Summer is the perfect time to step away from the telly and reconnect with the power of the printed – or digital – page. Books can offer our screen-frazzled brains a respite, a deeper dive into the hot themes of the moment. But what book to choose? From a Slow Horses-style tale of an unlikely agent, to a simmering dynastic feud to substitute for Succession, here’s our guide to the best literary alternatives to the most bingeable shows.
Slow Horses (Apple TV+) /East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman
On the face of it, the protagonist of Rahman’s spy series, 30-year-old Javid (Jay) Qasim has little in common with the dysfunctional pen-pushers of Slough House – who first appeared in Mick Herron’s book series before being adapted to TV. A BMW-driving dope dealer who still lives with his mum, Jay is flashier but every bit as flawed as the reject spies. When he gets on the wrong side of a local drug baron, MI5 approaches him with a way out – going undercover to infiltrate a potential terrorist cell.
