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Luke Carlton books in order: the complete series

Looking for Frank Gardner’s Luke Carlton books in order? Look no further!

Ex-Special Boat Service commando turned MI6 operative Luke Carlton is deployed for some of the secret service’s most dangerous missions and there’s nothing he won’t do.

From Colombia to Tehran to the Arctic Circle, Frank Gardner’s books will transport you round the world for a series of action-packed, thrilling adventures that are well-crafted, entertaining and unnervingly current.

Inspired by his experiences working as the BBC’s Security Correspondent, Garner writes with striking authenticity, combining insider knowledge with fly-on-the-wall insights. A must-read series!

Frank Gardner’s Luke Carlton books in order:

Crisis by Frank Gardner

1. Crisis (2016)

Introducing Luke Carlton – ex-Special Boat Service commando, and now under contract to MI6 for some of its most dangerous missions.

Sent into the steaming Colombian jungle to investigate the murder of a British intelligence officer, Luke finds himself caught up in the coils of a plot that has terrifying international dimensions.

Hunted down, captured, tortured and on the run from one of South America’s most powerful and ruthless drugs cartels and its psychotic leader thirsting for revenge, Luke is in a life-or-death race against time to prevent a disaster on a truly terrifying scale: London is the target, the weapon is diabolical and the means of delivery is ingenious.

Ultimatum by Frank Gardner

2. Ultimatum (2018)

Hidden from prying Western satellites, Iranian scientists are at work on a banned device. They are acting on the orders of a renegade cell within Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose objective is to transform their country into a nuclear-armed nation, and so seal its domination of the Middle East.

Britain’s intelligence agencies know something is up. Someone on the inside is ready to hand over information – but the rendezvous with SIS officer Luke Carlton goes bloodily wrong . . .

Then MI6 sees an opportunity to recruit an individual with unique access to the IRGC hardliners. Luke is chosen to reel them in. Going into Iran undercover is dangerous enough, but then there’s a killing and a kidnapping and the British government is presented with a shocking ultimatum.

With time running out, it seems only Luke can stop a cataclysmic new war in the Gulf…

Outbreak by Frank Gardner

3. Outbreak (2021)

Deep within the Arctic Circle, three scientists from the UK’s Arctic Research Station trudge through a blizzard in search of shelter. They see a cabin ahead. It appears abandoned. No lights. No snowmobile outside. But as they push open the door, the smell hits them. Rank and foetid: there’s something bad inside.

Then movement. A man lies slumped, his face disfigured by livid pustules. Blood runs from his nostrils; his chest glistens blackly. The team’s medic, Dr Sheila Mackenzie, pushes forward to examine him when the convulsions start. Blood, bile and mucus spray into the air. The doctor knows it’s too late – she’s been contaminated.

Within hours, a full-scale operation to contain this contagion is underway. Samples are rushed to the laboratories at Porton Down on high alert. What they discover changes everything. Supported by phone and data intercepts, British Intelligence reaches a terrifying conclusion: that Russia has been developing a new generation of bio-weapons.

Dispatched to investigate, MI6’s Luke Carlton finds himself on a serpentine trail of lies and deception. From a mysterious factory in Lithuania, via arrest and imprisonment, and ultimately back to Britain, he discovers that they’ve been looking in the wrong place all along…

Invasion by Frank Gardner

4. Invasion (May 2024)

2024, and China is massing troops on its coast across the Strait from Taiwan. This time it looks like they’re serious about invasion – an act that would result in war between the People’s Republic and the US and its allies, including the UK.

But Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service has an agent in play: someone close to the top of the Chinese Communist Party and who’s ready to pass on vital secrets that could defuse the escalating situation. But as the handover takes place in a Hong Kong back street cafe, the agent’s MI6 handler is snatched before she can transmit the data back to London and disappears. There are few clues as to who might be responsible. Is it China’s infamous state security agency, the MSS? Or has another, less predictable player entered the game?

MI6 field operative Luke Carlton is despatched to track down the missing agent. Accompanying him is his Mandarin-speaking colleague, the highly capable Jenny Li. But as they follow a succession of tip-offs that take them from shady Macau casinos to tawdry night clubs, Luke begins to sense that something’s not right – that they are being deliberately strung along.

As the clock ticks, global tensions heighten and the two SIS operatives have traced their target to Taiwan – a country frantically preparing for imminent invasion. And there, in a remote mountain temple hideaway, Luke and Jenny stumble across what’s really going on.

But China’s People’s Liberation Army has already begun to flex its hi-tech muscles, in Taiwan and closer to home, and suddenly the world is holding its breath

There you have it – all Frank Gardner’s Luke Carlton books in order! How many have you read? Let us know in the comments below…

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10 Comments

    Returned to the UK 2 years ago after 32 years in Australia and China. Have bought 221 books in 2 years and book 4 is the first of the Frank Gardner novels that I’ve read. Must now get books 1 to 3. Excellent summation of the Chinese war machine in Book 4

    Just finished Outbreak. A great read. Now to find books 1 & 2

    Firs time I have read any Frank Gardners books.
    Joined at Book 3. Gripping. Want to read 1 and 2now.
    Hope no 4 is in progress

    Absolutely love these books, however I’ve read 2 and 3 and now on book 1 but still loving them and hasn’t spoilt it for me. Glad I didn’t read book 3 first as the twist in that us great!!!

    I have read them all out of order.
    In fact I have 10 pages left of number 2 and took Number 1 on holiday this week, passengers on the plane might have been worried when they saw the book cover.
    Brilliant books to read and Frank has done his homework on getting into the minds of the characters

    Just read Crisis. Great book, now looking forward to the next one in the series

    I am in the process of reading the latest….Outbreak.
    All of his books are good reads. I hope another is issued soon

    What writing, you are there with Luke all the way and the “grip” level is very high. Once started I defy you to put the book down. More sleepless nights!

    I was given Outbreak as a Christmas present from my daughter absolutely gripping read ! Hopefully could be made into a film!! I’m going to buy the other two

    I’ve read them all, absolutely brilliant. I’m really hoping there is more to come. Real page turners.

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