J Robert Kennedy Books in Order
See J Robert Kennedy books in order, with series guides, quick summaries, and where to start across James Acton, Dylan Kane, Delta Force, and more.
Last updated: July 1, 2026
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Publication Order
85 books
The Protocol
by J Robert Kennedy
2010
Archaeology professor James Acton uncovers an artifact tied to the secretive Triarii and becomes prey to both Delta Force and a hidden power network. Students die, allies disappear, and history turns deadly fast.
Brass Monkey
by J Robert Kennedy
2011
When Laura Palmer is caught up in trouble at an Egyptian dig, James Acton races to help and finds a far bigger crisis waiting. A lost weapon and rising sectarian tension threaten to ignite catastrophe.
Depraved Difference
by J Robert Kennedy
2011
A viral video of a subway murder comes back to haunt everyone who watched and did nothing. Reporter Aynslee Kai and detective Hayden Eldridge are pulled into a case where the witnesses become the targets.
Broken Dove
by J Robert Kennedy
2012
An ancient Church secret resurfaces, pulling James Acton and Laura Palmer into a chase built on faith, murder, and buried history. The deeper they dig, the more dangerous the truth becomes.
The Redeemer
by J Robert Kennedy
2012
The case that ruined Detective Shakespeare comes roaring back when the Widow Rapist walks free on a technicality. Shakespeare and Amber Trace have to beat both a killer and would-be vigilantes to justice.
The Templar’s Relic
by J Robert Kennedy
2012
A relic linked to the fall of the Templars sends James Acton into another globe-spanning hunt. If the past really can strike back, the modern Church may be its next target.
The Turned
by J Robert Kennedy
2012
Zander Varga is a vampire, a private detective, and a man still haunted by his wife's murder centuries later. When a missing-person case lands on his desk, revenge has to wait for a threat that smells even worse.
Tick Tock
by J Robert Kennedy
2012
Two apparently separate murders, both ending with bodies in bathtubs, set off a ticking-clock investigation. Justin Shakespeare and Amber Trace chase a killer who may be getting help from inside the house.
Cold Warriors
by J Robert Kennedy
2013
A forgotten Soviet weapon resurfaces, and the only people who understand it may be too old, too scattered, or too broken to help. Dylan Kane has to bring the Cold Warriors back together before a madman strikes.
Containment Failure
by J Robert Kennedy
2013
A threat tied to the Black Death puts Dylan Kane on the trail of a nightmare that could kill billions. Stopping it means moving faster than the people ready to weaponize history.
Flags of Sin
by J Robert Kennedy
2013
James Acton is swept into a crisis that could tip China into chaos. Ancient history and present-day power struggles collide in a fast-moving international thriller.
Rogue Operator
by J Robert Kennedy
2013
A suspicious accident, kidnapped families, and one scientist who may still be alive draw CIA officer Dylan Kane into a conspiracy with terrifying reach. If he cannot stop it, war could be the least of the world's problems.
The Arab Fall
by J Robert Kennedy
2013
A discovery on the scale of Tutankhamun's tomb should change history, not vanish in violence. James Acton and Laura Palmer are thrust into a deadly fight over who gets to control the past.
The Circle of Eight
by J Robert Kennedy
2013
As a global threat spirals out of control, Delta Force's Bravo Team is cut loose and left to fend for itself. To save their families and maybe humanity, they have to survive without the government behind them.
Amazon Burning
by J Robert Kennedy
2014
Deep in the Amazon, one of James Acton's own disappears and the rescue turns brutal fast. Jungle danger, ancient secrets, and relentless pursuers make every step a fight.
Death To America
by J Robert Kennedy
2014
When America's own institutions start working at cross-purposes, Dylan Kane can trust almost no one. The mission becomes a brutal test of loyalty, patriotism, and survival.
Pompeii's Ghosts
by J Robert Kennedy
2014
The ghosts of Pompeii are not done killing. James Acton and Laura Palmer chase a mystery born in volcanic ruin and discover that buried history can still claim fresh victims.
The Riddle
by J Robert Kennedy
2014
The assassination of Russia's prime minister puts the world on the edge of war. James Acton is caught in a deadly puzzle where solving the past may be the only way to stop the present.
