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Clown Town by Mick Herron

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Clown Town

Mick Herron, Gerard Doyle, Recorded Books

Soho Press · Print & ebook · September 9, 2025

Reading lane: International Crime Fiction

A Fiction pick for readers exploring Clown Town.

At a Glance

Why This Clicks

Sharp Corners

Come here for

  • Private-eye grit, international sting
  • A sly, serious thriller mood

Expect

  • hard-boiled edges
  • conversation-ready tension

Book Details

Authors
Mick Herron, Gerard Doyle, Recorded Books
Publisher
Soho Press
Published
September 9, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
International Crime Fiction · Historical Thrillers
Reading lane
International Crime Fiction

Affinity

Publisher Categories

  • Spy Fiction

  • British Mystery

  • International Crime Fiction

About This Book

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “May be the best Slow Horses book to date. ”—The Wall Street Journal THE NEW NOVEL IN THE SERIES BEHIND SLOW HORSES, AN APPLE ORIGINAL SERIES NOW STREAMING ON APPLE TV Jackson Lamb and the bad spies of Slough House are caught in a deadly battle between MI5's secret past and its murky future in this gripping, hilarious, and heartbreaking thriller by Mick Herron, “the le Carré of the future” (BBC). “Old spies grow ridiculous, River. Old spi...

Read full description

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “May be the best Slow Horses book to date. ”—The Wall Street Journal THE NEW NOVEL IN THE SERIES BEHIND SLOW HORSES, AN APPLE ORIGINAL SERIES NOW STREAMING ON APPLE TV Jackson Lamb and the bad spies of Slough House are caught in a deadly battle between MI5's secret past and its murky future in this gripping, hilarious, and heartbreaking thriller by Mick Herron, “the le Carré of the future” (BBC). “Old spies grow ridiculous, River. Old spies aren’t much better than clowns.” Or so David Cartwright, the late retired head of MI5, used to tell his grandson. He forgot to add that old spies can be dangerous, too, especially if they’ve fallen on hard times—as River Cartwright is about to learn the hard way. David Cartwright, long buried, has left his library to the Spooks’ College in Oxford, and now one of the books is missing. Or perhaps it never existed. River, once a “slow horse” of Slough House, MI5’s outpost for demoted and disgraced spies, has some time to kill while awaiting medical clearance to return to work, and starts investigating the secrets of his grandfather’s library. Over at the Park, MI5 First Desk Diana Taverner is in a pickle. An operation carried out during the height of the Troubles laid bare the ugly side of state security, and those involved are threatening to expose details. But every threat hides an opportunity, and Taverner has come up with a scheme. All she needs is the right dupe to get caught holding the bag. Jackson Lamb, the enigmatic and odiferous head of Slough House, has no plans to send in the clowns. On the other hand, if the clowns ignore his instructions, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault. But they’re his clowns. And if they don’t all make it home, there’ll be a reckoning.

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