The Secret Hours The Gripping New Thriller From The No1 Bestselling Author Of Slow Horses

Set in the same universe as the Slow Horse series but with new characters, this Mick Herron novel provides a window into how intelligence services handle being the target of an investigation. The story takes place in 1994 post-Wall Berlin, and 2014 in London. In 1994, Berlin may have torn down the barriers between East and West, but those in the spy world remained divided. Alison, an ambitious young woman, was sent by Regent’s Park (read MI5) to conduct an internal investigation into how well the Berlin office was functioning. In particular, she was to spy on the activities of Miles, the office head, and her boss. As a relatively new Park employee, Alison is flattered but slightly overwhelmed at the position offered and by the man offering it. David Cartwright was a heavyweight and a man you didn’t say no to.Fast forward to 2014 in London, and a similar operation is in play. This time, a vengeful Prime Minister launches an inquiry into Regent Park’s possible misdeeds through Operation Monochrome. The duo in charge, Grizelda, considered a troublemaker, and Malcolm, a meticulous assistant, are to pry into the Park’s activities. Many of the organization’s functions are being outsourced, and those in charge are determined to hold on to their territory. A mysterious file is given to Malcolm, which causes the team to probe into what happened in Berlin in 1994. As soon as they start delving into the file, Monochrome is shuttered. Grizelda and Malcolm decide on their own to finish what they started and rely on witness Alison, who is still with Regent’s Park, to provide answers.If the plot seems intricate, that’s because it is. In this tale, Herron employs his trademark wit, suspense, and understanding of the espionage world. This complex novel isn’t meant to be read a few pages at a time. It would be too hard to get back into the moment. From the opening scene, readers are plunged into a dizzying world that requires focus, as characters constantly scrutinize each other, scrambling to avoid traps. Code names and pseudonyms proliferate. Readers of the Slow Horse series will recognize a particular character whose background and story are finally revealed at the very end. I highly recommend this novel to fans of John Le Carré and spy novels in general.

Splendid , as expected. Terse dialogues, unexpected weaving of stories , impeccable twists and surprises. Thank you , Mr Herron.

There’s nobody like Mick Herron to grab you from the first line of his books

"Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating "historical over-reaching" by the British Secret Service “to investigate historical over-reaching.” Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct by any MI5 officer—and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, unfettered access to any and all confidential information in the Service archives in order to do so."Of course, the above book blurb doesn't mention how the wording of Monochrome's remit is such that, in effect, they can't actually receive any of that archive.Then, a file turns up in Kyle's shopping cart and sets in motion a convoluted plot that extends well into the past and totally mucks about with the present.The Secret Hours fills in almost all the blanks that have been hinted at in Mick Herron's Slough House novels (without actually using any of Jackson Lamb's little band of screw-ups). There's a photo of two men and a woman, taken in Berlin, for instance...In the past, we follow the efforts of (workname) Alison North on a mission for David Carpenter (known as the Old Bastard - OB for short) in Berlin. For a newbie, less than ten months in MI5, this is a terrifying thing - because she's going to have to gather information that could ruin one of the joes in that branch.In the present, Ms. North finds herself the last witness of Monochrome as a result of the mysterious file in Kyle's cart.While this going on, in the present, there's a move afoot to remove a small but significant part of MI5 to highest bidder public companies and First Desk is not having it.Once again, Herron has composed an espionage thriller that takes place on multiple fronts and in two timeframes and delivers on both the intelligence and the thrills.His dedication getting the details right - and combining the thrills with comic moments, serious drama and savage satire - makes The Secret Hours a delightful read.It could also be the answer to the question, "When is a Slough House novel not a Slough House novel?" For Slough house fans, it's the secret history that we've been waiting for - and also a good springboard to bring new readers to the series (while not quite being an actual part of the series).Well done, once again, Mr. Herron!

Heart be still! Mick Herron is back with another standout spy thriller and it’s as good as its predecessors. Which means it’s the best in its genre because Herron is, post Le Carre’ and Charles McCarry, the best writer alive in the field spy fiction. I hesitate to say he’s outdone himself with this volume because he always outdoes himself, moving from peak of grandeur to still high peak, but he really has outdone himself with this volume, whose twisty, elegant--mocking or lyrical one moment, then suddenly brutal real—narrative lays the groundwork for all the preceding Slough House books. (If you haven’t seen the TV adaptation of these books, Slow Horses, starring Gary Oldman, it’s worth subscribing to Apple+ just to see it. A new set of episodes is coming up in December.)The drivers for this, running on parallel but separated narrative tracks, are two incidents: the botchedabduction of a long dormant ex-spy –who wants him and why>?—and the initiation of Monochrome, an inquiry into the operations the British Secret Service,” in the prime minister’s word, its ”historical over-reaching.” The Service’s First Desk, a formidable and fierce creature who is Britain’s top spy, quickly puts a spoke in the inquiry and now waits for it to be shut down, a failure. Then someone leaks a classified document to one of the two career civil servants assigned to Monochrome and Monochrome has new life. A new witness is called. Her story, and history, are astounding. And the two story lines coalesce. Secrets are not so much revealed –certainly not made public!—but they peek their noses out from beneath the covers. And we understand better the origins of Slough House, and of its supervisor, the foul, obnoxious but mysteriously effective Jackson Lam, “a bastard wrapped in benign swaddling,” one character calls him, having just seen him in one of his rare benign moments, as well as various other characters from the previous novels.As always, Herron is a master phrase maker, elegant, ironic and cynical, and …. Funny more often than one would expect in the telling of such dark tales. A trip out of the office is described in memory “as if the journey were some kind of parable.” (Which everything almost is in Herron’s twisty world.) A character imparts this gem of spy wisdom to a newbie recruit: “Friends are just strangers you haven’t pissed off yet.”I haven’t mentioned the killings yet or the other gratuitous violence that takes place. Maybe it’s not all the time, but spying a dangerous, harsh trade. What pops up more often is the other side of that world: chronic distrust and confusion, backbiting, struggles for power, personal greed and ambition and public power, all put on display in an exuberant prose that resembles who? Not Le Carre, which would seem the most likely, but maybe Waugh, his combination of acrid social and psychological criticism with an almost dancing, mock lighthearted style.