The Venice Code
by J Robert Kennedy
2014
A centuries-old mystery hidden in Venice draws James Acton into another race against ruthless enemies. The answer could change what people think they know, if anyone lives long enough to reveal it.
Black Widow
by J Robert Kennedy
2015
A mass migration and a wave of compassion hide a betrayal with deadly reach. Dylan Kane has to see through the humanitarian surface before the real target is lost.
Blood Relics
by J Robert Kennedy
2015
A desperate son and a dying father send James Acton into a search where faith and history become painfully personal. What looks like a miracle may trigger another blood-soaked scramble for power.
Infidels
by J Robert Kennedy
2015
The theft of Islam's holiest relic sends blame crashing toward America and threatens to unleash chaos. Bravo Team must move fast before the theft becomes a geopolitical firestorm.
Payback
by J Robert Kennedy
2015
After the vice president's daughter is kidnapped from an Ebola clinic, Delta Force's Bravo Team is unleashed to get her back. The rescue mission grows deadlier as terror and disease close in together.
Saint Peter's Soldiers
by J Robert Kennedy
2015
A missing da Vinci and a frightening genetic breakthrough put James Acton in the middle of a collision between old genius and new science. The result could change far more than art history.
Sins of the Titanic
by J Robert Kennedy
2015
More than a century after the Titanic sank, its last victims may still be waiting. James Acton follows the wreck's lingering secrets into a modern conspiracy with deadly consequences.
The Lazarus Moment
by J Robert Kennedy
2015
Air Force One is down, but the crash is only the start of the nightmare. Delta Force fights to keep key survivors alive while enemies close in on every side.
Forgotten
by J Robert Kennedy
2016
The death of one of their own turns grief into mission fuel. Bravo Team goes after answers and vengeance with nothing left to lose.
Kill Chain
by J Robert Kennedy
2016
When a president's child is in danger, the rescue math gets brutally complicated. Bravo Team faces a mission where saving one life could risk a much bigger war.
Raging Sun
by J Robert Kennedy
2016
A decades-old debt of honor threatens to spark a modern war. James Acton is pulled into a crisis where old loyalties still have the power to kill.
The Thirteenth Legion
by J Robert Kennedy
2016
A destiny buried for two thousand years begins to close in on James Acton and Laura Palmer. To stop it, they have to untangle a Roman legacy that was never truly lost.
Wages of Sin
by J Robert Kennedy
2016
When protecting a nation's legacy comes at an unbearable cost, James Acton has to decide how much history is worth. The answer may demand far more blood than anyone expected.
Retribution
by J Robert Kennedy
2017
A devastating cyberattack leaves Kane grieving and furious. His hunt for revenge could stop the next strike, or push the world closer to war.
The Agenda
by J Robert Kennedy
2017
With the system failing and the country on its knees, Dylan Kane is thrown into a crisis bigger than any single mission. To stop the collapse, he has to expose the people profiting from it.
The Nazi's Engineer
by J Robert Kennedy
2017
James Acton goes after one of the Second World War's most stubborn mysteries and quickly learns why it stayed buried. The closer he gets, the higher the human cost becomes.
The Templar Detective
by J Robert Kennedy
2017
Wounded Templar knight Sir Marcus de Rancourt comes home to family tragedy and finds himself raising his orphaned kin. A child's eyewitness claim of Templar murder pulls him into a conspiracy that could shake Church and Order alike.
The Templar's Revenge
by J Robert Kennedy
2017
Centuries of Templar duty and vengeance come roaring into the present. James Acton faces enemies who believe history has left a debt that must finally be paid.
Wrath of the Gods
by J Robert Kennedy
2017
A discovery with the power to rewrite a thousand years of history puts James Acton back in the crosshairs. Every side wants the truth, but not for the same reason.
Atlantis Lost
by J Robert Kennedy
2018
The search for Atlantis turns into a race to keep the greatest discovery in history from vanishing again. James Acton and Laura Palmer have to reach the truth before greed and violence do.
The Cylon Curse
by J Robert Kennedy
2018
A plot born in the ancient world reaches into the present with fresh victims in its wake. James Acton must piece together a democratic origin story someone has been trying to erase for centuries.
