Mick Herron has put together one of the most entertaining and dysfunctional teams in modern spy fiction. The Slough House series is about disgraced spies who are sent to a rundown intelligence office and given boring tasks, with the hope that they will quit on their own.
Their boss, Jackson Lamb, is rude, messy, and often offensive, but he is much smarter than he looks. Whether you first met these characters in the books or through the TV show Slow Horses, reading the series in order helps you keep track of the changing loyalties, political plots, and ongoing personal stories.
Table of Contents
The Jackson Lamb books in reading order
There are nine main novels in the Slough House series so far. The best way to read them is in the order they were published.
​Slow Horses (2010)
Slow Horses introduces River Cartwright, a talented MI5 agent who ends up at Slough House after a training exercise goes badly. When a young man is kidnapped and threatened with death, River and the other slow horses get caught up in a risky mission full of double-crosses, political games, and intelligence secrets.
​Dead Lions (2013)
When a former spy is found dead on a bus near Oxford, Lamb does not believe it was a natural death. His search for answers takes the team into Cold War secrets, sleeper agents, and a Russian spymaster who may not be as fictional as people think.
​Real Tigers (2016)
Catherine Standish, Lamb’s assistant and the heart of Slough House, is kidnapped. Her disappearance pulls the slow horses into a plot with private security agents, stolen secrets, and powerful people at Regent’s Park.
​Spook Street (2017)
A major bombing puts MI5 under pressure, and River starts to worry more about his grandfather, the retired intelligence legend David Cartwright. As David’s memory fades, dangerous secrets from his past come to light.
​London Rules (2018)
Britain faces a series of seemingly unrelated attacks while a politician tries to gain more power. Lamb’s team has to figure out what links the violence before someone else controls the story.
​Joe Country (2019)
When a former slow horse disappears, some team members go into a snowy landscape to help, even though Lamb told them not to get involved. Joe Country brings together personal grudges, old enemies, and messy teamwork.
​Slough House (2021)
Slough House, the place for MI5’s failures, has been erased from official records, and its agents seem to be dying under suspicious circumstances. The slow horses have to figure out whether they are just paranoid or someone is really trying to get rid of them.
​Bad Actors (2022)
A member of a government think tank disappears as political advisors attempt to interfere with the intelligence service. With Regent’s Park distracted by internal battles, Jackson Lamb sees another opportunity to frustrate Diana Taverner and protect his people.
​Clown Town (2025)
A missing item from David Cartwright’s library sends River to a spooks’ college in Oxford. His search draws the slow horses into a struggle between MI5’s secret past and uncertain future.
The Slough House novellas
For those readers wanting a more rounded experience, there are five novellas that you can also add to your reading list:
- The List (after Dead Lions)
- The Marylebone Drop/The Drop (after London Rules)
- The Catch (after Joe Country)
- The Last Dead Letter (before Slough House)
- Standing by the Wall (after Bad Actors).
Other books connected to Slough House
There are three other books that, while not part of the numbered Jackson Lamb novels, share characters and history with the Slough House world. Reconstruction, Nobody Walks and The Secret Hours are best read after the main series, particularly The Secret Hours, which examines more about Jackson Lamb’s past.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books are in the Jackson Lamb series?
There are nine main Jackson Lamb novels, beginning with Slow Horses and continuing through to Clown Town. There are also five novellas and several connected novels.
​What are the Jackson Lamb books in order to read?
The best way to read the main books is in the order they were published: Slow Horses, Dead Lions, Real Tigers, Spook Street, London Rules, Joe Country, Slough House, Bad Actors, and Clown Town.
​Why is Jackson Lamb in Slough House?
Jackson Lamb is not just another agent who made a mistake. He was once a top Cold War spy who knows damaging secrets regarding MI5’s past. Running Slough House keeps him away from the centre of power, but as you read the books, you’ll see his situation is more complex than just a punishment. He might insult his slow horses, but he fiercely protects them when they are in danger.