Standing By The Wall is a collection of five short story/novellas in the Slough House/Jackson Lamb series by award-winning British author, Mick Herron.

The List sits between Dead Lions and Real Tigers. John Bachelor does the milk run: he looks after those assets no longer active, retired spooks who have come in from the cold but might still have sensitive information in their possession. “…his role was to make sure they suffered no unwelcome intrusions, no mysterious clicks on the landline; above all, that they weren’t developing a tendency to broadcast the details of their lives to anyone who cared to listen. It sometimes amused Bachelor, sometimes depressed him, that he worked for the secret service in an era where half the population aired its private life on the web. He wasn’t sure the Cold War had been preferable, but it had been more dignified”

One of his assets, Dieter Hess has died of natural causes, but now Regent’s Park has uncovered a bank account that no one knows about, and that needs a closer look. Eventually, Bachelor finds a hand-written coded list that might offer a clue as to what Hess was up to, and whether he was a double agent.

Even Jackson Lamb’s almost cameo appearance in this small but excellent dose of Slough House confirms his “canny but obnoxious” description. It also introduces J K Coe, who joins the Slough House crew in a later book. The Kindle version also has a preview of another Herron book, Nobody Walks. Clever and funny and worth the cash outlay.

The Drop aka The Marylebone Drop sits between London Rules and Joe Country. Solomon Dortmund is an ageing asset, but he hasn’t lost his ability to spot a spook. And in the Fischer café in Marylebone High Street, while enjoying a divine hot chocolate, he sees a drop taking place. He gives all the details to his minder, John Bachelor. But Bachelor’s a bit distracted right now. Meanwhile, Bachelor’s one recruitment success, Hannah Weiss will soon be moved to a position where she will be more useful to Regent’s Park (and maybe the BND too?) at the Brexit Secretary’s office.

Once again, the characters are all credibly flawed (Lady Di excels in nastiness, Jackson Lamb being absent from this one), their dialogue is full of dry wit, and there is humour, and a twist or two for good measure. Herron’s last Slough House novella introduced the reader to J.K.Coe before his proper debut in Spook Street. This one sees a spook attract the wrong sort of notice from the wrong sort of people, ensuring a new face at Slough House in the next full-length novel. It’s short, very true, just over 100 pages, but it’s something to tide the reader over until Jackson Lamb 6 comes out: an excellent little dose of British spies, Herron style.

The Last Dead Letter sits between Joe Country and Slough House. When Molly Doran demands Jackson Lamb’s attendance, he obeys: she is, after all the Queen of the Archives. Molly relates a story about a Berlin operative during the cold war who falls in love, and requires Jackson to fill in certain blanks. A crumb of insight into the enigmatic Jackson Lamb.

The Catch sits between Joe Country and Slough House. A “retirement needs evaluation counsellor” is how John Bachelor refers to himself. But to the suits at Regent’s Park, he’s a milkman: “a term of contempt, of course. Agents were joes; desk jockeys were suits. They were different ways of fighting the same battles, and while each had been known to look down on the other, like characters inhabiting the same Escher staircase, they shared a commonality neither would deny; a sense of purpose. A milkman, though, had failed to make a mark in either endeavour, and could be trusted to do no more than his weekly round: touching base with the pensioners and the walking wounded; those who’d served behind whatever lines had been drawn in their day, and now required support in their evening. Not that all were elderly, or, if the truth mattered, entirely honourable.”

Lately, though, he’s been a bit distracted, what with being divorced, then homeless and taking a cut in hours and pay. No one could blame him for taking advantage of Solly Dortmund’s empty apartment, surely. But now the Park needs to locate one of their retired assets, and Bachelor is meant to know where he is. Two years ago, Benny Manors had had no intention of checking in with Bachelor once a month… Why does Benny need to be found? Another excellent little dose of spy fiction from Mick Herron, showing Di Taverner at her nasty best: twisty and very topical.

Standing By The Wall sits between Bad Actors and the ninth novel in the series. Late in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and as fans impatiently await the ninth full-length Slough House novel, Mick Herron checks us in with the slow horses, and drops a hint about that next book...

As Shirley, Lech and Louisa argue about the best place to go for drinks, a visiting, still-on-sick-leave-for-a-month River, whose recovery from Novichok poisoning is much slower than he’d hoped, promises to join them later. Catherine Standish has observed Lamb’s strange mood since the receipt of an envelope from Molly Doran and warns River off poking his head in.

Roddy Ho, self-importance intact despite Lamb’s insults, is summoned, with a nod to the season: Ho! … Ho! … HO!! by Lamb sounding like an angry Santa. Ho’s digital expertise is required to doctor a black-and-white photo of three figures standing by the wall.

Despite the mood, Lamb is in fine form:
“Are you still here?”
“I was asking if you wanted more tea.”
“Well don’t talk to me when I’m not listening. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.”
A delightful Christmas flavoured morsel of Slough House.