The Templar Detective and the Parisian Adulteress
by J Robert Kennedy
2018
A notorious scandal in the Kingdom of France lands Sir Marcus de Rancourt in the middle of politics, sex, and dangerous rumor. Solving it means navigating power far above a simple murder case.
The Templar Detective and the Sergeant's Secret
by J Robert Kennedy
2018
When Marcus's loyal sergeant disappears after revisiting his past, the search turns into a maze of lies and old wounds. Loyalty is on trial, but the truth is darker than betrayal.
The Templar Detective and the Unholy Exorcist
by J Robert Kennedy
2018
Faith and fear collide when Sir Marcus faces a case tangled up with exorcism and the battle between good and evil. Belief may guide him, but it may also deceive him.
The Viking Deception
by J Robert Kennedy
2018
A forgotten link between Viking history and the Islamic world sparks modern violence. James Acton and Laura Palmer chase the truth before another cycle of bloodshed begins.
Keepers of the Lost Ark
by J Robert Kennedy
2019
The Ark of the Covenant may have been found, but keeping it intact could be the worst possible outcome. James Acton is thrown into a desperate mission where destruction might be the only way to save lives.
State Sanctioned
by J Robert Kennedy
2019
A buried Cold War plot returns when people tied to a failed 1988 assassination start dying. Dylan Kane has to uncover the truth before old intelligence sins claim more lives.
The Colonel's Wife
by J Robert Kennedy
2019
In 1941 Berlin, a body found after an air raid looks routine until Kriminalinspektor Wolfgang Vogel sees the truth. The murder forces him to test how far duty should go inside Nazi Germany.
The Manila Deception
by J Robert Kennedy
2019
A village massacre is only the first sign that something much larger has been hidden for years. James Acton follows the trail into a conspiracy built on fear, silence, and ruthless violence.
The Templar Detective and the Code Breaker
by J Robert Kennedy
2019
A broken Templar code threatens the future of the Order itself. Sir Marcus must identify who cracked it, and why, before the damage spreads.
The Tomb of Genghis Khan
by J Robert Kennedy
2019
The resting place of Genghis Khan should have stayed hidden forever. When its secret breaks open, James Acton is swept into another lethal race between history and greed.
Armageddon
by J Robert Kennedy
2020
Volcanic disaster, old prophecy, and an isolated people collide in a thriller that feels apocalyptic in every sense. James Acton has to move before a new eruption wipes out far more than ruins.
Embassy of the Empire
by J Robert Kennedy
2020
An incident at sea pushes the United States and China toward war, with Acton's archaeological team stuck in the middle. To survive, they must understand why history suddenly matters to two modern powers.
Extraordinary Rendition
by J Robert Kennedy
2020
Dylan Kane loses the woman he loves and turns his grief into a relentless manhunt. This time the mission is personal, and everyone responsible is in danger.
Red Eagle
by J Robert Kennedy
2020
When enemies take one of Kane's friends, they trigger the worst possible response. His rescue mission becomes a hard, fast lesson in what not to steal from a spy.
Sins of the Child
by J Robert Kennedy
2020
The brutal death of a young woman tied to a Nazi family drags Wolfgang Vogel into a case about marriage, ambition, and control. Justice may demand shattering the very family structure the regime prizes.
The Cuban Incident
by J Robert Kennedy
2020
A crisis near Cuba demands the kind of response governments deny until after the fact. Delta is sent where America supposedly would never dare go.
The Fourth Bible
by J Robert Kennedy
2020
A priceless discovery explodes into chaos and leaves James and Laura blamed for the carnage. Clearing their names means uncovering why someone fears this ancient text so much.
The Templar Detective and the Black Scourge
by J Robert Kennedy
2020
A deadly menace moves through Paris, and blame falls squarely on the Templars. Sir Marcus must clear the Order while stopping panic from becoming something worse.
No Good Deed
by J Robert Kennedy
2021
A good impulse turns into a fresh nightmare for James Acton and Laura Palmer. Helping the wrong people puts them in the path of enemies who make charity look dangerously naive.
