Mick Herron | |
|---|---|
 Herron in 2018 | |
| Born | (1963-07-11)11 July 1963 (age 61) Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Education | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Genre | Spy fiction |
| Years active | 2003 – Present |
| Notable works | Slough House (novel series)Dead Lions (2013) |
| Notable awards |
|
| Partner | Jo Howard |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Mick Herron (born 11 July 1963)[1] is a Britishmystery andthriller novelist. He is the author of theSlough House series, early novels of which have been adapted into theSlow Horses television series. He won theCrime Writers' Association 2013Gold Dagger forDead Lions and theDiamond Dagger in 2025 for lifetime achievement.
Herron was born inNewcastle upon Tyne, England, and educated atBalliol College, Oxford, where he earned a degree in English.[2][3][4] He is one of six children; his father was an optician and his mother a nursery-school teacher.[5]
In 2003, Herron published his first novel,Down Cemetery Road. It was the first volume in a four-book series about Zoë Boehm, an Oxford private detective.[6]
In 2010, he began theSlough House spy series with the first volumeSlow Horses. The series concernsMI5 agents who have been exiled from the agency mainstream for various failures. The second volume,Dead Lions, published in 2013, won theCrime Writers' Association 2013Gold Dagger.[3] Herron has stated that the lead character, Jackson Lamb, was influenced byReginald Hill's Andy Dalziel.[7][8] As of December 2022[update], the series includes eight novels, plus several associated novellas, and events in related novels. Early volumes have also been adapted for television asSlow Horses.
Slow Horses was published byConstable in 2010, but the firm declined the opportunity to publish the next book in the series in the United Kingdom due to disappointing sales of its predecessor.Soho Press published theSlough House novels in the United States, andJohn Murray started republishing the series in the UK from 2015.[9]
Herron's short stories have been regularly published inEllery Queen's Mystery Magazine and some are collected in the bookAll the Livelong Day, published in 2013.
Although not part of theSlough House series,Reconstruction,Nobody Walks andThe Secret Hours use some of the same characters and provide some characterbackstory. In story terms,Reconstruction is set beforeSlow Horses, whereasNobody Walks comes afterThe List and beforeSpook Street.The Secret Hours is set around the time of or afterBad Actors but includes a section set well before the series begins.
Dolphin Junction features five standalone crime fiction stories complemented by four mystery stories featuring Zoë Boehm and Joe Silvermann. It also includes tales with Jackson Lamb ofSlough House.[12]Standing by the Wall: The Collected Slough House Novellas includes all novellas in theSlough House series published as of 2022. In story terms, Proof of Love, Mirror Images and The Other Half are set before Down Cemetery Road, whereas What We Do comes after Why We Die.
TheSlough House series has been adapted for television under the nameSlow Horses, starringGary Oldman as Jackson Lamb,[4] with the first six-part season, based on the bookSlow Horses, streamed onApple TV+ from 1 April 2022. The second season, based onDead Lions, was filmed back-to-back with the first and premiered on 2 December 2022.[13] It was announced in June 2022 that further seasons, adaptingReal Tigers andSpook Street, had been greenlit.[14] Season 3, based onReal Tigers, premiered on Apple TV+ 29 November 2023.[15]
An Apple TV+ adaptation ofDown Cemetery Road starringEmma Thompson andRuth Wilson was announced in 2024.[16]
Herron won the 2025CWA Diamond Dagger in 2025.[17]
Herron lives in Oxford, England.[3] He enjoys playing squash.[20] His partner is Jo Howard, a 'headhunter for the publishing industry'[21] and 'leadership development consultant',[22] formerly a Commercial Director atWaterstones Booksellers.
