Looking for a thriller or crime novel? Check out Tom Clancy’s collaborator and co-author, Mark Greaney’s series.

How to read Mark Greaney's books in order

Best known as Tom Clancy’s co-author on his last few books, Mark Greaney is an American author who mainly focuses on the thriller genre. After Clancy died in 2013, Greaney continued his Jack Ryan series and the universe set up in the books. Nevertheless, he is a standalone writer too. His Gray Man books have garnered lots of fans, which ultimately lead to Netflix adapting the story into a full feature film starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans.

Mark Greaney’s background

Mark Greaney comes from Memphis, Tennessee, and is versed in international relations and political science. He is married to his wife Alisson with whom he resides in Memphis. In his youth, he worked as a waiter but later joined a tech company. During his spare time, he would write and would finally give an excerpt of his novel to Scott Miller, Ralph Peter’s agent. The book was Goon Squad, which Miller liked, but didn’t find commercial potential in it, urging him to write a new piece based on one of the characters. The character was Court Gentry, and his standalone book turned out to be The Gray Man. The success of the book led Greaney to quit his job and focus on writing full-time. After several years of success, Mark Greaney teamed up with his idol Tom Clancy, who was looking for a co-author. Through a couple of connections, he contacted Clancy and finally got the job. Together they have co-authored three novels, Locked On, Threat Vector, and Command Authority. With the family’s permission, Greaney continues to write the Jack Ryan universe to this day.

The Gray Man series order

In the following, let’s look at The Gray Man novels in order.

The Gray Man (2009)

In his first book, The Gray Man, Greaney delivers a fast-paced and exciting thriller. The plot revolves around Court Gentry, AKA The Gray Man, who is an ex-CIA agent but now works as an elite assassin. After turning up in the Middle East to do a job, he finds out that the team sent to get him out has his name on their kill list.

On Target (2010)

It has been four years since Gentry’s handlers at the CIA betrayed him. Now, he no longer works with them—he’s a hired killer. However, his life is on the line once again after his old colleague, who Gentry presumed was dead, returns to haunt him.

Ballistic (2011)

No matter how fast you run, your past always catches up with you. At least, that’s what Court Gentry finds out in Ballistic, Mark Greaney’s third novel in the series. The Gray Man is hiding in the Amazon forest with a vengeful Russian mobster out to get him. Will he make it?

Dead Eye (2013)

What makes Court Gentry such a professional is his ability to disappear without a trace and do his work under the radar. However, after tracing his former colleague who betrayed him, he exposes himself to a conspiracy much larger than he could believe at first.

Back Blast (2016)

It’s been some time since Court Gentry left America, fleeing to safety. Ever since that, he’s been working in the shadows. Nevertheless, he’s still determined to find out why his commander-in-chief sold him out, so he goes out for the men who sent him on his last mission—Operation Back Blast.

Gunmetal Gray (2017)

In Mark Greaney’s sixth Gray Man book, Court Gentry is back at the Central Intelligence Agency. His first job for the CIA after five years is to track down a dangerous hacker believed to work for the Chinese military.

Agent in Place (2018)

In Agent in Place, Court Gentry takes up a job for a group of French intelligence officers. They ask him to kidnap the wife of the Syrian dictator so that they can use her to bring him down from power. However, Gentry soon finds out that things aren’t as simple as he first thought.

Mission Critical (2019)

Working at full force and effect for the CIA once again, Court Gentry is back in Mark Greaney’s eighth Gray Man novel, another in his long New York Times bestselling run. In Mission Critical, he’s out to stop a biological attack at an international summit in Scotland.

One Minute Out (2020)

Once again, the Gray Man is a freelance killer. He’s no longer working for the CIA. As such, he is hired to take out Ratko Babić, a Bosnian general. Yet, after entering his house, Gentry discovers that the general is no longer warring but involved in a sex trafficking ring.

Relentless (2021)

In 2021’s Relentless, Court Gentry must reach an intelligence officer who appears in Venezuela after a string of disappearances. But little does he know that he isn’t the only one looking for his colleague. A group of assassins is also after him.

Sierra Six (2022)

While on his latest mission, the Gray Man comes across an old foe presumed dead. However, it appears that the dead man is more energetic than possible. As such, Court Gentry must track him down again, as it’s not in his nature to leave jobs undone.

Burner (2023)

After Alex Velesky steals records from a Swiss bank, he becomes the target of both the Russian mafia and the CIA. This means that Court Gentry and his one-and-off lover, Zoya Zakharova, will cross paths again. Only this time, it won’t be because of love.

Jack Ryan Series (with Tom Clancy) in order

Besides his book series on Court Gentry, Mark Greaney also collaborated with the late great author Tom Clancy and his Jack Ryan novels.

Locked On (2011)

While Jack Ryan Jr is training with the special forces and hunting down dangerous criminals and terrorists, his father, Jack Ryan Sr, is actively campaigning to become the President of the United States. Can they both succeed at two separate yet both dangerous games?

Threat Vector (2012)

A direct sequel to Locked On, Threat Vector is all about keeping the peace. Namely, Jack Ryan and the service must prevent all-out war as the Chinese are trying to secure the waters of the South Chinese Sea.

Command Authority (2013)

With Russia having a new strong leader, Jack Ryan mustn’t lose his ground in front of him. The key is the Russian’s dark secret that Ryan is fully aware of, which takes them both back a couple of decades ago.

Joshua Duffy series

In 2022, Mark Greaney gave us another legendary character, Joshua Duffy. His tale in Armored will soon have a big-budget Hollywood adaptation with Michael Bay directing.

Armored (2022)

Armored is Mark Greaney’s exclusive audiobook that came out in 2022. It follows Joshua Duffy as he’s on a mission to secure peace between the bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartel and the rest of the world in the mountains of Sierra Madre.

Standalone Novel

Red Metal (2019) (with H Ripley Rawlings IV)

In Red Metal, the Kremlin is desperate. It takes advantage of a crisis in Asia to go all-out warring against Western Europe while also securing tons of rare minerals in Africa. With this mineral, they will have a monopoly on the world’s hi-tech industry for decades to come.

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