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Jack D Hunter Books in Order

Browse Jack D Hunter books in order, with concise summaries, a look at his life and writing, series background, and helpful suggestions on where to start.

Last updated: July 15, 2026

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Jack D Hunter books in publication order

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27 books

The Blue Max

by Jack D Hunter

1964

In the final months of World War I, former infantryman Bruno Stachel joins a German fighter squadron determined to earn the Blue Max. His talent and relentless ambition make him a hero, but alienate allies and deepen the cost of success.

One of Us Works for Them

by Jack D Hunter

1968

Army intelligence officer Captain Carl Kraft secretly reports to a shadowy superior while serving in a sensitive department. Ordered to frame another officer as a traitor, he must survive a dangerous game of divided loyalties.

The Expendable Spy

by Jack D Hunter

1968

In Munich in 1945, American intelligence operative Peter Klaussen is sent into a maze of Nazi holdouts, Soviet agents, and double-crosses. He soon learns his own side sees him as a disposable pawn.

Spies, Inc

by Jack D Hunter

1970

Former Army counterintelligence man Paul Dexter has traded espionage for a corporate job and family life. When company secrets are stolen, he is pulled into a web of industrial spying, blackmail, violence, and murder.

The Blood Order

by Jack D Hunter

1979

Years after earning the Blue Max in World War I, Bruno Stachel is offered rank and renewed purpose in Nazi Germany. As he rises in the new Luftwaffe, he confronts the violence and corruption behind the regime.

The Terror Alliance

by Jack D Hunter

1980

CIA investigator Roger Wagner has ten days to uncover an assassination plot against the U.S. president before a major speech in Munich. His search leads through neo-Nazi circles, criminal networks, and the highest levels of power.

The Tin Cravat

by Jack D Hunter

1981

German flying hero Bruno Stachel defects to the United States and joins American intelligence during World War II. Sent back to Germany, he must stop Nazi plans for underground resistance after the regime’s expected defeat.

Florida is Closed Today

by Jack D Hunter

1984

Former CIA agent Roger Wagner thinks he has settled into a quiet Florida life. Then an unidentified body washes ashore, and a death and kidnapping drag him back into old grudges, covert work, and danger.

Judgment in Blood

by Jack D Hunter

1986

A string of grisly killings shatters the polished surface of Zieglersville, a wealthy suburban community. Inspector Stabile follows clues rooted in biblical punishment while an avenger prepares to strike again.

The Flying Cross

by Jack D Hunter

1987

Someone is killing pilots in America’s 107th Aero Squadron and diverting military funds to a hidden operation. As investigators close in, they uncover an international conspiracy that reaches far beyond one squadron.

Tailspin

by Jack D Hunter

1990

Just after V-E Day, bombers, weapons, and captured Nazi pilots begin vanishing from American control. Major Kaufmann follows the trail through occupied Europe, where a secret plot could redraw the fragile peace.

The Potsdam Bluff

by Jack D Hunter

1991

In 1945, with Stalin’s forces poised to dominate Europe, American spymaster C. G. Brandt stakes everything on an inexperienced bilingual agent. Alex Lukas must escort a Soviet defector carrying intelligence that could change the postwar balance.

Sweeney's Run

by Jack D Hunter

1992

Retired intelligence officer Tom Sweeney finds an old acquaintance murdered in his Chesapeake Bay home. Soon hunted by killers, he uncovers a conspiracy involving drug lords, neo-Nazis, and powerful figures close to the presidency.

Slingshot

by Jack D Hunter

1995

Florida reporter Matt Cooper finds his novelist father murdered and becomes a suspect himself. With journalist Tina Mennen, he follows clues to wartime secrets, political killings, and an international conspiracy aimed at a divided America.

Addie

by Jack D Hunter

2001

A tense character-driven drama centered on Addie, whose life is changed by painful secrets and difficult choices. As the past closes in, she must find a way through loss, fear, and the consequences of what has been hidden.

The Cure

by Jack D Hunter

2003

A controversial oncologist dies in a suspicious crash just as a researcher finds what may be a cure for cancer. Corporations, political players, and killers race to control or bury the discovery.

