Bad Actors Slough House Book 8

Mick Herron, “the le Carré of the future” (BBC), expands his world of bad spies with an even shadier cast of characters: the politicians, lobbyists, and misinformation agents pulling the levers of government policy. “Confirms Mick Herron as the best spy novelist now working.”—NPR's Fresh Air Now an Apple TV+ series starring Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas. In London's MI5 headquarters a scandal is brewing that could disgrace the entire intelligence community. The Downing Street superforecaster—a specialist who advises the Prime Minister's office on how policy is likely to be received by the electorate—has disappeared without a trace. Claude Whelan, who was once head of MI5, has been tasked with tracking her down. But the trail leads him straight back to Regent's Park itself, with First Desk Diana Taverner as chief suspect. Has Taverner overplayed her hand at last? Meanwhile, her Russian counterpart, Moscow intelligence's First Desk, has cheekily showed up in London and shaken off his escort. Are the two unfortunate events connected? Over at Slough House, where Jackson Lamb presides over some of MI5's most embittered demoted agents, the slow horses are doing what they do best, and adding a little bit of chaos to an already unstable situation . . . There are bad actors everywhere, and they usually get their comeuppance before the credits roll. But politics is a dirty business, and in a world where lying, cheating and backstabbing are the norm, sometimes the good guys can find themselves outgunned.

Who can you trust when nothing's as it seems?

*Discover The Secret Hours, the gripping new thriller from Mick Herron and an unmissable read for Slough House fans* *Now a major TV series starring Gary Oldman* *THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* **THE TIMES THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR** 'A gripping thriller' Ian Rankin Slough House - the crumbling office building to which failed spies, the 'slow horses', are banished - has been wiped from secret service records. Reeling from recent losses in their ranks, the slow horses are worried they've been pushed further into the cold, and fatal accidents keep happening. With a new populist movement taking a grip on London's streets, the aftermath of a blunder by the Russian secret service that left a British citizen dead, and the old order ensuring that everything's for sale to the highest bidder, the world's an uncomfortable place for those deemed surplus to requirements. The wise move would be to find a safe place and wait for the troubles to pass. But the slow horses aren't famed for making wise decisions. 'The most completely realised espionage universe since that peopled by George Smiley' The Times 'An absolute tour-de-force' Sunday Express

*Discover The Secret Hours, the gripping new thriller from Mick Herron and an unmissable read for Slough House fans* *Now a major TV series starring Gary Oldman* THE INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A pitch-perfect espionage thriller' Sunday Times In MI5 a scandal is brewing and there are bad actors everywhere. A key member of a Downing Street think-tank has disappeared without a trace. Claude Whelan, one-time First Desk of MI5's Regent's Park, is tasked with tracking her down. But the trail leads straight back to Regent's Park HQ itself, with its chief, Diana Taverner, as prime suspect. Meanwhile her Russian counterpart has unexpectedly shown up in London but has slipped under MI5's radar. Over at Slough House, the home for demoted and embittered spies, the slow horses are doing what they do best: adding a little bit of chaos to an already unstable situation. In a world where lying, cheating and backstabbing is the norm, bad actors are bending the rules for their own gain. If the slow horses want to change the script, they'll need to get their own act together before the final curtain. *Includes the short story Standing by the Wall: A Slough House Interlude* 'The foremost living spy novelist in the English language' New Statesman 'This is entertainment of the highest class' Literary Review 'The man is a genius' The Spectator

*A Slough House Christmas short story from the Sunday Times number one bestseller of BAD ACTORS.* Here in Slough House, the intelligence service's home for inept spies, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Roddy Ho is used to being the one the slow horses turn to when they need miracles performed, and he's always been Jackson Lamb's Number Two. So when Lamb has a photograph that needs doctoring, it's Ho he entrusts with the task. Christmas is a time for memories, but Lamb doesn't do memories - or so he says. But what is it about the photo that makes him want to alter it? How would the slow horses cope if Roddy Ho didn't exist? And most importantly of all, are the team having Christmas drinks, and if so, where? Standing by the Wall offers a glimpse into the kind of seasonal merriment you might expect at Slough House, where the boss generally marks the festive season with an increase in hostilities. But then, this is the secret service, not Secret Santa. And the slow horses aren't here to enjoy themselves. Roddy Roddy Roddy? Ho Ho Ho!