Court Gentry is the Gray Man, a former CIA operative turned freelance assassin who became the most wanted man on the planet after his own agency turned on him. Greaney (who co-wrote several Tom Clancy novels) brings deep knowledge of military and intelligence operations to every book. The action is relentless, the tradecraft is detailed, and the body count is high.
Read in publication order, starting with The Gray Man (2009). publication.
| # | Book | Published | Rating | Where to read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Gray Man The Gray ManStart | 2009 | 4.1 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 2 | On Target On Target | 2010 | 4.1 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 3 | Ballistic Ballistic | 2011 | 4.2 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 4 | Dead Eye Dead Eye | 2013 | 4.2 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 5 | Back Blast Back Blast Reveals why the CIA turned on Court. A pivotal entry in the series. | 2016 | 4.3 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 6 | Gunmetal Gray Gunmetal Gray | 2017 | 4.2 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 7 | Agent in Place Agent in Place | 2018 | 4.3 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 8 | Mission Critical Mission Critical | 2019 | 4.2 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 9 | One Minute Out One Minute Out | 2020 | 4.3 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 10 | Relentless Relentless | 2021 | 4.2 | Kindle $13.99Paperback $10.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $17.00 |
| 11 | Sierra Six Sierra Six | 2022 | 4.2 | Kindle $14.99Paperback $11.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $18.00 |
| 12 | Burner Burner | 2023 | 4.1 | Kindle $14.99Paperback $11.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $18.00 |
| 13 | The Chaos Agent The Chaos Agent | 2024 | 4.1 | Kindle $14.99Paperback $15.49Audible $14.99Bookshop $20.00 |
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Book #1, and still the best on-ramp. It sets up everything that makes this series work.
If you love The Gray Man, try these next.
Another lone-wolf operator with a strict moral code. Reacher stays in the U.S. and uses his fists more than guns, but the appeal is the same: one man dismantling bad guys with ruthless efficiency.
A government-trained assassin helping civilians. More tech-forward and emotionally grounded than Gray Man, but the covert-operative DNA is identical.
CIA counterterrorism at its most aggressive. Rapp operates within the system where Court operates outside it, but both series run on the same fuel: high stakes, fast action, and morally complicated protagonists.
Yes. Court's relationships, alliances, and backstory develop across the series. The first five books in particular build a continuous arc about why the CIA wants him dead.
The 2022 Netflix film starring Ryan Gosling takes the basic premise (a CIA assassin on the run) but changes most of the plot. The book is tighter and more grounded. Treat them as separate stories.
Yes. Greaney co-wrote several Jack Ryan novels with Tom Clancy before his death, then continued the series solo. His experience with Clancy's world shaped the geopolitical detail in the Gray Man books.