The Ace

by Jack D Hunter

2008

German-American outsider John King rescues a pilot from a crash and is drawn into America’s growing air service during World War I. As he becomes a combat hero in France, war, politics, and prejudice reshape his life.

The Dampness of Mourning

by Jack D Hunter

2011

John McDonnell and Michael Johnston are pulled deeper into the strange history of Division and the forces surrounding it. This dark supernatural thriller expands a world of grief, memory, dangerous power, and possible redemption.

Gossamer

by Jack D Hunter

2013

A dark, emotionally charged story of love, loss, and the fragile bonds that hold damaged people together. As grief and violence press in, its characters must decide whether they can still reach for connection.

A Beautiful Madness

by Jack D Hunter

2014

When a Texas senator and his wife disappear and a teenager is killed outside a former governor's home, Sammy Woods suspects his violent father. His search for answers joins him with Detective Jim Thompson and a relentless killer.

Earthly Things

by Jack D Hunter

2014

Fourteen-year-old Dexter is struggling after his brother Adam dies in an accident. With his parents falling apart and his feelings for neighbor Jamie growing, Dexter tries to heal before another terrible loss changes everything.

It's Only Death

by Jack D Hunter

2015

Ten years after killing his police-officer father during a bank robbery, James Jackson returns home for his dying mother. His sister is in danger, and confronting the past pulls him into one brutal, unsettled night.

The Devil Gave Them Black Wings

by Jack D Hunter

2015

A cursed angel watches over a kidnapped child, her father, and the people drawn into their search. Grief, faith, and vengeance converge as several wounded lives cross in a dark supernatural thriller.

The Lesser People

by Jack D Hunter

2015

An elderly man remembers his childhood in rural Mississippi, when he found the body of a murdered Black boy in the woods. The discovery exposes racism, fear, and secrets that threaten his town and family.

After The Fog Clears

by Jack D Hunter

2016

A police officer accidentally kills a child on a foggy Saginaw street, sending three families into grief and chaos. As guilt, rage, and old secrets collide, damaged people are drawn toward a violent reckoning.

An Ounce of Mercy

by Jack D Hunter

2017

As his wife lies dying and asks him to end her suffering, a man looks back on their teenage years. Together, they faced a monster in a local lake, a terror that changed their lives and brought unwanted national attention.

Shine Your Light on Me

by Jack D Hunter

2017

After a family tragedy, teenager Aiden discovers he can heal people. Word spreads quickly, and a town desperate for miracles turns him into a target, forcing him to decide how much of himself he can give away.

Where to start with Jack D Hunter

For World War I aviation and ambition: The Blue MaxThe Blood OrderThe Tin Cravat
For wartime espionage: The Expendable SpyOne of Us Works for ThemThe Potsdam Bluff
For modern conspiracy thrillers: Sweeney's RunSlingshotThe Cure
For a later return to the skies of World War I: The Ace

Jack D Hunter sub-series and character series

Blue Max books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "The Blue Max"

    The Blue Max

    by Jack D Hunter

    1964Blue Max, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Blood Order"

    The Blood Order

    by Jack D Hunter

    1979Blue Max, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Tin Cravat"

    The Tin Cravat

    by Jack D Hunter

    1981Blue Max, Book 3

Blue Max books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "The Blue Max"

    The Blue Max

    by Jack D Hunter

    1964Blue Max, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Blood Order"

    The Blood Order

    by Jack D Hunter

    1979Blue Max, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Tin Cravat"

    The Tin Cravat

    by Jack D Hunter

    1981Blue Max, Book 3

Standalone Jack D Hunter books

  1. Book cover for "One of Us Works for Them"

    One of Us Works for Them

    by Jack D Hunter

    1968
  2. Book cover for "The Expendable Spy"

    The Expendable Spy

    by Jack D Hunter

    1968
  3. Book cover for "Spies, Inc"

    Spies, Inc

    by Jack D Hunter

    1970
  4. Book cover for "The Terror Alliance"

    The Terror Alliance

    by Jack D Hunter

    1980
  5. Book cover for "Florida is Closed Today"

    Florida is Closed Today

    by Jack D Hunter

    1984
  6. Book cover for "Judgment in Blood"

    Judgment in Blood

    by Jack D Hunter

    1986
  7. Book cover for "The Flying Cross"