Rampage
by J Robert Kennedy
2021
The wrong people underestimate the wrong woman, and the body count follows. Bravo Team gets pulled into a mission driven by rage, resilience, and payback.
The Last Soviet
by J Robert Kennedy
2021
Someone wants to rewrite Cold War history, and the fallout could be global. James Acton is pulled into a struggle where the past is not over and the future depends on who controls its story.
The Messenger
by J Robert Kennedy
2021
Sometimes the danger is not the message, but how it reaches its target. Dylan Kane is drawn into a mission where delivery itself becomes the weapon.
The Templar Detective and the Lost Children
by J Robert Kennedy
2021
One of the kingdom's deepest shames becomes Sir Marcus de Rancourt's next case. Saving missing children means standing against people who count on silence and power.
Charlie Foxtrot
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
A carefully planned mission goes sideways in the worst possible way. Bravo Team must improvise through the chaos before total disaster takes hold.
Fatal Reunion
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
A long-lost mask resurfaces and turns everyone connected to it into a target. James Acton and Laura Palmer race from clue to clue while killers close in on the prize.
Inside the Wire
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
A team sent in as advisors finds itself fully inside the fight. Once the perimeter collapses, survival depends on whether Delta can take control of a war zone.
Lake of Bones
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
A legend about a peaceful eastern refuge leads James Acton toward a mystery rooted in flight, faith, and sacrifice. The promised haven may be real, but reaching it could cost everything.
No More Secrets
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
Some secrets do not stay buried because they are powerful, but because they hurt too much to face. James Acton and Laura Palmer uncover one of those truths, and the fallout turns personal.
The Antarctica Incident
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
A brutal pirate legacy leads James Acton to the edge of the world. Antarctica becomes the stage for a cold, violent hunt through family betrayal and buried treasure.
The Defector
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
When Dylan Kane is seen crossing into North Korea, even his closest allies are forced to doubt him. Chris Leroux must decide whether to hunt his friend or prove he has been set up.
The Ghosts of Paris
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
Tommy and Mai's Paris vacation becomes a nightmare when an illegal catacombs party turns out to hide something far darker. James and Laura plunge into the city's underworld to find them before they vanish among the abandoned.
The Mole
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
An Agency killing and a badly wounded survivor point to rot inside the house. Dylan Kane hunts for the mole while the institution around him starts to crack.
The Resurrection Tablet
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
An explosive tablet challenges one of history's central beliefs and immediately becomes worth killing for. James Acton must separate truth from manipulation before the find tears lives apart.
The Templar Detective and the Satanic Whisper
by J Robert Kennedy
2022
Dark rumor and spiritual fear grip the kingdom when evil seems to speak in human voices. Sir Marcus must separate manipulation from the supernatural before panic destroys lives.
A Price Too High
by J Robert Kennedy
2023
After the United States starts treating Mexican cartels as terrorists, Bravo Team's first success threatens to trigger much bigger consequences. A summit in Mexico City becomes the next flashpoint.
Jack Be Nimble
by J Robert Kennedy
2023
While infiltrating a Russian mercenary group, Jack gets caught inside a televised push to seize power in Moscow. To stop a much larger plan, he has to figure out why he appears to be leading the revolution.
The Arsenal
by J Robert Kennedy
2023
A shift in the balance of power puts Dylan Kane on the clock. If he cannot find the weapons or strategy behind it, the geopolitical damage could be enormous.
The Curse of Imhotep
by J Robert Kennedy
2023
James Acton locates the tomb of Imhotep, but the old curse attached to it starts looking alarmingly real. Every step toward the find brings another death and another reason to walk away.
The Sword of Doom
by J Robert Kennedy
2023
A legendary sword with a murderous history disappears, and James Acton is blamed. To clear his name, he has to chase a relic people have died trying to possess.
You Don't Know Jack
by J Robert Kennedy
2023
CIA Operations Officer Jack goes to a Warsaw embassy party for a meet, wakes up in Moscow, and finds himself accused of killing the Russian president. Disavowed and hunted, he has to clear his name before two nuclear powers tip toward war.
Righteous Hell
by J Robert Kennedy
2024
A devastating attack with a staggering human cost brings Delta down on the people behind it. What follows is a furious hunt powered by grief, duty, and scale.
