The Adept Books in Order

The Adept novels blend contemporary fantasy, occult thriller, and police procedural, all set against the streets and hills of modern Scotland. At their centre stands Sir Adam Sinclair, a psychiatrist, landowner, and reincarnated Adept whose job is to defend the Light against very old darkness.

On the surface, Adam treats patients, attends university committees, and keeps up the duties of a Highland laird. Underneath, he leads a small brotherhood known as the Hunt. These men and women, some with psychic gifts of their own, take on supernatural crimes that ordinary law enforcement can neither see nor stop. Their cases often begin with something that looks mundane, like a museum theft or a suspicious death, then peel back layers of ritual, reincarnation, and magical conspiracy.

The first book introduces Adam and his key ally Peregrine Lovat, a young artist whose talent for seeing past and future lives through his painting makes him both useful and vulnerable. Together they track a stolen wizard’s sword, a disturbed grave, and a cult bent on raising an ancient magician to serve modern evil. Later volumes escalate the stakes, bringing in Druidic artifacts, Nazi occult legacies, and a dagger cult with plans for a new Fourth Reich.

Throughout, Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris treat their occult elements as a serious system rather than window dressing. Rituals have rules and consequences, psychic gifts come with ethical questions, and both white and black Adepts answer to codes that reach beyond one lifetime. Christian imagery, Freemasonry, Celtic legend, and ceremonial magic all feed into a framework that feels researched and lived in.

The tone of the series balances camaraderie and dread. Adam’s Hunt Lodge is full of banter, loyalty, and friendships that span incarnations, but the opposition is ruthless. Adepts can be maimed or killed, and victories often come with real cost. Readers who enjoy character driven fantasy will find plenty to invest in, from Adam’s evolving relationship with his bride Ximena to Peregrine’s struggle to live a normal life with extraordinary sight.

If you like the idea of secret guardians working behind the scenes of a recognisable modern world, the Adept books are a natural stop after or alongside the Deryni novels. This page helps you follow the sequence in order, shows how recurring villains and artifacts connect from book to book, and points out good jumping on points if you are sampling the series for the first time.