Description

An Instant Sunday Times Bestseller* and a gripping standalone thriller with a riveting reveal about a disastrous MI5 mission in Cold War Berlin. A dazzling entry-point to Mick Herron’s writing and an unmissable read for Slough House fans

‘Pure class’ Ian Rankin

‘I doubt I’ll read a more enjoyable novel all year’ Paula Hawkins

‘Pitch-perfect’ Lee Child

‘Terrific’ The Times

‘Never has a work of popular fiction delighted me more’ The Spectator

‘A thriller of immense brilliance’ Sunday Times

Two years ago, the Monochrome inquiry was set up to investigate the British secret service. Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out misconduct, allowing the civil servants seconded to the inquiry, Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, unfettered access to confidential information in the service archives.

But with progress blocked at every turn, Monochrome is circling the drain . . . Until the OTIS file appears out of nowhere.

What classified secrets does OTIS hold that see a long-redundant spy being chased through Devon’s green lanes in the dark? What happened in a newly reunified Berlin that someone is desperate to keep under wraps? And who will win the battle for the soul of the secret service – or was that decided a long time ago?

Spies and pen-pushers, politicians and PAs, high-flyers, time-servers and burn-outs . . . They all have jobs to do in the daylight. But what they do in the secret hours reveals who they really are.

*Mick Herron’s The Secret Hours was a Sunday Times Number Four bestseller in hardback in the second week of September 2023

Publisher Review

Fans of the Slough House series will rejoice at this standalone thriller, once again set in a world of espionage, from which all glamour is largely expunged . . . Beginning with a breathlessly exciting pursuit, and moving on to a separate timeline set in post-reunification Berlin, the author's mordant wit is finely deployed on every page - just one of the familiar elements that will delight readers. Watch out for a terrific twist * Bookseller * Great Britain has a long, rich history of how-it-really-works espionage fiction, and Mick Herron - stealthy as a secret agent - has written himself to the very top of the list. If you haven't already been recruited, start with The Secret Hours - all Herron's trademark strengths are here: tension, intrigue, observation, humour, absurdity . . . and pitch-perfect prose -- Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher novels For a novel about a government inquiry called Monochrome, nothing is black and white in The Secret Hours by Mick Herron. Stunningly plotted and written, this masterclass in intrigue is brimming with tension and paranoid energy. A meaty, breathe-if-you-dare spy thriller with teeth, heart and a sense of humour. An absolute addiction of a read -- Janice Hallett, author of THE APPEAL The Secret Hours is wonderful. It's Mick Herron at his best, taking us into a dark world where there is high action, a spinning moral compass, and hidden motives on every page. And, oh, yes, the fun - Herron's greatest talent may be the examination of serious things with a perfectly wry sense of humour -- Michael Connelly, author of DESERT STAR A deft knockout of a story, with an arc of history, written with humour and style. Mick Herron is one of the best writers of spy fiction working today -- Martin Cruz Smith, author of GORKY PARK I doubt I'll read a more enjoyable novel all year. The Secret Hours has it all: thrilling action scenes, crackling dialogue, characters to infuriate and beguile, and a neatly intricate plot. And through it all cuts Herron's acerbic wit, its effect heightened by the glimpses he allows us, from time to time, from his world to ours -- Paula Hawkins, author of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN A fantastic book that kept me up all night. Unputdownable! -- Philippa Perry, author of THE BOOK YOU WISH YOUR PARENTS HAD READ Positively pulses with misdirection, deception and deep truths. Mick Herron is a genius -- Sarah Hilary, author of BLACK THORN Mick Herron is not just one of the best spy writers working today, but one of our best writers -- Charlotte Philby, author of EDITH AND KIM Superbly, breathtakingly, well-plotted -- Alice O'Keeffe * Bookseller * Praise for Mick Herron: Herron is at the summit of a new golden age of spy fiction * Sunday Times * Herron has certainly devised the most completely realised espionage universe since that peopled by George Smiley * The Times * Herron's novels are genuinely thrilling * Daily Telegraph * Britain's finest living thriller writer * Sunday Express *