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Derek Vesper Books in Order

Part ofJack Mars Books in Order

Explore the Derek Vesper series by Jack Mars, with books in order, short summaries, and background on its lead character and international missions.

Last updated:

Coming soonNext book: Lethal Reckoning (2027) · Pre-order on Amazon

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Derek Vesper books in publication order

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12 books

1
New

Lethal Command

by Jack Mars

2026

Derek Vesper attempts to extract a North Korean defector across the fortified border, using trucks and trains to evade advancing enemies. The escape carries them through hostile terrain toward the Yellow Sea, where freedom remains far from certain.

2
New

Lethal Deception

by Jack Mars

2026

A motorcycle courier network moves a biological weapon through Southeast Asia faster than intelligence agencies can track it. Riding a modified street bike, Derek Vesper pursues the shifting target through crowded streets, knowing one missed handoff could prove catastrophic.

3
New

Lethal Force

by Jack Mars

2026

CIA agent Alexis Frost is forced into the Monaco Grand Prix with explosives attached to her car. Former racing driver and covert operative Derek Vesper enters the competition to save her, turning a glamorous event into a deadly rescue.

4
New

Lethal Gambit

by Jack Mars

2026

Pursuing an assassin aboard a concealed luxury yacht, Derek Vesper loses his advantage when a storm overtakes the chase. An experimental hydrofoil board becomes his means of navigating dangerous waters and approaching an island fortress guarded by armed patrols.

5
New

Lethal Judgment

by Jack Mars

2026

A Swiss resort intelligence exchange turns deadly when an avalanche covers a target’s escape. Derek Vesper pursues on tactical skis, with armed snowmobile teams behind him and a dangerous chasm threatening his last chance to recover crucial information.

6
New

Lethal Justice

by Jack Mars

2026

Derek Vesper poses as chauffeur to a scientist whose encryption breakthrough has made her a target across Europe. In Barcelona, his armed sedan becomes a defensive lifeline as an adversary from his past turns the streets into a battlefield.

7
New

Lethal Mission

by Jack Mars

2026

Derek Vesper and Alexis Frost are betrayed during a data extraction at an Arctic facility. Fleeing on snowmobiles across frozen fjords, they must survive pursuing killers while uncovering the agency insider who has turned their mission against them.

8
New

Lethal Precision

by Jack Mars

2026

Derek Vesper infiltrates a luxury train used by a Balkan syndicate to transport stolen antiquities and weapons. When hijackers seize its engine, his disguise as an engineer leaves him battling for control as the train races through the Alps.

9
New

Lethal Strike

by Jack Mars

2026

A sabotaged freighter carrying experimental weapons speeds toward America’s Eastern Seaboard, leaving Derek Vesper to pursue it through hurricane waters. Failed communications and closing mercenaries complicate his attempt to board the vessel and prevent a disastrous arrival.

10
New

Lethal Target

by Jack Mars

2026

An oligarch’s missing daughter leads Derek Vesper from Dubai into a deadly desert motorcycle circuit. To reach her, he enters a brutal three-day race across the Empty Quarter, where speed and survival become inseparable parts of the rescue.

11
New

Lethal Terrain

by Jack Mars

2026

Derek Vesper investigates a silent deep-sea research station and finds terrorists preparing an artificial tsunami. Trapped beneath the surface in a miniature submarine, he must stop them while communications are blocked and his remaining oxygen steadily runs out.

12
Coming Soon

Lethal Reckoning

by Jack Mars

2027

A militia steals experimental jetpacks to attack a G20 summit near the Australian Outback. Derek Vesper infiltrates their operation, then must master unfamiliar propulsion equipment during an aerial pursuit before mechanical failure or the attackers bring catastrophe.

Series background & context

Derek Vesper combines two kinds of experience that rarely belong to the same thriller hero: he is a former Army Ranger and an ex-NASCAR driver. Jack Mars uses that background for covert missions in which movement, speed, and the ability to handle unfamiliar danger are central to survival. Presumed killed in a firefight, Vesper works secretly for the government outside ordinary protocol. His assignments take him into situations where the means of reaching a target can be as difficult as dealing with the enemy once he arrives.

Being officially dead gives him a different kind of freedom to operate.

Lethal Force begins with CIA agent Alexis Frost compromised and placed in a car rigged with explosives during the Monaco Grand Prix. Vesper's response requires him to enter the race himself. A public sporting event becomes the setting for an operation whose danger is concealed within the competition. His racing experience has an immediate purpose, but keeping up with another vehicle is only part of the problem. He must find a way to intervene while speed and the threat to Frost limit the time available for any decision.

Lethal Strike changes the surface beneath him. A sabotaged cargo ship carrying experimental weapons is heading toward America's Eastern Seaboard, forcing Vesper into a pursuit through hurricane conditions. Communications problems and mercenaries add threats beyond the weather. The assignment combines a dangerous destination with a difficult approach, making the journey itself part of the crisis. It also shows how the series extends the character's ability beyond racing: his military experience must support decisions in environments where a familiar driving skill cannot solve everything.

The shared premise puts an emphasis on improvisation. Vesper's status and unusual background allow him to take on work that falls outside standard procedures, but they do not remove physical limits or the consequences of a failed attempt. Racing circuits and storm-driven waters create different hazards, each narrowing his choices in its own way. The series connects those settings through a protagonist trained to act while conditions change around him. The action depends on both recognizing a threat and finding a workable way to reach it.

Start with Lethal Force and continue with Lethal Strike and the later entries in order. Expect international action thrillers with covert government missions and set pieces built around vehicles, dangerous terrain, and limited time. Vesper's combination of combat training and racing experience gives the series its central distinction. The continuing interest lies in how he adapts those abilities when the next assignment demands a method that ordinary plans and official procedures cannot readily provide.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shape MRB and its growth.

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