Peter Black Books in Order
Part ofDavid Archer Books in OrderFind the Peter Black books by David Archer in order, with short summaries, series background, and quick help picking a starting point.
Last updated: June 29, 2026
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Peter Black books in publication order
13 books
Burden of the Assassin
by David Archer
2022
Master assassin Peter Black wants nothing more than an ordinary life, but a three-name kill list offers freedom at a terrible price. Completing the job means stepping back into the identity he hoped to escape.
The Man Without a Face
by David Archer
2022
Hiding on a remote Alaska farm, Peter Black is forced to become Azrael again when a merciless enemy comes for the people he loves. The past will not leave a man like Peter alone for long.
Hunter Killer
by David Archer
2023
Peter and Michael agree to protect a hacker carrying stolen files, only to end up wanted by police and shadowy powers alike after he is murdered. To survive, they have to uncover a conspiracy capable of changing world power.
Silent Shadows
by David Archer
2023
A string of killings among powerful figures in Japan points toward a spectral assassin and a yakuza-backed campaign of revenge. Peter and Michael are pulled into a deadly collision of gangs, mercenaries, and buried motives.
The Last Run
by David Archer
2023
Back in CIA shadows, Peter is sent into war-torn Sudan after a world-threatening virus and its antidote vanish in the chaos. Recovering the cure means outrunning soldiers, rebels, Russian agents, and time itself.
Unpunished Deeds
by David Archer
2023
Peter and his son Michael enter a war zone to hunt the men behind an old atrocity that killed hundreds, many of them children. The mission grows darker when they learn those same men are planning fresh horror.
Dark Corners
by David Archer
2024
Peter goes after a terrorist collective called the Wolf Pack while a journalist stumbles onto the same conspiracy from another angle. Their paths join in a race to stop a catastrophic attack before betrayal finishes the job.
Ghost Operative
by David Archer
2024
After a former colleague is murdered, Peter infiltrates the estate of a British billionaire by becoming bodyguard to the man's young daughter. Under the luxury lies a conspiracy large enough to disrupt the wider world.
A Fire Burning
by David Archer
2025
The murder of Peter's former lover sends him undercover inside a radical militia called the Iron Brotherhood. To honor her and stop a catastrophic attack, he has to tear the group apart from within.
Dawnlight
by David Archer
2025
Hunted by the very organization that created him, Peter races to expose a decades-old conspiracy tied to an operation called Dawnlight. Every answer brings him closer to a network with the power to tip the world into chaos.
Dead Ice
by David Archer
2025
Peter Black is driven into another harsh mission where cold terrain, old enemies, and intelligence secrets all become part of the same fight. In a series like this, the ice is never the only thing that can kill you.
No Loose Ends
by David Archer
2026
When fellow operative Olivia Wren is murdered, Peter crosses into Mexico hunting a cartel that blends narcotics and ritual terror. The deeper he goes, the clearer it becomes that corruption behind the massacres reaches far beyond the cartel itself.
The Devil You Know
by David Archer
2026
Peter faces another operation where the familiar enemy may be more dangerous than the unknown one. To get through it, he has to decide whether the devil he knows is the only one in the room.
Peter Black books in chronological order

Burden of the Assassin
by David Archer
2022Peter Black, Book 1
The Man Without a Face
by David Archer
2022Peter Black, Book 2
Unpunished Deeds
by David Archer
2023Peter Black, Book 3
Hunter Killer
by David Archer
2023Peter Black, Book 4
Silent Shadows
by David Archer
2023Peter Black, Book 5
The Last Run
by David Archer
2023Peter Black, Book 6
Dark Corners
by David Archer
2024Peter Black, Book 7
Ghost Operative
by David Archer
2024Peter Black, Book 8
A Fire Burning
by David Archer
2025Peter Black, Book 9
Dawnlight
by David Archer
2025Peter Black, Book 10
Dead Ice
by David Archer
2025Peter Black, Book 11
No Loose Ends
by David Archer
2026Peter Black, Book 12
The Devil You Know
by David Archer
2026Peter Black, Book 13
Series background & context
The Peter Black books are assassin thrillers that keep trying to pull their hero toward ordinary life and keep refusing to let him have it. Peter was trained from childhood by the CIA to be a killer. For most of his life, he has been an asset first and a person second. When the series opens, what he wants is simple: freedom, peace, and some version of a normal existence. Naturally, the world has other plans.
That tension drives everything.
Peter is not a flashy freelance hitman enjoying the work. He is a former master assassin who understands violence better than he likes and keeps getting dragged back toward it by unfinished business, enemies from old missions, intelligence games, and the need to protect people he loves. The books make good use of that push-pull. Peter can be terrifyingly effective, but he is always more interesting when the story reminds you he would rather not have to be Azrael again.
The relationship with Michael matters a lot here. Peter is not moving through the series entirely alone, and the father-son dynamic gives the books more emotional texture than a standard lone-assassin setup. Michael is apprentice, partner, family, and sometimes a mirror showing Peter what his own life has cost. Later allies matter too, but Michael is a big reason the series has heart under the gunfire.
The plots range widely. One book starts with a kill list offered in exchange for freedom. Another sends Peter back to Alaska to face an enemy from his own past. Later books take him into war zones, conspiracy files, terrorist networks, Japanese crime circles, billionaire estates, domestic extremist groups, hidden global operations, frozen terrain, and cartel violence. That spread keeps the series fresh. Even when the formula is familiar, Peter’s personal history gives each mission some extra weight.
In tone, think action-heavy espionage thriller with a strong assassin core. These books like covert entries, ambushes, hidden handlers, and betrayals from inside supposedly trusted systems. They move quickly, but the better ones also keep asking whether Peter can ever step out of the identity built for him. He is lethal, yes, but the deeper question is whether he gets to be anything else for long.
Reading in order helps because the ongoing relationships, old enemies, and long conspiracy threads stack up. The books can be enjoyed for the missions alone, but the larger arc is Peter struggling to keep a human life alive around the edges of a profession designed to strip that away.
He wants out.
That is exactly why the world keeps finding reasons to pull him back in.
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.















Comments
Did we miss something? Have feedback?
Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts