India, Sept. 22 -- "God," said Jackson Lamb. "Is it me, or did all the fun go out of everything round about 1979?"

It could be a complaint about almost anything. With Jackson Lamb, it usually is. The head of Slough House smokes too much, drinks too much, and regards bathing as an activity for other people. He is rude to his staff, offensive to everyone else, and capable of using flatulence to make a point.

He's also very good at his job.

That is the first thing to know about Slow Horses, Mick Herron's series of spy novels, now better known through the Apple TV+ adaptation starring Gary Oldman. The books follow a group of MI5 agents who have messed up in one way or another and been sent to Slough House, a shabby outpost where careers ar...