Shirley Dander and Marcus Longridge are the odd couple, though they’re not even a couple. She was in comms at The Park before she laid out a co-worker, and also has addiction issues. He used to break down doors and carry a gun before his gambling problems compromised him.

Kearney, meanwhile, has her hands full with the new home secretary, Peter Judd (a fantastic fictional creation that is so obviously meant to be Boris Johnson that Herron hasn’t so much nailed Johnson as crucified him to the wall), whose ambitions lie at 10 Downing Street and who knows having a tame director of MI5 will give him an edge. In 1876, professor Edward Cope takes a group of students to the unforgiving American West to hunt for dinosaur fossils, and they make a tremendous discovery. I’ve taken the liberty.” Which sounded like a bullet-point summary of his Home Office tenure to date, but was in fact a reference to the tea tray on a nearby table. Satire, verbal sparring and gunfights are deftly combined in a excellently written novel permeated by Herron’s sly, dry and very English sense of humour—rather as if Philip Larkin or Alan Bennett had had a go at spy fiction.” Catherine Standish is Lamb’s assistant, and a recovering alcoholic. She used to assist Charles Partner, who was First Desk at Regents Park until his suicide – something it’s rumoured Lamb might have had a hand in arranging. Partner had been selling secrets to the Russians.

1. Tigers have been around for quite a while

A]tour de force, in which virtually every single player—good guys, bad guys, all the turncoats and in-betweeners—is somehow connected to British Intelligence.” I’m not normally one for visual comedy, but Herron sets up some hilariously farcical scenes in this instalment. These laugh-out-loud moments deepen our connection/engagement with those relegated to Slough House, serving as digestives for the viciousness of both Lamb’s verbal assaults and the swift and violent ends those deemed dispensable meet. Since every tiger has their own pattern on their fur, they are all unique! 9) Today, there are five subspecies of tiger.

The central conceit of the books is that MI5, like any large organisation, needs somewhere to place its most hopeless employees, and this place is Slough House, a building just around the corner from the Barbican Centre. They’re not allowed anywhere near MI5 HQ, which is referred to as Regent’s Park although the organisation is no longer based there. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.In the dilapidated offices of Slough House, these files spooks spend their time on various pointless tasks, designed to break their will and bring about their resignations, avoiding the hassle, expense and bad publicity of employment tribunals. One of the first things to appreciate is that each novel is an underdog story – a group of individuals, under-qualified and under-resourced, who have to beat their better-off cousins at The Park to save the day. SO when they want to be heard, you’ll know about it, gang! 6) At full speed, tigers can reach up to 65km/h. Sadly, hunting and habitat loss have put populations at risk, and today their range has been reduced to around 7% of its former size. That’s why we need to do all we can to protect these beautiful beasts! Funny, clever . . . Genuinely thrilling. The novel is equally noteworthy for its often lyrical prose.” Masterful . . .Deliciously tongue-in-cheek and with a strikingly serpentine construction, it is a thriller that moves Herron close to the class of Graham Greene.”

Why all the food metaphors? No reason – there is minimal discussion of food in this novel, more of tea and alcohol. But what Real Tigers does have in spades is intrigue, suspense, humour and bite. The best Herron novel I’ve read yet. Fossil remains of tigers found in parts of China are believed to be 2 million years old. Yikes! 8) No two tigers have the same stripes. These subspecies are the Bengal tiger, South China tiger, Indochinese tiger, Sumatran tiger and Amur tiger (also known as Siberian tiger). Sadly, three subspecies of tiger have become extinct – the Caspian, Bali and Javan. 10) Less than 100 years ago, tigers could be found throughout Asia.

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It is impossible not to be impressed by Herron’s use of language . . . A thoroughly entertaining tale.” Even readers who don’t care for the endless bureaucratic infighting will have to admire this tour de force, in which virtually every single player—good guys, bad guys, all the turncoats and in-betweeners—is somehow connected to British Intelligence. The abduction of one of their own rouses the members of MI5’s dead-end Slough House ( Dead Lions, 2013, etc.) to action once more. The Slough House series is] among the finest British spy fiction of the past 20 years . . . Real Tigers sees them dragged center stage when the kidnap of Lamb’s assistant sets into motion a narrative of breathtaking ingenuity. Brilliant.” Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.