Mick Herron is a British author best known for his Slough House series, a collection of novels centered on MI5 outcasts working in a dingy office named Slough House. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1963, Herron spent his formative years in the Northeast of England. He later attended Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he studied English literature. After graduating, Herron remained in Oxford and worked as an editor for a legal publishing firm.

Herron’s writing career began with standalone mystery novels, including Down Cemetery Road (2003). Herron continued writing crime novels without garnering widespread attention. Herron began to gain international recognition with the publication of Slow Horses (2010), the first book in the Slough House series. The Slough House series revolves around a group of disgraced MI5 agents known as the “slow horses” who are exiled to Slough House after committing career-ending mistakes. Jackson Lamb, the leader of Slough House, is a deeply cynical, abrasive, and seemingly lazy former field agent who, despite his crude personality, displays sharp intelligence and loyalty to his “slow horses.” Lamb’s character encapsulates Herron’s approach to anti-heroism, blending acerbic wit with unexpected layers of depth.