    The Flying Cross

    by Jack D Hunter

    1987
  8. Book cover for "Tailspin"

    Tailspin

    by Jack D Hunter

    1990
  9. Book cover for "The Potsdam Bluff"

    The Potsdam Bluff

    by Jack D Hunter

    1991
  10. Book cover for "Sweeney's Run"

    Sweeney's Run

    by Jack D Hunter

    1992
  11. Book cover for "Slingshot"

    Slingshot

    by Jack D Hunter

    1995
  12. Book cover for "Addie"

    Addie

    by Jack D Hunter

    2001
  13. Book cover for "The Cure"

    The Cure

    by Jack D Hunter

    2003
  14. Book cover for "The Ace"

    The Ace

    by Jack D Hunter

    2008
  15. Book cover for "The Dampness of Mourning"

    The Dampness of Mourning

    by Jack D Hunter

    2011
  16. Book cover for "Gossamer"

    Gossamer

    by Jack D Hunter

    2013
  17. Book cover for "A Beautiful Madness"

    A Beautiful Madness

    by Jack D Hunter

    2014
  18. Book cover for "Earthly Things"

    Earthly Things

    by Jack D Hunter

    2014
  19. Book cover for "It's Only Death"

    It's Only Death

    by Jack D Hunter

    2015
  20. Book cover for "The Devil Gave Them Black Wings"

    The Devil Gave Them Black Wings

    by Jack D Hunter

    2015
  21. Book cover for "The Lesser People"

    The Lesser People

    by Jack D Hunter

    2015
  22. Book cover for "After The Fog Clears"

    After The Fog Clears

    by Jack D Hunter

    2016
  23. Book cover for "An Ounce of Mercy"

    An Ounce of Mercy

    by Jack D Hunter

    2017
  24. Book cover for "Shine Your Light on Me"

    Shine Your Light on Me

    by Jack D Hunter

    2017

Author bio

Jack D. Hunter was an American novelist, journalist, intelligence veteran, and aviation artist whose books often put ordinary people inside the pressure and confusion of war. He was born in Hamilton, Ohio, on June 4, 1921, the son of Whitney G. and Irene Dayton Hunter.

He was red-green color-blind, an irony he liked to note because his father worked in paint color evaluation. Hunter was not cut out for a neat, predictable life, but he found ways to follow the things that interested him. He taught himself piano, played in an orchestra to help pay for college, and earned a journalism degree from Penn State in 1943.

World War II changed the direction of his life. Hunter joined the U.S. Army, but his color blindness kept him from the flying career he had hoped for. His knowledge of German instead led him into counterintelligence, and he served in postwar Germany during a tense, uncertain period when former Nazis and competing intelligence services were still very much in play.

That experience stayed with him.

After the war, Hunter worked as a newspaper and radio reporter, a Washington speechwriter, and a public-relations executive. He began writing fiction in 1961, around the time he turned forty. His first novel, The Blue Max, arrived in 1964 and followed German fighter pilot Bruno Stachel, a working-class man determined to win Imperial Germany's highest military flying decoration during World War I.

The book brought together Hunter's interest in aircraft, military history, and ambition's ugly side. It was later adapted into a 1966 film. Hunter returned to Bruno Stachel in The Blood Order and The Tin Cravat, taking the character into the dangerous political world of Nazi Germany and the final years of World War II.

His other novels moved freely through espionage, conspiracy, crime, and aviation. The Expendable Spy draws on the uneasy world of postwar intelligence. Spies, Inc. shifts the action to industrial espionage in an American company town. In The Cure, a possible cancer treatment becomes the center of a ruthless fight for money and control. His final novel, The Ace, returns to World War I aviation through the story of an American pilot.

Hunter liked the nuts and bolts of a story, whether that meant an aircraft, a covert operation, or the way a frightened person responds when plans collapse. His books often feature people who are forced to decide whom they can trust, and what they are willing to risk.

In 1980, Hunter and his wife, Shirley, known as Tommy, moved to St. Augustine, Florida. Along with writing, he developed a second career painting vintage aircraft and spent years coaching newspaper reporters. He remained active late in life, writing and painting in St. Augustine until his death there on April 13, 2009, at age eighty-seven.

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