Cover image of "The Secret Hours," a funny new spy novel

By my count, Mick Herron has written a total of eleven books in the Slough House series since the first, Slow Horses, appeared in 2010. (Three are novellas and not always included in the list.) His latest, a funny new spy novel called The Secret Hours, is a standalone work, but only nominally so.

As you’ll discover if you’ve read any of the earlier books, many of the central characters in the series surface here, although not always identified by name. Legendary spy David Cartwright. Former MI6 Chief Charles Partner. Molly Doran, Queen of the agency’s archives. Diana Taverner (Lady Di). And Jackson Lamb, the rumpled and misanthropic star of the series. And much of the fun here lies in sussing out who’s really who. Mick Herron has done it again, writing a witty espionage novel with the cleverest dialogue in the genre—yet with the depth and insight of John le Carré.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

MI6 is at the mercy of a vindictive Prime Minister

In The Secret Hours, things are not going well for MI6 (identified only as Regent’s Park, or the Park). Their Chief (called First Desk in the novel) engineered the dismissal of a playboy Foreign Secretary who has now resurfaced as Prime Minister—intent on revenge. He has launched a government-wide privatizing initiative called Green Shoots that threatens to tear the agency apart. And, to make matters even worse, he has set in motion an investigation called Monochrome that seeks to uncover wrongdoing at the Park. Which runs the risk of turning up evidence about some shocking and illegal activities in the agency’s past. And the clever plot in this novel follows that investigation from beginning to end. At which point, in a rush of revelations, all the pieces fall into place.

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron (2023) 384 pages ★★★★★

Photo of the Berlin Wall, behind which the critical events in this funny new spy novel took place
The events that triggered the Monochrome inquiry at the heart of this novel took place in 1994. But their roots lay in divided Berlin before the Wall came down. Here, we view the Wall from the West Berlin side covered with graffiti art in 1986. The Wall’s “death strip” lies on the east side. Image: Wikipedia

Two intersecting storylines in this funny new spy novel

The plot in The Secret Hours revolves around two intertwining storylines. One involves Green Shoots and the predatory capitalists who have set their sights on cannibalizing the Park. The other is the story of those long-hidden events in 1994 that have become the focus of Monochrome—and the people running the inquiry. And arrayed against them, capitalists and bureaucrats alike, is First Desk, who is scrambling to preserve the integrity of her empire. But, complicated though it all is, none of it is confusing in the telling. Mick Herron makes it all clear—and highly entertaining to boot. Funny, too? Yes. The dialogue is priceless.

About the author

Photo of Mick Herron, author of this funny new spy novel
MIck Herron. Image: the Guardian

Mick Herron‘s bio on his author website reads in part as follows: “Raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, Herron studied English Literature at Oxford, where he continues to live. After some years writing poetry, he turned to fiction, and – despite a daily commute into London, where he worked as a sub editor – found time to write about 350 words a day. His first novel, Down Cemetery Road, was published in 2003. This was the start of Herron’s Zoë Boehm series, set in Oxford and featuring detective Zoë Boehm and civilian Sarah Tucker.

“In 2008, inspired by world events, Mick began writing the Slough House series, featuring MI5 agents who have been exiled from the mainstream for various offences. The first novel, Slow Horses, was published in 2010. Some years later, it was hailed by the Daily Telegraph as one of ‘the twenty greatest spy novels of all time.’

“The Slough House novels have been published in 20 languages [and] have won both the CWA Steel and Gold daggers.”

You’ll find reviews of all the Slow Horses novels at Following Mick Herron’s clever British spies at Slough House. And you’ll find Herron to be one of The best spy novelists writing today.

For an informative interview with Herron in the New York Times (November 19, 2023) by Sarah Lyall, see “Mick Herron Has Made a Blockbuster Career Writing About Foul-Ups and Has-Beens.”

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