*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*

POLITICS IS A DANGEROUS GAME

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.

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

'Mick Herron is such a joyously stylish writer' Ian Rankin

'Mick Herron is an incredible writer' Mark Billingham

'Mick Herron is one of the finest writers of his generation' Steve Cavanagh