Mark Greaney’s The Gray Man series has become synonymous with pulse-pounding action and complex characters. Within these pages, readers are immersed in the shadowy world of espionage and assassination. Our relentless protagonist, Court Gentry, navigates through a web of danger and deception, making for bite-your-nails suspense each time. While some of the action and mystery were covered in Netflix’s commercially successful The Gray Man, the books hold so much more. So whether you’re a seasoned fan, or the Netflix film has you yearning for the source material ahead of the sequel, here are all The Gray Man books to add to your reading list, as well as some essential reads in the franchise with an extra kick.
• The Gray Man (2009)
• On Target (2010)
• Ballistic (2011)
• Dead Eye (2013)
• Back Blast (2016)
• Gunmetal Gray (2017)
• Agent in Place (2018)
• Mission Critical (2019)
• One Minute Out (2020)
• Relentless (2021)
• Sierra Six (2022)
• Burner (2023)
• The Chaos Agent (2024)
The Gray Man (2009)
The book that started it all, The Gray Man introduces readers to Court Gentry, a former CIA operative turned assassin. When Gentry is believed to have outlived his usefulness and is targeted by his own government, he must use all his training and expertise to survive. This fast-paced thriller sets the stage for the rest of the series and establishes Gentry as a compelling and complex protagonist.
On Target (2010)
In On Target, Gentry finds himself caught in the crosshairs of a powerful and ruthless adversary. When an old comrade Gentry had thought was dead comes back to haunt him, he is forced to make a dangerous decision— reunite with the CIA team that turned on him. With non-stop action and heart-pounding suspense, this book highlights Greaney’s skill at crafting gripping thrillers.
Gunmetal Gray (2017)
In Gunmetal Gray, Court Gentry is tasked with a seemingly impossible mission— to track down Fan Jiang, a former member of a covert computer warfare division, tasked with evaluating the security systems of China. Gentry must find him and extract whatever information he has before Fan is killed. As Gentry navigates the dangerous world of cyber warfare, he must outwit his enemies and stay one step ahead.
One Minute Out (2020)
The ninth installment of the book series finds Court Gentry on a mission in Croatia. There, he stumbles upon a human trafficking operation with unexpected connections reaching back to Hollywood. Despite his determination to dismantle the operation, his CIA handlers have alternative objectives. While the criminal mastermind behind the trafficking has crucial information about a potential terrorist attack on the US, the CIA is reluctant to make a move until they secure this vital intelligence.
Dead Eye (2013)
In Dead Eye, Court Gentry is forced to face off against the shadowy organization from his past. After being trained by the organization to keep his identity secret, a fatal mistake has left him exposed. Now, the organization has sent another student, code-named Dead Eye, to find, and end Gentry.
Back Blast (2016)
Back Blast takes Court Gentry back to where it all began— the CIA. Five years ago, Gentry was betrayed, and forced to escape his homeland. This ultimately led to him transforming into the mysterious and lethal mercenary, now known as the Gray Man. To uncover the reasons behind the agency’s betrayal, he sets out to apprehend the individuals responsible for his last mission, Operation BACK BLAST. However, he stumbles upon a clandestine secret that influential figures are determined to conceal.
Burner (2023)
In Burner, Court Gentry and his lover, Zoya Zakharova, are at odds regarding a case. Alex Velesky, an employee of a Swiss bank, pilfered records in the hopes of exposing a criminal conspiracy. However, he inadvertently stumbles upon a vast network of corruption and triggers the Russian mafia and the CIA to come after him. Despite Gentry and Zahharova’s conflicting interests, the immediate concern is survival – for Velesky and themselves.