When I first discovered Mick Herron’s ‘Slough House’ series of books, I got completely hooked, and read all six of them in a binge lasting 24 days. And now, like so many other fans of his espionage fiction (often compared — and rightly so — to John LeCarré), I am forced to wait impatiently for the next book to come out.

Fortunately, Herron has written several novellas to fill the gap, and the two included in this volume — and they really are two chapters of the same story — are exactly what those addicted to Jackson Lamb and his motley crew of secret agents need.

There’s a plot twist or two (I won’t give these away) and the book feels very up-to-date, with its references to Brexit. Lamb’s appearances are brief and he’s not the centre of the story, which is fine.

My appetite now whetted, I cannot wait for the 7th full-length novel in the ‘Slough House’ series to appear next month.