The Drop cover art

The Drop

A Slough House Novella 1

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The Drop

By: Mick Herron
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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About this listen

 A Slough House novella from the 'John le Carré of our generation'

Old spooks carry the memory of tradecraft in their bones, and when Solomon Dortmund sees an envelope being passed from one pair of hands to another in a Marylebone café, he knows he's witnessed more than an innocent encounter. But in relaying his suspicions to John Bachelor, who babysits retired spies like Solly, he sets in train events which will alter lives. Bachelor himself, a hair's breadth away from sleeping in his car, is clawing his way back to stability; Hannah Weiss, the double agent whose recruitment was his only success, is starting to enjoy the secrets and lies her role demands; and Lech Wicinski, an Intelligence Service analyst, finds that a simple favour for an old acquaintance might derail his career. Meanwhile, Lady Di Taverner is trying to keep the Service on an even keel, and if that means throwing the odd crew member overboard, well: collateral damage is her speciality.
A drop, in spook parlance, is the passing on of secret information.

It's also what happens just before you hit the ground.

(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Crime Thrillers Espionage Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Thriller Crime Fiction

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Critic reviews

Adroit miniaturisation of its author's world, this festive fan treat has a claim to be the first post-Brexit thriller
A Christmas treat . . . A wry and elegant novella about what happens to redundant spooks
Beautifully modulated prose and outrageous jokes
The Drop becomes part of the growing library of the Slough House series chronicling the wonderful team of spy incompetents
Brevity is the soul of wit, and Mick Herron's The Drop is brief and witty . . . the qualities that have won him so many awards are fully in place . . . Herron's inventiveness leaps from every page
Herron is a master of subtle wit and satire, intricately weaving an impressive amount of detail into a short story. The Drop is also timely, set against the backdrop of looming Brexit and a changing security situation that could turn services that are currently "friendly" against each other. For Herron's fans this is a welcome snack between meals as they eagerly await the sixth novel in the series next year, while new readers can enjoy a taste of why he is rightly touted as one of the best thriller writers in Britain today
Darkly funny, beautifully written
A worthy follow up to Herron's previous novella The List. Herron seems to take great delight in putting his creations through the ringer for our reading pleasure
A real nugget of spy fiction
Mick Herron's innumerable fans, longing for the next instalment of the Slough House series featuring Jackson Lamb and his army of wounded, ungovernable, weirdly brilliant outcasts, will fall on this stylish novella with delight . . . A short but delightful treat for a dark winter's evening
All stars
Most relevant
This is not actually a Slough House novel (it can't be without the incomparable Jackson Lamb in it) but Spook Street Evil Queen Lady Di and the hapless old asset babysitter John Bachelor are at the centre of a nasty little scrabble around 'Snow White' with undeserving winners and losers all round. If this is how MI5 is really run then heaven help us all. I prefer to see it as gorgeously entertaining fiction that whets the appetite for the next full blown Slough House banquet.

An Entertaining Amuse - Bouche

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A prep for the next Jackson Lambe book. Introducing a new part of the tale and the next member of the slow horses. Full of the wit and observation that has lured readers along this spectacular series. While short , it is as entertaining as the previous books and renews the readers thirst for more. looking forward to the next novel. This writer never disappoints.

keep them coming Mick

Great writer and master storyteller

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Missed Jackson Lamb but it appears we will have a new slow horse for him to abuse.

Contrived but cleverly so.

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These Slough House novellas give amusing insights to new characters, enhancing the main series' stories.

Story infill

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Beautifully read , another superb listen . Will start the next immediately , can’t wait for more in this series

Beguiling and absorbing

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