Matinicus "Matt" Hawkins Adventure Books in Order

Matinicus "Matt" Hawkins sits at the center of these books, and he arrives carrying a lot more than mission gear. He is a former Navy SEAL who was badly wounded in Afghanistan, pushed out of the service after he demanded answers, and left trying to rebuild a life that no longer fits together cleanly. By the time the series opens with The Emerald Scepter, he is working as an undersea robotics engineer in Woods Hole, which gives the books one foot in hard technology and the other in salt water.

He is not starting from a calm place.

That matters because Matt's adventures are never just treasure hunts. The secret missions that pull him back into action usually hit both the world at large and the raw spots in his own life. In The Emerald Scepter, a search for the treasure of the legendary Prester John is tangled up with terrorism and national security. In The Minoan Cipher, a dive on a possible Minoan wreck off Spain turns into a chase over an ancient translating device that powerful people are willing to kill for. The scale is international, but the tension stays personal.

Matt also works best as part of a team. Kemprecos gives him allies who can do more than back him up in a fight. His ex-wife Abby brings logistics and emotional history. Former SEAL Calvin Hayes handles security and field work. Computer expert Molly Sutherland adds brains, edge, and unpredictability. The team setup lets the books move between underwater engineering, old myths, modern intelligence work, and the messy personal business of trust, loyalty, and second chances.

Nothing stays underwater for long.

The tone is bigger and more overtly high-stakes than the Soc mysteries, but it still feels tied to things Kemprecos clearly enjoys writing about: hidden history, maritime settings, working technology, and people who have to think fast when plans collapse. These novels like puzzles, codes, strange artifacts, and last-minute rescues. They also like bruised heroes who solve problems with both technical skill and stubbornness. There are only two books in the series, but together they set a clear pattern: expect lost worlds, dangerous ideas, and a hero who is trying to save more than the mission in front of him.