Vatican Knights Books in Order
Part ofRick Jones Books in OrderSee the Vatican Knights books in order by Rick Jones, with quick summaries, series background, and where to start with Kimball Hayden's secret missions.
Last updated: July 2, 2026
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Publication Order
37 books
Pandora's Ark
by Rick Jones
2012
A terrorist group gains control of self-replicating microbots designed to devour everything in their path. Kimball and the Vatican Knights must stop a plan to use the Ark of the Covenant as cover for an attack on Rome.
Shepherd One
by Rick Jones
2012
Terrorists seize the papal plane over the United States and reveal a nuclear device on board. With the White House under pressure, Kimball Hayden must retake Shepherd One before the crisis becomes a catastrophe.
The Iscariot Agenda
by Rick Jones
2012
Kimball Hayden is hunted by a brutal assassin tied to his past, a killer who is systematically destroying his old Force Elite team. The clues carved into the dead all point to one word: Iscariot.
The Vatican Knights
by Rick Jones
2012
When Pope Pius XIII is kidnapped during a U.S. visit, FBI specialist Shari Cohen discovers she is not alone on the case. A hidden Vatican commando unit joins the hunt, and the rescue quickly opens into a deadly political conspiracy.
Crosses to Bear
by Rick Jones
2014
A stolen lethal strain, a massacred town, and a violent underground clan pull Kimball Hayden out of hiding in Las Vegas. Presumed dead by the Vatican, he is forced back into the fight when the Church itself faces annihilation.
The Bridge of Bones
by Rick Jones
2014
When Shari Cohen's children are kidnapped in Paris by a ruthless human trafficker, she turns to Kimball Hayden for help. The rescue mission becomes a brutal war against one of the deadliest enemies the Vatican Knights have faced.
The Lost Cathedral
by Rick Jones
2015
Years after a papal airliner disappears over Brazil, people from the flight begin reappearing in Vatican City. Kimball follows the trail into the jungle, where a ruined cathedral, buried secrets, and a threat to the pope wait in the dark.
Cabal
by Rick Jones
2016
In the Syrian desert, the Vatican Knights try to extract a priest and a group of war orphans before ISIS closes in. Kimball soon realizes the team is protecting something far more important than anyone expected.
Dark Advent
by Rick Jones
2016
This origin story follows a young Kimball Hayden as gang violence tears through his world. Loss, rage, and survival begin shaping the dark protector he will later become.
Targeted Killing
by Rick Jones
2016
Kimball's past as a U.S. government assassin catches up with him during a retreat in Malta. Hunted by a CIA liquidation squad, he must survive long enough to expose the secret mission that made him a target.
The Golgotha Pursuit
by Rick Jones
2016
The Islamic State steals the True Cross and plans to trade it for devastating weapons. Kimball and the Vatican Knights race to intercept the exchange before Europe and the United States are pushed toward disaster.
Sinners and Saints
by Rick Jones
2017
Kimball is asked to escort a mysterious guest by train from Zurich to Rome, only to find himself trapped in a violent operation tied to a stolen scientific breakthrough. More than 400 innocent passengers are suddenly in the balance.
The Barbed Crown
by Rick Jones
2017
Set in Auschwitz in 1943, this prequel steps away from Kimball to tell a darker earlier story. A forbidden bond inside the camp helps lay the foundation for the force that will one day become the Vatican Knights.
The Brimstone Diaries
by Rick Jones
2018
A sacred text written by Saint Peter is stolen from the Vatican archives, and its secrets begin leaving bodies behind. Kimball faces threats on two fronts as enemies close in on both the book and Vatican City.
The Devil's Magician
by Rick Jones
2018
When a cardinal is taken by ISIS in Damascus and a Vatican team is ambushed, only Kimball Hayden can pull them out. His rescue mission soon leads back toward betrayal inside the Vatican itself.
The Nocturnal Saints
by Rick Jones
2018
Mutilated priests in Washington, D.C. point to an old underground order known as the Nocturnal Saints. Shari Cohen and the Vatican Knights must stop the killers before their campaign reaches the pope.
Juggernaut
by Rick Jones
2019
A terrorist once tied to an attempt on Shari Cohen's life is freed from a blacksite, and America reels under coordinated attacks. Kimball and Shari reunite to stop an operation that could break the country and destroy them both.
Original Sins
by Rick Jones
2019
Before he served the Vatican, Kimball Hayden led a CIA kill squad and followed orders without mercy. This book digs into the missions, betrayals, and moral collapse that pushed him toward redemption.
In Between God and Devil
by Rick Jones
2020
As ISIS resurges in Syria and Iraq, a priest connected to the Vatican is taken hostage and Shari Cohen is pulled back into the field. Kimball and the Vatican Knights must rescue the captives and gather intelligence before the next strike lands.
The Barabbas Connection
by Rick Jones
2020
After a massacre during a papal appearance points to Shari Cohen as the assassin, Kimball is forced into the worst hunt of his life. The deeper he digs, the more it looks like someone has weaponized both love and loyalty.
The Crimson Dagger
by Rick Jones
2020
The Spear of Destiny is stolen, Shari Cohen is fighting for her life, and a terrorist faction fortifies itself inside a Vienna high-rise. The Vatican Knights go in knowing the danger is coming from every direction.
