publisher for my copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own

The problem with reviewing Mick Herron is 1. not revealing any spoilers, even inadvertently and 2. the devil is really in the detail, or in this case the fiendishly good and darkly funny writing. Still, I will do my best. The old gang is back together. Not the Slow Horses with River still off sick but four people who are close to if not actually drawing their pensions, meeting up in an Oxford safe house to hear their erstwhile leader tell them he has a great idea for ensuring they are financially rewarded for the risks they ran as spooks and handlers during the Troubles in NI. Only when that idea involves Diana Taverner the chances of success don't so much drop as bungee jump into the Grand Canyon. Talking of Taverner, she is up to something (when is she not?) and whatever that something is, she wants to involve Sid and Lamb, a sure sign she is looking for scapegoats.
Clown Town is as twisty, as thought provoking, as shocking, as clever, as unexpected, as timely in a way only Mick Herron can write and plot. Unparallelled. Highly recommended.

Retired spies have long memories, which may be inconvenient to the current government, especially if the Prime Minister is trying to deny an action taken then, which could have rather nasty political repercussions and implications for his personal reputation today.
River Cartwright believes he has recovered from his brush with Nobichov, but whilst on sick leave, he decides to investigate a missing book from his late Grandfather’s library. Grandfather was a spy, was there something secretive hidden inside the book, and if so, can he use it to his advantage?
Diana Taverner is the First Desk, she has enormous political clout, dirty secrets and is getting too big for her boots. When Slough House and its diligent workers come under threat, Jackson Lamb is surprisingly on the side of his drones, sluggards, idiots or other affectionate names he has given his staff.
Jackson Lamb tolerates his employees, he acknowledges they are failures, but they are his responsibility, and it is his pleasure to humiliate, belittle and pour scorn upon them, so when others decide to cause harm to them, Jackson is riled enough to contemplate helping them, by any means possible.
I found this to be a more thoughtful and planned novel, out of chaos comes a plan to preserve the ethos behind Slough House, even if Jackson has to physically haul himself out of his chair and get into fresh air. His blackmail and people skills prove to be really effective throughout this story, which begs the question, what did Jackson do to be put in charge ? Is it a case that he knows where all the bodies are buried?
His character is still gloriously over the top, the smoking, sarcasm, the flatulence and general abuse is a delight. I find this humour to be quite contagious and laugh out loud.
This book is already on my Christmas list, this series is the perfect gift for those hard- to - buy- for friends. I throughly recommend this as a five star read.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers John Murray Press for my advanced copy, freely given in return for my honest review. I will leave copies to Goodreads and Amazon UK upon publication.

A brilliantly plotted story in the murky world of spy craft

I absolutely loved this book and for me it is one of Mick Heron’s finest in the world of Slough House.

We see an increasingly desperate Diana Taverner (First Desk) attempting to keep all her misdeed plates spinning, while under the thumb of an ex politician (who knows of her dodgy dealings and is attempting to use her for his own ends). When she is further threatened by a group of old Joes she schemes to use Slough House to do her dirty work, with disastrous consequences. There is a harder edge to Jackson Lamb when he deals with the fallout and at times he is downright Machiavellian.

I love Mick Heron’s writing style, he is go good at weaving all the different strands together and also giving each character their truly unique voice. The choppy changes from one person’s voice to the next add tension to the story, my only gripe is that a double space between these sections would make it easier to digest the change in direction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s always good news when the next Slough House novel comes out; it’s time to get reacquainted with Lamb and the team. This is the ninth book in the series and although they can be read as individual stories, if you haven’t started the series then start at the beginning and read them all as every book is excellent.
Carefully plotted, as always, with a missing book, First Desk being blackmailed (but she has a plan), one of the team being tempted to leave Slough House etc. Lamb, such a complex character, is his usual obnoxious self. Can’t wait for the next one!

Without doubt, Mick Herron is not only my favourite spy writer - but my favourite living novelist - and I was delighted to receive a copy of the latest book in the Slough House series from NetGalley. However, you never begin a Mick Herron book without a little shiver of fear, and as expected, this book left me emotionally wrung out.

In a way, this is a novel of two halves. In the first half, Herron is like a chess master, putting his pieces in place. In the second half, the plot unfolds with dizzying speed. Unlike many series, Herron brings in many characters and storylines from previous books, so I do suggest that you read the earlier novels in the series (if you haven't already), before embarking on this. It simply makes the reading experience more fulfilling.

