The Secret Hours

The enchanting novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Santa Montefiore My curiosity is aroused. I realise, to my shame, that I know nothing about my mother, nothing at all... nothing of her growing up, of the struggles and hardships she endures. I know nothing of her parents, her siblings, and of her home. My mother is gone. And there is no one left to tell her story. Determined to fulfil her mother’s last wish, Faye travels to the picturesque village of Ballinakellyto scatter her ashes on the hills overlooking the sea in a remote corner of Ireland. In searching for answers about her mother’s past, will Faye’s own future become clear? ***PRAISE FOR SANTA MONTEFIORE*** ‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore’ JOJO MOYES ‘An enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments’ DINAH JEFFERIES on Songs of Love and War ‘Santa Montefiore hits the spot for my like few other writers’ SARRA MANNING ‘One of our personal favourites’ THE TIMES on The Last Secret of the Deverills ‘Accomplished and poetic’ Daily Mail ‘Santa Montefiore is a marvel’ Sunday Express

The enchanting novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Santa Montefiore My curiosity is aroused. I realise, to my shame, that I know nothing about my mother, nothing at all... nothing of her growing up, of the struggles and hardships she endures. I know nothing of her parents, her siblings, and of her home. My mother is gone. And there is no one left to tell her story. Determined to fulfil her mother’s last wish, Faye travels to the picturesque village of Ballinakelly to scatter her ashes on the hills overlooking the sea in a remote corner of Ireland. In searching for answers about her mother’s past, will Faye’s own future become clear? ***PRAISE FOR SANTA MONTEFIORE*** ‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore’ JOJO MOYES ‘An enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments’ DINAH JEFFERIES on Songs of Love and War ‘Santa Montefiore hits the spot for my like few other writers’ SARRA MANNING ‘One of our personal favourites’ THE TIMES on The Last Secret of the Deverills ‘Accomplished and poetic’ Daily Mail ‘Santa Montefiore is a marvel’ Sunday Express

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* *A 'Book of the Year' in The Times, Sunday Times, Guardian, Observer, Daily Telegraph, Spectator, Sunday Express, TLS, Irish Times * 'Pure class' Ian Rankin 'Pitch-perfect' Lee Child 'A powerful standalone spy thriller from a true contemporary master' Daily Telegraph Trying to investigate the Secret Service is like trying to get rid of the stink of dead badger. Hard. For two years the government's Monochrome inquiry has produced nothing more than a series of dead ends. The Service has kept what happened in the newly reunified Berlin under wraps for decades, and intends for it to stay that way. But then the OTIS file turns up. What classified secrets does it hold? And what damage will it create? All Max Janácek knows is that someone is chasing him through the pitch-dark country lanes and they want him gone. WE ALL HAVE JOBS TO DO IN THE DAYLIGHT. IT'S WHAT YOU DO IN THE SECRET HOURS THAT REVEALS WHO YOU REALLY ARE. 'Wonderful . . . high action, a spinning moral compass, and hidden motives on every page' Michael Connelly *Mick Herron's The Secret Hours was a Sunday Times Number Four bestseller in hardback in the second week of September 2023

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* *A 'Book of the Year' in The Times, Sunday Times, Guardian, Observer, Daily Telegraph, Spectator, Sunday Express, TLS, Irish Times * 'Pure class' Ian Rankin 'Pitch-perfect' Lee Child 'A powerful standalone spy thriller from a true contemporary master' Daily Telegraph Trying to investigate the Secret Service is like trying to get rid of the stink of dead badger. Hard. For two years the government's Monochrome inquiry has produced nothing more than a series of dead ends. The Service has kept what happened in the newly reunified Berlin under wraps for decades, and intends for it to stay that way. But then the OTIS file turns up. What classified secrets does it hold? And what damage will it create? All Max Janácek knows is that someone is chasing him through the pitch-dark country lanes and they want him gone. WE ALL HAVE JOBS TO DO IN THE DAYLIGHT. IT'S WHAT YOU DO IN THE SECRET HOURS THAT REVEALS WHO YOU REALLY ARE. 'Wonderful . . . high action, a spinning moral compass, and hidden motives on every page' Michael Connelly *Mick Herron's The Secret Hours was a Sunday Times Number Four bestseller in hardback in the second week of September 2023

An Instant Sunday Times Bestseller *A gripping standalone thriller with a riveting reveal about a disastrous MI5 mission in Cold War Berlin - a dazzling entry-point to Mick Herron's writing and an unmissable read for Slough House fans.* A BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime 'I doubt I'll read a more enjoyable novel all year' Paula Hawkins 'Pitch-perfect' Lee Child 'Terrific' The Times 'Never has a work of popular fiction delighted me more' The Spectator 'A modern rival to Ian Fleming and John le Carré' Sunday Times 'One of his best books yet' Daily Telegraph Two years ago, the Monochrome inquiry was set up to investigate the British secret service. Monochrome's mission was to ferret out misconduct, allowing the civil servants seconded to the inquiry, Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, unfettered access to confidential information in the service archives. But with progress blocked at every turn, Monochrome is circling the drain . . . Until the OTIS file appears out of nowhere. What classified secrets does OTIS hold that see a long-redundant spy being chased through Devon's green lanes in the dark? What happened in a newly reunified Berlin that someone is desperate to keep under wraps? And who will win the battle for the soul of the secret service - or was that decided a long time ago? Spies and pen-pushers, politicians and PAs, high-flyers, time-servers and burn-outs . . . They all have jobs to do in the daylight. But what they do in the secret hours reveals who they really are.

An Instant Sunday Times Bestseller *A gripping standalone thriller with a riveting reveal about a disastrous MI5 mission in Cold War Berlin - a dazzling entry-point to Mick Herron's writing and an unmissable read for Slough House fans.* A BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime 'I doubt I'll read a more enjoyable novel all year' Paula Hawkins 'Pitch-perfect' Lee Child 'Terrific' The Times 'Never has a work of popular fiction delighted me more' The Spectator 'A modern rival to Ian Fleming and John le Carré' Sunday Times 'One of his best books yet' Daily Telegraph Two years ago, the Monochrome inquiry was set up to investigate the British secret service. Monochrome's mission was to ferret out misconduct, allowing the civil servants seconded to the inquiry, Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, unfettered access to confidential information in the service archives. But with progress blocked at every turn, Monochrome is circling the drain . . . Until the OTIS file appears out of nowhere. What classified secrets does OTIS hold that see a long-redundant spy being chased through Devon's green lanes in the dark? What happened in a newly reunified Berlin that someone is desperate to keep under wraps? And who will win the battle for the soul of the secret service - or was that decided a long time ago? Spies and pen-pushers, politicians and PAs, high-flyers, time-servers and burn-outs . . . They all have jobs to do in the daylight. But what they do in the secret hours reveals who they really are.