What book is Slow Horses based on?
Slow Horses, book 1 of Slough House, by Mick Herron.
The book behind Slow Horses
Slow Horses
2010 · book 1 of Slough House · by Mick Herron
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Should you read it first?
Read it before season 1 if you want the story on the page first. Season 1 takes its title from the book, so the two are easy to compare as you go.
Book vs series
- Season 6 is the only season so far to adapt two novels, Joe Country and Slough House.
- Unlike the books, the show does not rely on narration, and season 1 hints at Jackson Lamb's past.
- On screen, David Cartwright's dementia becomes a season 2 storyline; in the books it surfaces more clearly in Joe Country.
Show the big differences (spoilers)
In the novel, Lamb and Cartwright break into MI5 headquarters to confront Taverner, and Hassan escapes into a forest and is rescued by police.
Which book is each season based on?
| Season | Book |
|---|---|
| Season 1 (2022) | Slow Horses · first novel |
| Season 2 (2022) | Dead Lions · second novel |
| Season 3 (2023) | Real Tigers · third novel |
| Season 4 (2024) | Spook Street · fourth novel |
| Season 5 (2025) | London Rules · fifth novel |
| Season 6 (2026) | Joe Country · adapts Joe Country and Slough House together |
| Season 7 | Bad Actors · renewed July 2025; no premiere date found |
| Season 8 | Clown Town · renewed September 2026; no premiere date found |
What to read next
Dead Lions (2013). Season 2 adapts it, and it is the next novel in the series.
Slough House in order
- 1Slow Horses 2010
- 2Dead Lions 2013
- 3Real Tigers 2016
- 4Spook Street 2017
- 5London Rules 2018
- 6Joe Country 2019
- 7Slough House 2021
- 8Bad Actors 2022
- 9Clown Town 2025