The Betrayal
by J Robert Kennedy
2024
A family trip to Iran turns into a hostage crisis with continental stakes. Dylan Kane must save trapped children while a top-secret operation and the future of Europe hang in the balance.
The Heretics Bible
by J Robert Kennedy
2024
An ancient text thought never to have existed comes to light, and powerful people immediately want it destroyed. James Acton and Laura Palmer are caught between revelation and annihilation.
The Hunt for the Holy Grail
by J Robert Kennedy
2024
The Grail may finally have been found, but the scramble around it is anything but sacred. James Acton faces greed, obsession, and violence wrapped in the language of faith.
Crypt of the Gladiator
by J Robert Kennedy
2025
A Roman crypt discovery draws James Acton into a hunt for treasure hidden as the empire was falling apart. Ancient clues, kidnappings, and a ruthless modern enemy keep the pressure high.
So They Don't Have To
by J Robert Kennedy
2025
One mission, one team, one chance to stop a war. Bravo Team is asked to carry the weight so others never have to.
Where should I start?
If you want the main archaeology thrillers: The Protocol → Brass Monkey → Broken Dove
If you prefer spy missions and CIA intrigue: Rogue Operator → Containment Failure → Cold Warriors
If you want military action first: Payback → Infidels → The Lazarus Moment
If you want medieval mystery: The Templar Detective → The Templar Detective and the Parisian Adulteress → The Templar Detective and the Sergeant's Secret
If you want darker urban crime: Depraved Difference → Tick Tock → The Redeemer
Author bio
J Robert Kennedy was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, and grew up as an Air Force kid, moving through Halifax and Greenwood, Goose Bay, Germany, Winnipeg, and Portage la Prairie before settling into adulthood in Ontario. That early life meant new places, new routines, and a constant sense that the world was bigger than the town in front of you.
That kind of childhood shows up all over his fiction.
He started writing very young. He has said he wrote his first story at five, and everyone in it died, which tells you something about his sense of drama right from the start. As a kid he kept going, writing stories for school, putting together a homemade novel, and even selling nonfiction pieces to computer magazines while he was still barely a teenager.
Then life took a practical turn. Kennedy spent years in the tech world, worked as a computer consultant, and ran his own business. By his mid-twenties he was making good money and, by his own account, had mostly packed away the old dream of becoming a novelist.
Then a single image changed things.
He was haunted for years by the picture of a girl walking through tall grass, her fingers brushing the blades. One night he finally sat down and wrote the short story that image became, Does It Matter? A little later he showed it to friends, sent it out on a whim, and it was accepted for publication. Another story, Loving the Ingredients, followed, and that was enough to get the writing engine going again.
A phone conversation with his friend Paul Conway pushed him from stories into novels. In 2005, Conway mentioned crystal skulls, Kennedy opened a file, and the seed of The Protocol was planted. That book became the start of the long-running James Acton series. Around the same time, the ebook shift was changing publishing, and Kennedy's background in tech and online business made him unusually well placed to see where things were heading. After one traditional publishing experience and another offer for Depraved Difference, he chose the independent route and built his career there.
Readers usually come to Kennedy for pace. The Protocol introduces archaeologist James Acton and the mix of buried history and modern danger that would define much of his work. Rogue Operator shifts that energy into spy fiction with Dylan Kane. The Templar Detective moves the action into medieval intrigue, while Depraved Difference shows he can go much darker in a contemporary crime story. And The Turned proves he is also happy to bend horror and detective fiction together when it suits him.
Across all those books, the through lines are easy to spot. He likes secret histories, pressure-cooker missions, decent people forced into ugly choices, and stories where old mysteries refuse to stay buried. He also writes like someone who grew up loving action movies and never quite got over it, which is a compliment.
Today he lives in Ontario with his wife and adult daughter and writes full-time. Given the size of his backlist, that probably means exactly what his bio suggests, he is already at work on the next one.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.







































































































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