The brand new Slough House thriller from the #1 bestseller Mick Herron Now an award-winning Apple TV+ series starring Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden ---- Spies lie. They betray. It''s what they do. Slow horse River Cartwright is waiting to be passed fit for work. With time to kill, and with his grandfather - a legendary former spy - long dead, River investigates the secrets of the old man''s library, and a mysteriously missing book. Regent''s Park''s First Desk, Diana Taverner, doesn''t appreciate threats. So when those involved in a covert operation during the height of the Troubles threaten to expose the ugly side of state security, Taverner turns blackmail into opportunity. Over at Slough House, the repository for failed spies, Catherine Standish just wants everyone to play nice. But as far as Jackson Lamb is concerned, the slow horses should all be at their desks. Because when Taverner starts plotting mischief people get hurt, and Lamb has no plans to send in the clowns. On the other hand, if the clowns ignore his instructions and fool around, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault. But they''re his clowns. And if they don''t all come home, there''ll be a reckoning.

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Mick Herron

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The Instant Sunday Times Bestselling Thriller from the Author of Slow Horses

SUNDAY TIMES, THRILLER OF THE YEAR
GUARDIAN, CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR
DAILY TELEGRAPH, BOOK OF THE YEAR
TLS, BOOK OF THE YEAR
THE SPECTATOR, BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Mick Herron is our best and most topical spy writer' Ian Rankin

*'Clown Town* is a masterpiece' India Knight, Sunday Times

'An authentic megastar of the genre' Sam Leith, Guardian

'No one can rival Mick Herron' The Times

'A superb thriller' The Spectator

'Masterly' Times Literary Supplement, books of the year

MI5's First Desk, Diana Taverner, doesn't appreciate threats.

So when those involved in a covert operation during the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland threaten to expose the ugly side of state security, Taverner goes on the offensive. And when that happens, people get hurt.

Over at Slough House, the repository for failed spies, the slow horses are hard at work: belittling each other, pushing paper, and marking time. Their boss, Jackson Lamb, wants them at their desks, but the slow horses are always looking for a way back on to Spook Street.

Meanwhile, another slow horse, River Cartwright, is waiting to be passed fit for work. At a loose end, and with his grandfather - a legendary former spy - long dead, River investigates the secrets of the old man's library, and a mysteriously missing book. What stories will it hold? And who wants those stories to stay silent?

After all, spies lie, they betray, it's what they do.

*Mick Herron's Clown Town was a Sunday Times Number Four bestseller in hardback in the second week of September 2025