The Secret Hours

By: Mick Herron

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

A gripping standalone spy thriller from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Slow Horses, with a riveting reveal about a disastrous MI5 mission in Cold War Berlin—an absolute must-listen for Slough House fans.

New from the author of Slow Horses, now an Apple Original series from Apple TV+, starring Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas.

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.

But MI5’s formidable First Desk did not become Britain’s top spy by accident, and she has successfully thwarted the inquiry at every turn. Now the administration that created Monochrome has been ousted, the investigation is a total bust—and Griselda and Malcolm are stuck watching as their career prospects are washed away by the pounding London rain.

Until the eve of Monochrome’s shuttering, when an MI5 case file appears without explanation. It is the buried history of a classified operation in 1994 Berlin—an operation that ended in tragedy and scandal, whose cover-up has rewritten thirty years of Service history.

The Secret Hours is a dazzling entry point into Mick Herron’s body of work, a standalone spy thriller that is at once unnerving, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny. It is also the breathtaking secret history that Slough House fans have been waiting for.

©2023 Mick Herron (P)2023 Recorded Books

tough early slog, entertaining second half

like some other listeners, I really struggled in the early part of this book it could have used a little less of the emphasis on how boring the commission was, as the boringness translated to the storyline.

once the plot started moving, it was much, much more interesting and entertaining. loved hearing the history of characters detailed, and enjoyed having some of my suspicions confirmed and others disproven.

Overwritten and hard to follow

Definitely not a bad book and I did listen almost to the end. I found the writing style to be a bit precious, too many forced philosophical passages. The plot was hard to follow.

Hard to follow

First book I did not like. Very hard to follow. I found myself having to go back and re listen to almost every chapter.

A good spy book

It took a while for the story to get going, so that why I gave it a 3. But once it finally did, it was an enjoyable story. The narrator did a great job with bringing the characters to life.

A very satisfying addition! Edition .

Twisting and turning, this dense novel had me wondering what was going on. Gradually the characters emerged from the fog and all was revealed. Artful.
Wonderful writing as usual and Gerard Doyle is a treasure .

Wonderful

Loved it as much or more than the Slough House series. Herron is an extremely clever writer.

Nothing Slow About These Horses

No question Herron is a thoroubred! I was hooked coming out of the gate and enjoyed every page of this ride. Compelling characters, crafty plot and rewarding answers to the many questions loyal readers have been asking themselves for years.

Excellent

Intricate story that ties together loose ends regarding Jackson Lamb, First Desk and the Berlin station.

Amazing story and performance!

My father loved Mick Heron. We lost him to pancreatic cancer in June 2021. He had an extensive library and i got all of his Mick Herron books. I started reading (and listening on Audible). I love every word of every book and it makes me happy to feel closer to Dad. Knowing that dad, as i knew him, loved Jackson Lamb! Priceless. Wicked smart, clever, honor-bound and loyal.

Thank you, Mick Heron. And special thanks to Gerard Doyle. I could not listen if anyone else performed these amazing works.

Great prequel!

Explains backstory of Slow Horses characters ln an effective way. Excellent narration. Would like to see this made into a TV seies