FIVE NOVELS · READ IN ORDER

The Cole Hardin series

Intelligent espionage, international intrigue, and relentless suspense. Begin with The Hole in the Ocean, Book One.

Enter the Cole Hardin WorldA spoiler-free orientation

International intelligence operations, geopolitical rivalries, competing loyalties, and technological threats shape these espionage thrillers. Across the series, information in the wrong hands can change the stakes for everyone involved.

The five novels below are presented in reading order. Each synopsis links directly to its book page.

A SHORT, PRIVATE GUIDE

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COLE HARDIN · BOOK 1

The Hole in the Ocean

A murder in Trieste and a vanished Navy vessel point Cole Hardin toward a secret capable of turning one disappearance into a geopolitical crisis.

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Spoiler-free · Book 1

Location focus: Trieste · Gulf of Oman

The Opening Incident

A murdered broker leaves behind one unexplained number tied to a classified program.

The Official Account

A Navy vessel disappears in the Gulf of Oman, and the explanation arrives before the questions can be asked.

The Trail Widens

Evidence across shipyards and defense contractors points toward consequences larger than one missing ship.

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COLE HARDIN · BOOK 2

The Machine's Word

A Monaco drone heist points to a hand-flown swarm and an AI defense system that could send a warship after the wrong enemy.

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Spoiler-free · Book 2

Location focus: Monaco · Catalonia · The Riviera

The Heliport Heist

A precisely coordinated swarm uses smoke and distraction to deliver diamonds to an unmanned submersible.

A Human Signature

One drone breaks formation. Hardin believes a person is guiding it by hand.

Four Minutes to Decide

A warship is poised to act on Mantle’s judgment, and the next swarm could turn uncertain attribution into open conflict.

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COLE HARDIN · BOOK 3

Keep Him Alive

With fourteen days to choose a Gulf emirate's next ruler, Cole Hardin must protect Felix Brandt while Washington values his evidence above his life.

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Spoiler-free · Book 3

Location focus: Qasra · Lake Maggiore

Fourteen Days

The ruling family must choose a successor before the deadline reshapes the political balance.

The Man with the Evidence

Brandt’s long service inside the regime makes him indispensable to the decision—and a target.

Protection, Compromised

Hardin is tasked with keeping Brandt alive while Washington signals that the evidence matters more than the source.

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COLE HARDIN · BOOK 4

The Kill Signal

A message reopens a failed Beirut operation. Cole must sort doctored secrets from a real leak, then bring a source across a frozen border lake.

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Spoiler-free · Book 4

Location focus: Beirut · Tallinn · Frozen border lake

The Envelope

Pages from Hardin’s own agency challenge the account of the Beirut operation that still defines him.

Truth in the Feed

Doctored material is meant to draw out a Russian officer, while a real leak puts a NATO source in danger.

The Winter Crossing

A source is running out of time. Hardin must bring the officer’s daughter across a frozen lake before the night closes in.

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COLE HARDIN · BOOK 5

The Ransom Line

Fourteen sailors are seized off Libya. A ransom is demanded for four men lost at sea. With no badge or backup, Hardin must fly into Libya alone.

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Spoiler-free · Book 5

Location focus: Off Libya · Libya

Fourteen Sailors

A seized cargo ship becomes the center of a demand meant to answer for four men lost at sea.

A Medical Deadline

One sailor is running out of insulin, leaving little room for delay.

A Handoff in the Dark

A patrol’s searchlight disrupts a night transfer as someone secretly funds an armed retaking of the ship.

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New to the series?

Meet Cole Hardin in the first novel and continue through the books in order.

Read about Book One