This is a book that covers an enquiry into misconduct etc and it is run by two Griselda & Malcolm who are going nowhere fast with it. Further they look as if they are just hitting walls and useless things and nothing good will likely come out of it until they get a file sent to them which covers Berlin, back in the day.
Realising they may have something they proceed to interview in the hope of finding the info the enquiry needs. If they do what can they do with it??

Heron as ever writes a good book that pulls you in and you get immersed in the scenes. It is written as well with his usual humour and style which makes it enduring. In this one you are in the present and back in Berlin in the sixties as you follow what it was spying in Berlin and the current enquiry. If you have read Slow Horses series you will no doubt connect some of the Berlin people to his characters that have appeared in those books.
What you get is a good read that is enjoyable and with Herron something you will enjoy.

I must start with asking myself if I would have enjoyed The Secret Hours had it not been for it’s wonderful link to the world of The Slow Horses. Unfortunately, the answer isn’t clear. Let’s not fault Mick Herron’s great writing, an intriguing plot, and his wonderful meandering story-telling that brings it all together. But I just think I would have got a little lost in the middle parts had I not been excited by some guided expectations.

Regardless, this is a good book. I can’t comment on how it would read as the standalone novel it is touted as, but I can assure you that fans of Slough House won’t be disappointed.

Thanks NetGalley and John Murray Press for a Review Copy

Having read most of the Slough House series (I’m working my way through it) I was looking forward to this stand alone read and was certainly not disappointed. Written in a similar vein it features a terrible MI5 mission in Berlin after the fall of the Wall and how the truth of it was lost in the archives of Regents Park head office. The story grabs you from the start as an elderly man goes in the run after his home is broken into. The pace varies through the book and the writing is as always brilliant as is the plot.

Briefly, two years earlier the PM with a grievance towards the Intelligence service, launched a review looking for anything that smelt of misconduct. The review, Monochrome, allowed two civil servants unlimited access to the records. Or so they assumed until First Desk started to send them up blind alleys. So successful was First Desk that the enquiry was shut down. Suddenly however, a case file appears which details the tragic event.

This is a great political spy thriller. If you’ve read him you know what you get with Mick Herron so expect some slow paced chapters, often humorous as shocking events, long thought hidden, are slowly but surely brought to light. If you haven’t read him this is a great place to start. A fabulous read, sharp and witty that stands alongside the Slough House series. Loved it.

Brilliant beginning then the pace changed and it got political. Writing is excellent and I stuck with it but I think spy thrillers are not really my thing.

This is about a MI5 mission in Berlin that went wrong.
What happened and what went wrong? Who is chasing who and what will the outcome be.
Quite confusing at times.

I reviewed The Secret Hours for book recommendation and sales site LoveReading. I’ve chosen it as a LoveReading Star Book and Liz Pick of the Month. Please see link for full review.

This is a very cleverly plotted political spy thriller. It grabs your attention from the first pages as a man is running for his life after his house is broken into. The pace slows when the plot diverts to a present day enquiry by the Secret Service which in turn involves a step back in time to Berlin after the fall of the Wall.
As spies have false names Herron weaves intriguing conundrums as to who is the Service’s adversary. All of this is written in witty spy shorthand which is baffling and thought provoking at the same time. The dialogues are sharp and awash with repartee which makes this an entertaining read.
No spoilers but Herron produces a great ending.
Thanks to the publishers for the ARC.

Although Slough House doesn't feature in this book, a few familiar characters appear.

Fills in some of the history of characters from previous novels, as well as keeping the topicality of which Mick Herron's books are known for.

Post-Wall Berlin, dodgy PM, spooks, corrupt government and business leaders...this novel has it all.

Superbly entertaining.

Mick Herron really is the poet of the workplace. Power plays, conspiracy, boredom and resentment, all play out against the mundane backdrop of office life. In The Secret Hours, the story centres on two civil servants who have been set up to fail by their political masters and their duelling with the virtuosos of manipulation at MI5.

The Secret Hours is a standalone but is set in the world of the Slough House novels and a couple of familiar faces do make an appearance (I'll say no more!).
*
Copy from NetGalley.

The book started off brilliantly ,fast paced with an unknown man being chased for his life but then the pace slowed considerably and the book became all about the Secret Service ,the battles with Government and the competition involved .Nevertheless it was a very good political thriller .Thank you to Net Galley for my ARC.

If you’ve not read this author before then this is a great book to start with. It’s a standalone thriller about spies, the fall of the Berlin Wall and government corruption; both then and now.
A fantastic mix of heart racing action and the drudgingly slow machinations of the system. It’s eye opening to learn about way the secret service works, and how it is changing, and it’s also terrifying. From selling off security systems to independent contractors to the levels of obfuscation that must be scaled during the seemingly impossible task of proving accountability.

Beautifully written with some sentences I want to re-read. A complex story which keeps interest whilst at the same time needs to be concentrated on.
I have been a great fan of the Slow Horses series and didn’t realise that Mick Heron had written the original books until I had started reading The Secret Hours…such a pleasant surprise.
Many thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

I struggled with this book, which was surprising given the glowing reviews from other readers. It started with a bang, in fact it reminded me of a car chase through an American city. The tempo then completely changed while the author began to establish just how much corruption there is in various government departments. I almost gave up at this point but, as I said, the reviews kept me going. I did finish the book, I appreciated not only the story and how it panned out but also the quality of the writing. Unfortunately, I have discovered that political novels are not for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray Press for the advance copy of this book.

