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. Praise for Clown Town A New York Times Bestseller An American Bookseller Association Indie Bestseller Vogue ’s Best Books of the Year NPR’s Books We Love ELLE ’s Best Mysteries and Thrillers of the Year The Guardian ’s Best Crime Books and Thrillers of the Year Minnesota Star Tribune ’s 10 Best Fiction Books of the Year #2 on People Magazine’s Must-Read Books of Fall An ABA Indie Next Selection A Barnes & Noble Best Mystery & Thriller Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Book Fiction Book of the Year “A wickedly funny take on espionage.” — People “Excellent . . . Herron’s work now has a huge following and no wonder: He’s a master at mixing byzantine plotting with breathless pacing.” — Vogue “Darkly comic.” —The New York Times “May be the best Slow Horses book to date . . . Mr. Herron’s style is as relaxed and stylish as ever, accommodating both keen one-line descriptions and more elaborate imagery. Unpredictability remains a hallmark of the series: One of the slow horses takes an irreversible action toward the end of Clown Town so unexpected it seems as shocking as a drive-by shooting.” —Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal “ Clown Town showcases the series’ best qualties . . . It’s a quirk and a gift that the author can tell such somber, unsettling stories so sprightly.” —The Washington Post “ Clown Town sparkles with the razor-sharp humor, complicated characters and drum-tight narrative that have marked the other books in the series . . . Funny, relevant and absolutely delightful.” —NPR “Laced with Herron’s mordant wit and whip-crack dialogue.” — Financial Times “Every bit as funny, exciting and surprisingly poignant as the TV show.” —Minnesota Star Tribune “Quirky and suspenseful with a touch of humor.” —Barnes & Noble “ Clown Town is a magisterially accomplished novel and Herron a master of vivid voice, showing himself in a plot of shining, machine-like efficiency.” — The Spectator Australia , Books of the Year “As well as containing most of the best jokes of this year’s crime fiction, Herron’s book boasts the best action set-piece.” —The Telegraph , Best Books of the Year “Britain’s best living spy writer, Mick Herron has done it again . . . This may be the funniest dialogue Herron has ever written for Jackson Lamb . . . A rollercoaster ride, lethally compelling, culminating in wonderful plot and counterplot.” —Spybrary “Overflowing with gritty action and mordant humor, this is as good as espionage novels get.” — Publishers Weekly , Starred Review “The best news of all: The climax leaves the door open to further reports from the hilariously misnamed British Intelligence.” — Kirkus Reviews , Starred Review “Since he first introduced the misfit spies of Slough House in 2008’s Slow Horses , Herron has been compared to the likes of Graham Greene, Len Deighton, and John le Carré. But Herron’s stories are entirely unique, and his writing style is unlike anyone else’s, with a deliciously satirical edge . . . If there are any spy-fiction fans who haven’t yet read Herron’s books, now’s a good time to rectify that.” — Booklist “[The] payoff is spectacular.” — BookPage “A te