Michael Herron (born 11 July 1963) is a British mystery and thriller novelist. He is the author of the Slough House series, which has been adapted into the Slow Horses television series. He won the Crime Writers' Association 2013 Gold Dagger for Dead Lions and the Diamond Dagger in 2025 for lifetime achievement.
Early life Herron was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a degree in English. He is one of six children; his father was an optician and his mother a nursery-school teacher.
Career Herron was a subeditor at IDS Employment Law Brief (Incomes Data Services), a trade journal on U.K. employment law.
Herron commuted from Oxford to London daily, returned home around 6 p.m., and wrote for an hour. In 2002, Herron had an office on a floor with few people, eventually hot-desking on a floor with hundreds of people. Herron resigned from IDS Employment Law Brief in 2017.
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.
After the 7 July 2005 London bombings, as a London-Oxford commuter, he wanted to write about the UK security services.
In 2010, he began the Slough House spy series with the first volume, Slow Horses. The series concerns MI5 agents who have been exiled from the agency mainstream for various failures. The second volume, Dead Lions, published in 2013, won the Crime Writers' Association 2013 Gold Dagger. Herron has stated that the lead character, Jackson Lamb, was influenced by Reginald Hill's Andy Dalziel. , the series includes nine novels, plus several associated novellas. Early volumes have been adapted for television as Slow Horses.
Slow Horses was published by Constable in 2010, but the firm declined the opportunity to publish the next book in the series in the United Kingdom due to disappointing sales. Soho Press published the Slough House novels in the United States, and John Murray started republishing the series in the UK from 2015.
Herron's short stories have been regularly published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and some are collected in the book All the Livelong Day, published in 2013.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2024.
Bibliography Zoë Boehm series Down Cemetery Road (2003) The Last Voice You Hear (2004) Why We Die (2006) Smoke and Whispers (2009)
Slough House series
+ Slough House series Number Title First published Format ISBN
Notes
Standalone novels Although not part of the Slough House series, Reconstruction, Nobody Walks, and The Secret Hours use some of the same characters. Reconstruction is set before Slow Horses, whereas Nobody Walks comes after The List and before Spook Street. The Secret Hours is set around the time of or after Bad Actors but includes a section set before the series begins. Reconstruction (2008) Nobody Walks (2015) This Is What Happened (2018) The Secret Hours (2023)
Short story collections Dolphin Junction features five standalone crime fiction stories complemented by four mystery stories featuring characters Zoë Boehm and Joe Silvermann. It also includes tales with Jackson Lamb of Slough House. Standing by the Wall: The Collected Slough House Novellas includes all novellas in the Slough House series published as of 2022. "Proof of Love", "Mirror Images", and "The Other Half" are set before Down Cemetery Road, whereas "What We Do" comes after Why We Die. All the Livelong Day (2013) "All the Livelong Day" "The Usual Santas" "Proof of Love" (Zoë Boehm) "Mirror Images" (Zoë Boehm) "Lost Luggage" Dolphin Junction (2021) "Proof of Love" (Zoë Boehm) "Remote Control" "Lost Luggage" "Mirror Images" (Zoë Boehm) "Dolphin Junction" "An American Fridge" "The Other Half" (Zoë Boehm) "All the Livelong Day" "The Last Dead Letter" (Slough House) "The Usual Santas" "What We Do" (Zoë Boehm) Standing by the Wall: The Collected Slough House Novellas (2022) The List (2015) The Drop (US title: The Marylebone Drop) (2018) The Catch (2020) The Last Dead Letter (2020) Standing by the Wall (2022)
Adaptations The Slough House series has been adapted for television under the name Slow Horses, starring Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, with the first six-part season, based on the book Slow Horses, streamed on Apple TV+ from 1 April 2022. The second season, based on Dead Lions, was filmed back-to-back with the first and premiered on 2 December 2022. It was announced in June 2022 that further seasons, adapting Real Tigers and Spook Street, had been greenlit. Season 3, based on Real Tigers, premiered on Apple TV+ on 29 November 2023. Season 5, based on London Rules, premiered on Apple TV+ on 24 September 2025. Season 6, based on both Joe Country and Slough House, premiered on Apple TV on September 16, 2026.
An Apple TV+ adaptation of Down Cemetery Road starring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson was released in October 2025. The second season was announced by Apple TV on 12 December 2025.
Awards +YearNominated workAwardCategoryResultRef.2009"Dolphin Junction"Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Readers Choice AwardWon"Proof of Love"Barry AwardBest Short StoryShortlisted2010Slow HorsesCrime Writers' Association Dagger AwardsCWA Ian Fleming Steel DaggerLonglisted2013Dead LionsGold DaggerWon2014Barry AwardBest ThrillerShortlistedMacavity AwardsBest Mystery Novel2015Nobody WalksCrime Writers' Association Dagger AwardsCWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger2016Real TigersGold Dagger2017CrimeFest AwardsLast Laugh AwardWonMacavity AwardsBest NovelShortlistedTheakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year AwardSpook StreetCrime Writers' Association Dagger AwardsGold DaggerCWA Ian Fleming Steel DaggerWon2018British Book AwardsCrime and Thriller Book of the YearShortlistedBarry AwardBest ThrillerTheakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year AwardCrimeFest AwardsLast Laugh AwardWonLondon RulesCrime Writers' Association Dagger AwardsGold DaggerShortlistedCWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger2019CrimeFest AwardsLast Laugh AwardBarry AwardBest ThrillerTheakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year AwardCapital Crime Festival Fingerprint AwardsThriller Novel of the YearWon2020Joe CountryTheakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year AwardShortlistedCrime Writers' Association Dagger AwardsGold DaggerDead Lions Palle Rosenkrantz Prize2022Slough HouseTheakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year AwardWonCrimeFest AwardsLast Laugh AwardBarry AwardBest ThrillerShortlistedSlow HorsesUSC Scripter AwardsWon2023Bad ActorsTheakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year AwardLonglistedCrimeFest AwardsLast Laugh AwardShortlistedBarry AwardBest ThrillerSlow HorsesUSC Scripter AwardsWon2024The Secret HoursCrimeFest AwardsLast Laugh AwardBarry AwardBest ThrillerShortlistedInternational Thriller Writers AwardsBest Hardcover NovelBritish Book AwardsCrime and Thriller Book of the YearCapital Crime Festival Fingerprint AwardsOverall Crime Novel of the YearCrime Writers' Association Dagger AwardsGold DaggerTheakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year AwardSpook StreetUSC Scripter Awards2025Crime Writers' Association Dagger AwardsCWA Diamond DaggerWonLondon RulesUSC Scripter AwardsShortlisted2026British Book AwardsAuthor of the YearClown TownBarry AwardBest ThrillerPendingMacavity AwardsBest Mystery NovelPending
Personal life Herron lives in Oxford, England. His partner is Jo Howard, a recruiter in the publishing industry and leadership development consultant.
References
External links
"Mick Herron interview" by Shane Whaley – Spybrary "The dark(ly comic) side of MI5" by: Jim Sullivan – Profile "Mick Herron: Slow Horses" – BBC Radio 4 Bookclub