River is still recovering from an attack in a previous book and is in a relationship with Sid. Hoping to return to work soon, River is side-tracked when he learns there is a book missing from his grandfather's library. This book contains a secret from the days of the Troubles and a group of agents that feel abandoned as events and politics move on. Talking of politics, Peter Judd is still trying to use Diana Taverner for his own ends, and she, feeling threatened, becomes reckless.

It is difficult for me to say how good this is. Every character, whether familiar or new, is totally fleshed out and the reader is totally invested in what happens to them. Herron plays with the reader, as we hurry, unsure of what is going on, rushing to the end. A fantastic read, my most anticipated of the year. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read it early. I shall enjoy listening to it again, after publication, on Audible.

Mick Herron is a master at Slow Horses stories, and this is no exception. Jackson Lamb is as obnoxious as ever, but so on top of everything going on in Slough House, the Park and further afield. His joes are a disparate bunch, River is desperate to get back to work after his run in with Novichok, Louise, Lech, Shirley, Roddy and Catherine are still in Slough House doing what they do and wishing they weren't.
The door is wide open for more Slough House stories.

Clown town is the 9th book in the Slough house series by Mick Herron. I must confess I am a avid fan of the TV series that is based on these books, but this is the first book in the series I have actually read.
All the team is back at Slough House except for River who is still on sick leave. Hoping to be back to work soon. Meanwhile is he is transferring his late grandfather’s extensive library to Oxford but one of them seems to be missing. It was seen in the photos he took before they where transferred. But as he is investigating in the disappearance. It finds out it’s not a book at all but a box that his grandfather has kept secrets in.
Back at the First desk Diana Taverner is involved with a black mail case and an old spy who are spilling details of Pitchfork which involved the M16 and the IRA in the troubles. She tries to involve people at Slough house, but things don’t go so well.
This is fantastic espionage novel with its complex storyline, but the author doesn’t take it too seriously as Lamb’s obnoxious sense of humour shines through and I can just picture Gary Oldman while I am reading this. Although you can read this as a standalone I think for me personally it would have been better if I had read the previous books first which I am now going to do. Because although I have seen the TV series. It did take me a few chapters to familiarise me with everything. 4 stars from me.

Clown Town sees a full return to Slough House for Herron after last year's sort-of Jackson Lamb backstory, The Secret Hours. And this is a familiar Slough House, an office gone bad, a dusty, sticky, despair-haunted tomb for the careers of its crew of Service internal exiles.

Yes, the gang's all here again, River, not yet back on active duty after his brush with novichok; Louisa; Roddy; Lech; Roddy Ho; newcomer Ash; Catherine; and, of course, Lamb himself. All the Slow Horses are ready to go... slowly.

And yet. I wouldn't have thought this possible, but the Slough House we see here is actually less jolly, more bleak - somehow - than in the earlier books. It's as though Lamb has, somehow, brought back extra weights from the past Berlin of The Secret Hours, weights that drag on the spirit and chill the mind. Perhaps it's that the Slow Horses are reeling from the losses and near losses they have suffered. From missing faces and empty office chairs. The attrition has been brutal - surely one of the perks of being a down-and-out on Spook Street is that you're insignificant, gently rotting down a side alley, of no interest to the Big Men (and Women) who hunt down the main drag?

Of course that's not how it's turned out, and maybe Lamb's lot are starting to realise. Whatever, when the shadow of past Service malpractice arises, when Peter Judd begins to stir, when Taverner starts to weave her threads, there's more than a smidgen of wariness to be seen. Plus, with key members of the team signed off, pondering jumping ship, or (Louisa) actually resigned, the response to these challenges is particularly fragmented. More so than ever, I felt myself muttering "just walk away". Even Lamb seems, if such a thing were possible, less enthusiastic than normal to look under stones and join dots.

The story kicks off from a minor discrepancy in the library of River's grandfather, the OB, as reassembled in a spook-linked Oxford college. River, still, as I said, signed off, has time to look into this, and it shouldn't open any forbidden doors, should it? Well, of course it does, and we soon discover that Slough House isn't the only scrapyard for the Service's embarrassments. So that's two teams turning through the dustbins on Spook Street, but there are actually more, and there'll be encounters, near misses and misunderstandings.

The ending of the book is of a piece with that. There's a glorious (gloriously written, not a triumphant event) - a marvellous performance by not just the Slow Horses but by several other teams of clowns, which must have been a real swine for ringmaster Herron to write; a tour de force of incompetence, dark humour, muddled motives and bad luck - but that isn't the climax of the book, it delivers another sucker punch just when you think things can't get darker, leaving the already tarnished morality of this world even more shabby at the end.

A gripping, twisty and melancholy story, though one often enlivened by Herron's deadpan humour (the highpoint of which was, for me, the song that goes through Roddy's head. It sounded familiar to me. Where have I heard it? On TV somewhere, perhaps...)

