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Sam Archer Books in Order

Part ofTom Barber Books in Order

See the Sam Archer series by Tom Barber in order, with short summaries, series background, character notes, and clear advice on where to start.

Last updated: July 7, 2026

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Sam Archer books in publication order

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16 books

1

Blackout

by Tom Barber

2012

Three killings in the UK and US look unrelated until Archer and the ARU discover a link to a shocking event fifteen years earlier. What follows is a violent vendetta with one of their own in the crosshairs.

2

Nine Lives

by Tom Barber

2012

On New Year's Eve, a terrorist cell disappears into London's crowds before a planned wave of attacks. Newly selected ARU officer Sam Archer has to help find them before the city pays the price.

3

Silent Night

by Tom Barber

2012

A man found dead in Central Park appears to have been killed by a lethal virus, and Archer's new NYPD unit is called in fast. The hunt for the source becomes a race to stop a wider biological attack.

4

The Getaway

by Tom Barber

2012

In New York for a funeral, Archer is approached by an FBI agent with an undercover job. A ruthless bank robbery crew is tearing through the city, and stopping them will mean slipping into their world.

5

One Way

by Tom Barber

2013

After saving US Marshals and a child from a violent ambush, Archer ends up trapped with them inside a Harlem building. Their attackers have sealed off every exit, and more killers are on the way.

6

Return Fire

by Tom Barber

2013

Alice Vargas vanishes during a trip to Europe, and Archer learns the disappearance looks like an abduction. With the case turning personal fast, he has to move quickly through a dangerous trail of clues.

7

Green Light

by Tom Barber

2014

A nineteen-year-old woman is murdered in Queens, and the case pulls Archer into a gang war with deep roots in New York history. Even while suspended from duty, he cannot leave it alone, and soon he disappears too.

8

Last Breath

by Tom Barber

2015

A sniper has already killed three people, riots are breaking out in Washington, and a federal manhunt is closing in. Archer arrives in the city on what looks like a family visit, only to find himself pulled into the chase.

9

Close Calls: A Sam Archer Series Story Collection

by Tom Barber

2016

This collection of three linked stories follows familiar Sam Archer characters in the moments that shaped them. It is part backstory, part high-pressure thriller, and a useful way to deepen the wider cast.

10

Jump Seat

by Tom Barber

2017

After one passenger jet crashes into the Atlantic and another disappears days later, Archer's team is thrown into a sprawling investigation. With the threat still active, he may have to take the hunt thirty five thousand feet into the air.

11

Cleared Hot

by Tom Barber

2018

When one of Archer's fellow detectives is shot while revisiting an old case, the trail leads back to a baffling death on September 11, 2001. Archer has to dig through buried history before the next hit lands.

12

Trick Turn

by Tom Barber

2019

At a pre July 4 carnival, a knife nearly kills an eleven-year-old girl whose father was a major mob figure. Archer and his NYPD team race to uncover who wants her dead, and why the threat has resurfaced now.

13

Hand Off

by Tom Barber

2020

Set in New York in 2004, this prequel follows young officers Matt Shepherd and Jake Hendricks as several ugly cases begin to overlap. Their quiet unofficial digging may solve the mystery, or make them the prime suspects.

14

Night Sun

by Tom Barber

2021

While helping transport an old foe, Archer is caught in a prison crisis that ends with several dangerous inmates on the loose. One escapee has only days left on his sentence, and a very specific reason not to wait.

15

Into Focus

by Tom Barber

2022

Two VIPs from very different worlds are attacked during a visit to New York, leaving Archer to untangle a case that grows more dangerous by the hour. The closer he gets to the truth, the less safe anyone looks.

16

Exit Point

by Tom Barber

2024

Archer and the detectives in Shepherd's squad are pulled into a brutal fight at the Texas-Mexico border. A drug cartel controls the flow across an international bridge, and that crossing is about to become a battleground.

Sam Archer books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Nine Lives"

    Nine Lives

    by Tom Barber

    2012Sam Archer, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Getaway"

    The Getaway

    by Tom Barber

    2012Sam Archer, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Blackout"

    Blackout

    by Tom Barber

    2012Sam Archer, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Silent Night"

    Silent Night

    by Tom Barber

    2012Sam Archer, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "One Way"

    One Way

    by Tom Barber

    2013Sam Archer, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Return Fire"

    Return Fire

    by Tom Barber

    2013Sam Archer, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Green Light"

    Green Light

    by Tom Barber

    2014Sam Archer, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Last Breath"

    Last Breath

    by Tom Barber

    2015Sam Archer, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Close Calls: A Sam Archer Series Story Collection"

    Close Calls: A Sam Archer Series Story Collection

    by Tom Barber

    2016Sam Archer, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "Jump Seat"

    Jump Seat

    by Tom Barber

    2017Sam Archer, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Cleared Hot"

    Cleared Hot

    by Tom Barber

    2018Sam Archer, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Trick Turn"

    Trick Turn

    by Tom Barber

    2019Sam Archer, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Hand Off"

    Hand Off

    by Tom Barber

    2020Sam Archer, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Night Sun"

    Night Sun

    by Tom Barber

    2021Sam Archer, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Into Focus"

    Into Focus

    by Tom Barber

    2022Sam Archer, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "Exit Point"

    Exit Point

    by Tom Barber

    2024Sam Archer, Book 16

Series background & context

The Sam Archer books are fast-moving thrillers that mix police procedure, counter-terror work, and big public-stakes action. The series opens with Sam as a 26-year-old recruit in Britain's new Armed Response Unit, a counter-terror squad built for the kind of emergency that can turn a normal city day into a national crisis.

Pressure arrives early.

In Nine Lives, Archer is thrown into a hunt for terrorists planning attacks across London over New Year's Eve, and that opening tells you a lot about the books that follow. Tom Barber likes ticking clocks, crowded urban settings, and cases that begin in confusion before snapping into focus. Sam is young, talented, and keen to prove himself, which gives the early novels an extra edge. He is not written as a lone genius who solves everything by himself, either. Teams matter here, and so do the frictions, loyalties, and losses inside those teams.

Then the map gets bigger.

The Getaway pulls Archer to New York through a personal loss and an undercover assignment, and that move reshapes the series in a useful way. By Silent Night, he is working in the NYPD's Counter Terrorism Bureau, and the books start to feel like a blend of international thriller and New York crime series. That change opens the door to a wider cast and a wider range of cases. London never disappears completely, but New York becomes just as important, with its neighborhoods, department politics, mob ties, gangs, and constant sense that something can go wrong around the next corner.

The cases stay varied even though the engine is familiar. One book might center on a biological threat, another on an abduction, a sniper hunt, a mob feud, a string of air disasters, or a cartel conflict at the Texas-Mexico border. Later entries such as Jump Seat, Trick Turn, Night Sun, and Exit Point show how broad the series can get while still feeling like part of the same world. Archer and his colleagues are usually asked to step into dangerous situations fast, piece together limited information, and hold the line while the odds keep getting worse. There is continuity as well. Relationships carry over, familiar characters return, and the books reward reading in order even though each novel has its own central problem. Close Calls adds backstory through shorter pieces about defining moments for recurring characters, while Hand Off works as a prequel focused on Matt Shepherd and Jake Hendricks before they became major NYPD figures in the main run.

If you like thrillers that move quickly, use recognizable real-world settings, and balance action with team dynamics, Sam Archer is an easy series to settle into. Expect pressure, movement, and a lot of shifting ground. The books are built around urgent cases, but they also keep an eye on the people trying to survive them.

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 shaped MRB and its growth.

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