Brad Thor

Brad Thor is an American thriller writer and creator of the Scot Harvath series — twenty-plus novels following a former Navy SEAL turned intelligence operative that have made him one of the most consistently bestselling authors in the action-thriller genre.

Brad Thor is the author of the Scot Harvath series — a sequence of more than twenty political thrillers following Scot Harvath, a former Navy SEAL who becomes one of America’s most capable and most unofficial intelligence operatives. The series has produced multiple number-one New York Times bestsellers and has been compared frequently to the work of Vince Flynn (the Mitch Rapp series) and Tom Clancy.

The Scot Harvath series begins with The Lions of Lucerne (2002), in which Secret Service agent Harvath survives a coordinated attack that results in the kidnapping of the President of the United States. The novel established the series formula: high-stakes threats at the highest levels of government, official channels that are inadequate or compromised, and one operative who can accomplish what institutions cannot.

Thor’s background includes time spent with the US Secret Service’s Presidential Protective Division for research purposes, which contributes to the procedural authority that distinguishes his fiction. His books regularly incorporate contemporary geopolitical events and technology — each novel is typically set in the near-present and reflects current intelligence and military realities.

The series’ full reading order:

1. The Lions of Lucerne (2002)
2. Path of the Assassin (2003)
3. State of the Union (2004)
4. Blowback (2005)
5. Takedown (2006)
6. The First Commandment (2007)
7. The Last Patriot (2008)
8. The Apostle (2009)
9. Foreign Influence (2010)
10. The Athena Project (2011) — spin-off
11. Full Black (2011)
12. Black List (2012)
13. Hidden Order (2013)
14. Act of War (2014)
15. Code of Conduct (2015)
16. Foreign Agent (2016)
17. Use of Force (2017)
18. Spymaster (2018)
19. Backlash (2019)
20. Near Dark (2020) — ITW Thriller of the Year
21. Black Ice (2022)
22. Dead Fall (2023)
23. shadow of doubt (2024)

Thor’s books are consistently on the New York Times bestseller list in the week of publication. The series is available in both print and digital formats, with audiobook versions narrated by Armand Schultz (the definitive version for most fans).