Another chapter in the Jackson Lamb Slough House series of failed spies and their ineptitude. River Cartwright wants to investigate the apparently missing book/ box file from his Grandfather’s library which concerns an assassination plot from years before. The details therein could even harm current politicians (real characters used here) . First desk Taverner tries to clean house using the old team involved in the earlier plot but when Lamb’s crew intercede it all goes tragically wrong. So then it becomes a case of what will Lamb’s reaction be.? As with previous episodes the wry humour from Lamb is a tremendous asset to the whole storyline.

By the ninth book in the Slough House series, Mick Herron has nothing left to prove, yet Clown Town shows he is still raising the bar. This installment begins at a deceptively gentle pace, reacquainting us with the slow horses in all their shambolic glory while carefully laying out a new web of deceit, betrayal, and political maneuvering. River Cartwright finds himself distracted by a missing book from his grandfather’s library, Diana Taverner juggles blackmail threats with her usual ruthless pragmatism, and Jackson Lamb lumbers through the corridors of Slough House, foul-mouthed and flatulent as ever, but with flashes of sharp-eyed brilliance that remind us why he is still in charge.

Herron has once again delivered a masterclass in weaving the absurd with the tragic. The dialogue is razor-edged and laugh-out-loud funny, and Roddy Ho continues to provide delusional comic relief. Yet threaded through the farce are moments of real poignancy. Catherine Standish’s exchanges with Lamb, in particular, crack open rare glimpses of vulnerability beneath his grotesque exterior, suggesting debts and regrets that have shaped him more than he will ever admit.

What makes Clown Town so compelling is the way Herron captures the chaos of espionage in the twenty first century. It is a game played by washed up misfits, cynical spymasters, and opportunistic politicians who are often more dangerous than the supposed villains. The political satire is as sharp as ever, skewering both bureaucracy and ambition with equal relish. Just when the pieces seem set on the board, Herron flips it over, launching the final third into a nerve-shredding crescendo that is impossible to put down.

By the time the dust settles, it is clear that change is in the air at Slough House. Some threads are tied off, others left ominously dangling, and the ending points toward a possible shift in direction that feels both thrilling and unsettling. Herron has crafted a series that refuses to stagnate, and Clown Town proves there is still plenty of life and death left in these slow horses.

Dark, hilarious, and unflinchingly human, this is Herron at his best. Fans will laugh, wince, and very possibly shed a tear, but above all, they will be desperate for the next installment.

3.5* rounded up. I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. If I wasn't totally devoted to this series, I am not sure I would have persevered with this book: almost nothing happens until the 25% mark, although to be fair, the ending is pretty action packed. In fact the very ending is actually quite startling and I will be interested to see the fall out in the next book.

This instalment refers a lot to previous books, and in particular references the hold Peter Judd has over Diana Taverner. It also concerns River's dead grandfather's library, which he has donated to an Oxford College, and a morally compromised operation in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. This operation is recounted by one of the former operatives to his colleagues in a bit of an "As you know, Bob" moment.

Overall I was disappointed with this book, but the series as a whole is still one of the best series out there.

I forget each time I come back to these books how funny they can be! Having watched the series now, the faces in my head are a little bit different to when I was just reading them, but that's okay. Gary Oldman's Jackson Lamb has grown on me, and now it's his face I see as I read.
I enjoyed the entrance of a sort of Thursday Murder Club group into this story. And I couldn't call where the plot was going. I think my favourite bits this time were Jackson & Catherine. Though Roddy Ho does still make me laugh too. (River was a bit annoying...am hoping he sorts himself out a bit next book!)

I worried that Herron might not be able to sustain the excellence of this series now we are nine books in. I shouldn't have. Complex plots, chicanery, brutal shocks and dark humour are delivered with class and in spades. As ever, as soon as I finish one I'm desperate for the next because they're just so good. Plot twists, London as a believable character, brilliant relationships and a fantastic grasp of current politics and the webs that underpin the state and policing systems are all perfectly balanced here.

It's been a while since I read a Slough House book and boy have I missed out. The Slow Horses spies and their odious-but-fascinating boss, Jackson Lamb, are back after much drama in the last book, I did not read that one (and will be going back to enjoy it) but had no problem following the story if any newbies want to jump in at this point after seeing the TV series. Slow Horse River Cartright is on medical leave and sorting out the huge library of his late grandfather, an ex-spy with many secrets. And one of these secrets leads to intrigue and espionage that drags all of Slough House into dangerous drama. It's a thrilling ride with lots going on and remembers to add a touch of humour too.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC I was gifted.