I'd read the three John Bachelor stories as they were released as individual publications, but I enjoyed the additional stories included here, particularly the one that delves a bit into Jackson Lamb's backstory running agents during the Cold War ("The Last Dead Letter"). The title story is described by the publisher as a "Christmas interlude," never before published, which showcases the humor of Roddy Ho's character in his interactions with Lamb, as well as another glimpse into Lamb's and archivist Molly Doran's history. I'll read anything Mick Herron writes, he's that good!

Five stories make up this collection of shorts set in the Slough House universe. The first three (The List, The Marylebone Drop, and The Catch) all feature John Bachelor, a "milkman" who keeps tabs on retired/disabled spies on a regular basis. John is spiraling down but manages to recruit a spy who may or may not be a double agent. He provides a different perspective on espionage activities than normally shown. The last two stories (The Last Dead Letter and Standing by the Wall) involve Molly Doran and Lamb in stand-offs over past events. If you are interested in the Slough House version of MI-6, you will enjoy these tales. But these are not the place to begin reading this series.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The author has written a whole series of novels centered on Slough House, part of the British spy agency MI6. Most of the novellas in this collection are related to each other so in some respects this reads like a single novel. The author is not quite as good a Lecarre; but pretty close.

I’m a huge fan of the Slough House series, these novellas were a bit of a pale version of the big sprawling plots and the widely imaginative action of the full length novels.. There was one bit of cheering news for future developments but to say more would be a spoiler.