Can Mick Herron get any better? Obviously, the answer is yes, as this is absolutely brilliant. If you are familiar with the world of Slough House, you will have read the Christmas story, 'Standing by the Wall,' and this novel ties into this, but is also clever enough to act as a stand-alone.

It begins with a retired academic having his house broken into and going on the run. Obviously, he has a history, but everyone in Herron's world has a history and - in this novel - we get to learn part of the backstory of some of the characters. Meanwhile, special advisor Anthony Sparrow sets up the Monochrome inquiry, to investigate historical overreaching by the intelligence services. First Desk is, of course, well able to deal with such interference. Monochrome ends up settled into an office, shuffling paper, with Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle helping to file it, along with their careers.

However, when some actual intelligence falls into Monochrome's lap, it results in our civil servants becoming more involved than they had anticipated. 'I thought you were frightened,' Malcolm is asked. 'I am. A bit. But I'm also....cross.' Herron creates wonderful characters. They have real struggles, real fears, real problems. As well as characters we know well, there are some delightful new ones amongst the cast, and I hope we see some of them again. I was fascinated to have some glimpses of David Cartwright as a younger man - a 'mixture of Rasputin and Robespierre,' with an obscure job role but obvious power.

A fantastic opening and a brilliant ending. Honestly, this was the best novel I have read by Mr Herron and that is saying something. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Mick Herron is best known for his excellent Slough House series of books featuring some misfit spies and I’m a definite fan of the series so I was looking forward to the stand-alone novel The Secret Hours although without the well established cast.

The Secret Hours definitely didn’t let me down. The trademark humour still shone throughout the book and the storyline was excellent with lots of twists, turns and red herrings.

Without giving away any spoilers I would say that The Secret Hours is more of a companion book to the Slough House series but either way don’t miss out on reading it.

Highly recommended.

I'm a huge fan of Mick Herron's Slough House series, or as they seem to be called now The Jackson Lamb series. Reading the origin story for Lamb is a huge treat. It starts slowly but builds up to the most satisfying tying up of loose threads. This stand alone novel will be a must read for Lamb fans, but I suggest it is also a great place to start if you haven't read any of the series yet. You don't need to know anything about Slough House, as Slough house does not exist in the world of The Secret Hours. This is a satisfying enriching read if you know the world of the Slow Horses, but also if you haven't yet entered it.

5* Wowsers. The Secret Hours is brilliant. Mick Herron has written an absolute classic.

An older man living a quiet life in rural Devon has to run for his life, while contemplating who has tracked him down. In London the Prime Minister has kicked off an inquiry to unearth any illegal or unnecessarily dangerous practices from the Security Services called Monochrome. As Monochrome proceeds at a snail’s pace, bound up in civil service politics and filibustering from First Desk, a new piece of evidence mysteriously appears before the Committee, blowing open events that happened immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

A stand alone from Mick Herron, this is an absolute treat for fans of the Slow Horses series, unravelling some of the backstories of the characters from Slough House.

The plotting is intricate and brilliant slots together - I think the best in any of Herron’s books. As we’ve come to expect, the characters and dialogue is the best in the genre. There are plenty of twists and surprises along the way. I’m pleased to see a couple of people reviewing the book having not read the Slow Horses series, and they have given rave reviews so it clearly works as a standalone.

An absolute thrill. With huge thanks to John Murray Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC.

Well, it's Mick Herron so it's going to be good, isn't it? It's not Slough House but it's as near as damn it. With all the tension and sparky writing expected, this novel stands alongside the Slow Horses series and fills in some gaps.

Once it gets into its stride, it carries you along with flashbacks to 90s Berlin and a teasing who's who. The characters mostly have 'spook names' and you have to guess who they are - something that's not difficult when it comes to Brinsley Miles but who on earth is Alison North? You think you.ve got her pegged but then, hmmm, no, maybe not.

Cleverly done and, as usual, a great read.

Having watched the first two seasons of Slow Horses on Apple, I have to admit this was my first actual reading of a Mick Herron book and was concerned it might be difficult to follow if it was way down the series.
As it turns out this is a Slough House 'adjacent' novel with twists/ reveals in there that will no doubt thrill series readers, but work perfectly well if you've never read or seen the series in either form. If you have just seen the tv series, even a dumb dumb like me got the 'stuff' going on in there.
This was, simply, put, one of the best written books I've read in a long time - the language, the dialogue and the assured style of the author was a full step above 90% of the books I've read in recent years...and I'm not even a 'spy' reader (as is clear from never having read Mick Herron's books before, when everyone I know has insisted he's in the top echelon of authors).
The blurb and description will tell you what you need to know about the plot, all I'll say is from the opening chapter with badger as a weapon (You'll see when you read it), I was gripped all the way through. It's a measured, thoughtful, intelligent piece - scant (outside of the first and one later chapter) of fights/ chases and mayhem, but with a quieter, more dangerous vibe throughout.
Really pleased to have read this and starting the Slough House series from book 1 as a result this weekend.

Let me start by saying I am a huge Mick Herron fan and loved the Slow Horses series (even the TV adaptation!)

The Secret Hours did not disappoint at all.

Monochrome is an 'independent' inquiry into the machinations of the British Secret Service and to identify any wrongdoings that may have occurred. The civil servants, Griselda and Malcolm who are running the inquiry have been blocked at every turn, and two years later are no closer to finding out if anything did happen, that is until Malcolm is furtively given a file, during an innocent visit to a supermarket, called OTIS.

The book was beyond brilliant, and there were a couple of sentences that I have repeated constantly to people, commenting on people's addiction to social media.

Highly recommended.

PS Sunderland is fabulous and shouldn't be avoided!!