Adriana Villa Books in Order

Before she ever worked with Shadow Cell, Adriana Villa headlined her own trilogy of high stakes art capers, often called the War of Thieves books.

Adriana is a master thief with a very particular moral code. She steals paintings and sculptures that were themselves stolen, especially works looted during the Second World War and quietly kept in private collections. Her usual clients are foundations, heirs, and museums that want those pieces back but cannot get them through official legal channels.

At the start of the series, that code is put to the test. A powerful man kidnaps Adriana's father and gives her a brutal choice: use her skills to track down three specific masterpieces for his private hoard, or watch her father die. Each novel focuses on a different painting and a different city, from the canals of Amsterdam to dusty Mexican landscapes and the great galleries of Europe.

Adriana is not alone. A rival thief, Allyson Webster, keeps turning up on the same jobs, working for another shadowy collector with his own agenda. Sometimes they are at each other's throats, sometimes they are forced into uneasy alliances when the only alternative is death. The tension between them, and the question of who will reach each prize first, powers much of the story.

The Adriana Villa books mix heist story pleasures, like disguises, elaborate break-ins, and clever misdirection, with the emotional pull of a daughter fighting to save her family. There are gunfights and close calls, but the real focus is on brains over brute force, and on how far one person will go in a world where art, money, and power are tightly tangled.

Readers who enjoy fast, globe trotting thrillers with a strong, capable female lead will find a lot to like in this corner of Dempsey's universe.