London Rules

The bestselling thrillers that inspired the hit Apple TV+ show Slow Horses (Slough House Thriller 5)

By: Mick Herron

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

*Pre-order Clown Town, the ninth novel in Mick Herron's Slough House series, now*

*Now an award-winning Apple TV+ series starring Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Lowden*

'Mick Herron is the John le Carré of our generation' Val McDermid

'The best thriller writer in Britain today' Sunday Express

****

At Regent's Park, the Intelligence Service HQ, new First Desk Claude Whelan is learning the job the hard way.

Tasked with protecting a beleaguered Prime Minister, he's facing attack from all directions: from the showboating MP who orchestrated the Brexit vote, and now has his sights set on Number Ten; from the showboat's wife, a tabloid columnist, who's crucifying Whelan in print; and especially from his own deputy, Lady Di Taverner, who's alert for Claude's every stumble. Meanwhile, the country's being rocked by an apparently random string of terror attacks.

Over at Slough House, the last stop for washed up spies, the crew are struggling with personal problems: repressed grief, various addictions, retail paralysis, and the nagging suspicion that their newest colleague is a psychopath. But collectively, they're about to rediscover their greatest strength - making a bad situation much, much worse.

'Dazzlingly inventive' Sunday Times©2018 Mick Herron

Critic reviews

The new spy master

The new king of the spy thriller

The best modern British spy series

Dazzingly inventive. Superbly orchestrated . . . Lamb - the most fascinating and irresistible thriller series hero to emerge since Jack Reacher

He's been called the heir to Len Deighton - and Mick Herron's latest mordantly funny espionage novel only backs that up

London Rules confirms Mick Herron as the greatest comic writer of spy fiction in the English language, and possibly all crime fiction

Le Carré looks sugar-coated next to the acid Slough House novels . . . as a master of wit, satire, insight and that very English trick of disguising heartfelt writing as detached irony before launching a surprise assault on the reader's emotions, Herron is difficult to overpraise

Addictive . . . I cannot recommend these books strongly enough

The fifth instalment of the award-winning Jackson Lamb series is witty, sardonic and laugh-out-loud funny yet also thrilling and thought-provoking . . . Herron has often been compared with spy thriller greats John le Carré and Len Deighton but it is time he was recognised in his own right as the best thriller writer in Britain today. In a series that never lets its fans down, London Rules is the best instalment yet

It is, as ever, a joy to return to this world: there is a warm, wise, amused depth to Herron's writing, which shines a stark light on the atrocities he describes. He's also horribly funny

Superb new Jackson Lamb thriller

Mick Herron is the John le Carré of our generation

This year's discoveries for me were the spy novels of Mick Herron . . . Herron's Jackson Lamb books are mesmerisingly good, combining the best double, triple and quadruple-crossing traditions of Len Deighton and early Le Carré with the mordant humour of Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe novels

London Rules is well up to the high standard of its predecessors, with the usual mixture of jokes and jeopardy at Slough House, the place where MI5 careers go to die under the dubious auspices of the wonderfully repulsive Jackson Lamb

Fortunately, Mick Herron seems to write a new Jackson Lamb novel every year. His latest in this series of wonderful and witty books about the more than eccentric head of a branch of MI5, London Rules, came out on time. I read the first four of these thrillers in a couple of weeks last year. The latest is well up to Herron's usual standards

London Rules by Mick Herron is the latest - and so far the best - bulletin from that twilight home for burned-out spies by the Barbican, Slough House . . . If you haven't read Herron yet you should

This is modern British spy fiction at its brilliant best; taut, tense, quirky, funny and thrilling

Great characters

Superb series. Great characters, delicious dark humour, captures London’s dank corners and corrupt edifices. Jackson Lamb rules.

Brilliant!

Mick Herron has to be one of the best crime/spy writers on the scene today. Not only is he an intelligent and highly skilled writer who is a joy to read but he has a wickedly acute sense of humour and is an wry observer of our common humanity.
The Slough House series goes from strength to strength.
i can't recommend this book highly enough - outstanding.

much needed humor

i am grateful for this story. the flower thank you introductory language offers only more humor as a fanciful backdrop.

fantastic fun. and funny too.

Another great story

What a fantastic series !
Great characters and the storyline is so immediate!
Loving the narration!
Have recommended this to all friends and family!

A spy thriller / dark comedy that really works!

I don't know how I came upon this book, but it's one of the best audio books I have ever listened to.
The story is great, it's British comedy that's really funny, it's also a proper spy thriller, and the narration is superb!