A moribund, hamstrung, dead-on-its-feet inquiry into secret service wrongdoing is about to be put out of its misery when a bona-fide file about old school espionage dirty deeds lands on its lap. The events take place in 90s Berlin, but the consequences might affect the future of the Park as it tries to keep itself together in crumbling Brexit Britian. Great stuff, adjacent to but not directly part of the Slough House series (Standing By The Wall is a prequel Slough House story in the collection of the same name), it's a picture of a beaureaucracy of accountability as stagnant as the country's own finances which are being gradually broken down and scavenged and ultimately discarded. The cyncism and betrayals of the spy game at their most ruthless seem almost decent and honourable and patriotic set beside the heedless looting of the public purse. A great read, but a dark vision.