Slough House follows a group of MI5 agents who have been demoted because of various mistakes and offences. Leading the misfit “rejects” is Jackson Lamb. Lamb is a gruff, vulgar, and unconventional spy. But his slobbish appearance hides a razor-sharp intelligence.

With its dark wit, perceptive insights into power and politics, and thrilling plots, the series provides readers with a different perspective on spy work that is satiric, entertaining, and suspenseful. Mick Herron expertly balances stories that are both unpredictable and thought-provoking.

Slough House has a number of short stories and novels related to the main series. The List (Book 2.5), The Marylebone Drop (Book 5.5), The Last Dead Letter (6.25), The Catch (Book 6.5), Standing by the Wall (Book 8.25) are included in the volume Standing by the Wall: The Collected Slough House Novellas.

The novels Secret Hours, Reconstruction, and Nobody Walks are set in the same universe as Slough House. Secret Hours explores the secret history of Slough House. Fans recommend reading this book after Bad Actors (Book 8) for the full narrative impact. Reconstruction has a few of the characters from the series, but is considered a prequel of sorts because it was written before Slow Horses (Book 1). Nobody Walks, includes several characters who appear in Slough House, and is chronologically placed after Dead Lions (Book 2).