The Eye of Moses
by Rick Jones
2020
A stolen religious icon called the Eye of Moses contains a particle powerful enough to create worlds or erase them. Kimball must navigate murder, betrayal, and Vatican politics before that power is used for something catastrophic.
The Sinai Directive
by Rick Jones
2020
A secret hidden for 3,500 years is stolen from Saint Catherine's Monastery and linked to a planned exchange of the golden calf for weapons of mass destruction. Kimball leads the Vatican Knights into a race that could ignite a regional war.
The Baal Manifesto
by Rick Jones
2021
A dark manifesto tied to Satan's messiahs is stolen, and Kimball Hayden is already under pressure from a coming court-martial. The Vatican Knights must recover the book before a ruthless enemy turns myth into political power.
The Goliath Chamber
by Rick Jones
2021
A hidden vault in Zurich appears to hold the Unholy Trinity, while terrorists prepare strikes on major cities and old enemies close in on Kimball. The Vatican Knights face a crisis that could shift global power for years.
The Vladorian Keep
by Rick Jones
2021
Impaled priests, a missing nun, and whispers about a bone keep in the Romanian mountains draw the Vatican Knights into one of their strangest cases. Folklore and violence blur until Kimball no longer knows which monster is real.
Archangel
by Rick Jones
2022
When a cardinal's niece is abducted by an Albanian mob, Kimball is forced into a fight without the church fully behind him. The case turns uglier when the shadow force hunting him is tied to Shari Cohen's husband.
The Venetian Code
by Rick Jones
2022
A Templar mystery, a sacred relic, and a network of killers converge beneath Venice. The Vatican Knights must solve deadly clues before a treasure hunter and a Russian strike team reach the Cup of Miracles first.
The Devil's Protege
by Rick Jones
2023
The theft of Saint Peter's Scepter of Light sends Kimball Hayden and the Vatican Knights into the Philippines. The mission is hard enough already, then Kimball realizes the most dangerous threat may be his own violent young protégé.
The Herod Conspiracy
by Rick Jones
2023
A series of murders linked to stigmata leads the Vatican toward a young girl in a shanty town outside Rome. As investigators close in, the Black Templars move to kill her before the Church learns the truth.
The Necrology Report
by Rick Jones
2023
A hostile breach in Vatican cybersecurity produces chilling death notices that predict murders before they happen. Kimball and the Knights chase the source to a Greek island stronghold guarded by mercenaries and old grudges.
The Black Monk
by Rick Jones
2024
With Kimball believed lost, Isaiah takes command against the Black Monk, who uses AI-driven disinformation to turn Europe and the faithful against the pope. To stop him, the Vatican Knights must assault a hidden mountain stronghold.
Knightfall
by Rick Jones
2025
Kimball Hayden retreats to a cabin in South Dakota and stumbles into a plot involving stolen nuclear launch codes and satellite sabotage. With a world crisis counting down, the Vatican needs its deadliest knight back in the fight.
The Magdalene Scrolls
by Rick Jones
2025
Templar-era scrolls tied to Mary Magdalene resurface after centuries in hiding, threatening to shake the Church itself. Kimball, Isaiah, and a Vatican scholar race the Illuminati toward a revelation some people will kill to suppress.
The Paris Deception
by Rick Jones
2025
A peace delegate is assassinated in Paris and the blame falls on Israel, pushing the world toward war. Kimball descends into the city's underworld to stop the larger plot before diplomacy gives way to catastrophe.
The Devil's Sanctuary
by Rick Jones
2026
A Russian general responsible for mass slaughter seeks sanctuary inside Vatican City, and the Vatican Knights are ordered to keep him alive. For Kimball Hayden, protecting the monster means reopening one of the worst failures of his past.
The Talisman
by Rick Jones
2026
A dying former Stasi insider reveals the existence of the Talisman, a secret assassination network that has never missed its target. With the pope now marked for death, Kimball and the Vatican Knights must reach the witness before the killers do.
Series background & context
The Vatican Knights series is built around a simple hook that Rick Jones knows how to use well: the Vatican has its own secret strike force, and when a crisis is too political, too bloody, or too sensitive for ordinary channels, that unit gets the call.
At the center is Kimball Hayden, a former American assassin who now serves the Church as both weapon and penitent. He is not a polished hero. He is tired, dangerous, and always trying to work out whether what he is doing counts as justice, duty, or just another sin. That tension gives the books their shape.
Vatican City matters here. Jones uses the setting as more than scenery, because the stories keep rubbing church ritual, intelligence work, relics, diplomacy, and raw force together. One book might start with a kidnapped pope or a hijacked plane, another with a stolen sacred artifact, a terror cell, or a plot inside the Vatican walls. The threats are usually global, but the pressure often feels personal.
Shari Cohen is another big part of the series. Her FBI background lets the books work from both sides, the official investigation and the covert response. Over time the series becomes as much about trust, loyalty, and moral compromise as it is about firefights and countdowns.
These are fast, high-stakes thrillers. If you like secret teams, religious conspiracy, and action that keeps moving from Rome to Washington to whatever trouble spot is next, Vatican Knights is the Rick Jones series most readers start with.
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