Scan Books in Order

Scan is the smaller Sarah Fine series in terms of length, but not in terms of pressure. Co-written with Walter Jury, it is a two-book YA science fiction thriller that starts fast and stays that way. The opening setup is simple and effective: Tate Archer steals one of his father's strange inventions, armed men hit his school, his father is killed, and Tate discovers the world has been hiding an alien conflict in plain sight.

Tate is the anchor. He is smart, resourceful, and not nearly as prepared as he would like to think. What keeps the series moving is that he does not get time to absorb one impossible truth before the next one arrives. Aliens can pass for human. His father's device matters more than he knew. The people around him, including his girlfriend Christina and his estranged mother, may be the only reason he survives.

The first book, Scan, leans into pursuit, conspiracy, and the question of who can be trusted. Burn picks up from that cliffhanger and widens the story, sending Tate after clues his father left behind and revealing that the danger to Earth may be bigger than the H2 conflict he already understands. The stakes climb, but the series keeps the action tied to family, grief, and the awful pressure of having to grow up while being hunted.

These books are best thought of as thrillers first and science fiction second. The alien material matters, but it is there to sharpen the suspense, not slow it down with heavy lore. Expect car chases, safe houses, split-second decisions, and a lot of paranoia about who is human, who is compromised, and who is about to betray whom.