Reading order · 28 books · 2013 to 2026 · Set around the world
John Milton Books in Order
John Milton is a former assassin for a secret British government unit called Group Fifteen, who walks away and tries to atone by helping people in trouble, while his old employers hunt him. Fast, popular thrillers.
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Series facts
- Books
- 28
- Published
- 2013 to 2026
- First book
- The Cleaner
- Latest
- Dope (2026)
- Setting
- Set around the world
The reading order
Every John Milton book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary. Books marked Crossover also belong to another series.
28 books · Set around the world
- 1The Cleaner2013With John MiltonJohn Milton, a government assassin, wants out after a job goes wrong.Buy on Amazon
- 2Saint Death2013With John MiltonJohn Milton goes to Ciudad Juárez, on the Mexican border, and finds himself up against a drug cartel.Buy on Amazon
- 3The Driver2014With John MiltonJohn Milton is working as a minicab driver in London when a young woman he drives disappears.Buy on Amazon
- 4Ghosts2014With John MiltonArrested in Texas, John Milton is forced by Russian intelligence to hunt his own predecessor, and must play the Russians and the British against each other to save an old friend.Buy on Amazon
- 5The Sword of God2014With John MiltonSeeking solitude in the Michigan wilderness, Milton draws the attention of a local deputy and, after a double-cross, flees into the Porcupine Mountains with a posse on his trail.Buy on Amazon
- 6Salvation Row2014With John MiltonMilton goes to post-Katrina Louisiana to help a woman save her community rebuilding project from a property magnate, as a dangerous figure from his past takes an interest.Buy on Amazon
- 7Headhunters2015With John MiltonWhen a former Mossad assassin escapes a Louisiana prison to hunt the man he blames for his wife’s death, Milton is pulled from the Australian outback into a deadly showdown.Buy on Amazon
- 8The Ninth Step2016With John MiltonKeeping a low profile in London, Milton tries to help a man from his support group, and when the man is found dead the case leads to government corruption and the criminal underworld.Buy on Amazon
- 9The Jungle2016With John MiltonMilton sets out to rescue a young refugee’s sister from people smugglers, a journey that takes him through Libya, Italy and France against a ruthless trafficking ring.Buy on Amazon
- 10Blackout2017With John MiltonTrying to stay sober, Milton wakes in a Manila hotel beside a murdered woman with no memory of the night, and must clear his name from inside a brutal prison.Buy on Amazon
- 11The Alamo2017With John MiltonHoping for quiet on off-season Coney Island, Milton finds himself between a drug gang and corrupt cops after a local boy witnesses a murder.Buy on Amazon
- 12Redeemer2018With John MiltonStanding in as bodyguard to a Rio judge’s family, Milton is nearly killed when the daughter is kidnapped, and sets out from the favelas to the corridors of power to bring her home.Buy on Amazon
- 13Sleepers2018With John MiltonA week before The Cleaner, a struggling Milton and Michael Pope hunt the killers of a Russian defector, a trail that leads to Moscow and the agency that plants sleeper agents abroad.Buy on Amazon
- 14Twelve Days2018With John MiltonMilton plans to watch young boxer Elijah Warriner’s big fight in London the week before Christmas, but Elijah’s rising fame draws old enemies seeking revenge.Buy on Amazon
- 15Bright Lights2019With John MiltonMilton tries to help a woman escape a powerful crime family and is caught up in a feud with a cartel that takes him from Oakland to Las Vegas and across the Mexican border.Buy on Amazon
- 16Tempest2019CrossoverWith John Milton and Beatrix Rose · Also a Beatrix Rose bookA Vietnam deserter who has hidden in Hong Kong’s Walled City for forty years wants to go home, and after an attempt on his life he turns to Beatrix Rose for help.Buy on Amazon
- 17The Man Who Never Was2020With John MiltonMilton takes on a false identity to avenge a friend killed by a cartel, following the cocaine trade from Amsterdam towards Colombia.Buy on Amazon
- 18Killa City2020With John MiltonIn Kansas City, Milton steps into a brawl at a car auction lot and is drawn into a web of corruption and money laundering.Buy on Amazon
- 19Ronin2020With John MiltonSeeking a fresh start in Bali, Milton meets a desperate woman forced into drug smuggling by a Yakuza gang holding her child, and resolves to help her.Buy on Amazon
- 20Never Let Me Down Again2021With John MiltonHelping an old friend search for a missing journalist, Milton travels to the Flannan Isles off Scotland, where a century-old mystery hides a modern conspiracy.Buy on Amazon
- 21Bulletproof2021With John MiltonCaptured by the organisation he once served, Milton agrees to one last job for his freedom, protecting a billionaire fixer during a weapons deal.Buy on Amazon
- 22The Sandman2022With John MiltonMilton hunts a human trafficker who vanished from hospital after being found unresponsive in his prison cell, as the man’s enemies and allies complicate the chase.Buy on Amazon
- 23Uppercut2023With John MiltonOn the run again, Milton follows clues to Dublin and becomes involved with a woman who has crossed a dangerous local family.Buy on Amazon
- 24Bloodlands2024With John MiltonMilton is pulled back into espionage when his friend Alex Hicks is hunted, a chase that runs from Ukraine to Siberia.Buy on Amazon
- 25Vultures2025With John MiltonWhen a cryptocurrency scheme ruins thousands of investors, Milton refuses to let the people behind it walk away.Buy on Amazon
- 26The Hanging Tree2025With John MiltonIn a Kentucky town riddled with scams and a brutal crime family, Milton must expose a conspiracy involving a crooked banker and a hidden drug operation.Buy on Amazon
- 27Clearwater2025With John MiltonMilton reconnects with a woman he once helped escape a cartel, now fighting a fracking company poisoning her town, as a threat from her past closes in.Buy on Amazon
- 28Dope2026With John MiltonIn the rainy Pacific Northwest, Milton is drawn into a fight against a pharmaceutical company willing to ruin lives for profit.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in order, starting with The Cleaner.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | John Milton | Beatrix Rose | Michael Pope | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Cleaner | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 2 Saint Death | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 3 The Driver | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 4 Ghosts | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 5 The Sword of God | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 6 Salvation Row | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 7 Headhunters | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 8 The Ninth Step | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 9 The Jungle | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 10 Blackout | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 11 The Alamo | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 12 Redeemer | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 13 Sleepers | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 14 Twelve Days | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 15 Bright Lights | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 16 Tempest | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | |
| 17 The Man Who Never Was | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 18 Killa City | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 19 Ronin | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 20 Never Let Me Down Again | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 21 Bulletproof | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 22 The Sandman | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 23 Uppercut | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 24 Bloodlands | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 25 Vultures | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 26 The Hanging Tree | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 27 Clearwater | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 28 Dope | LLead | ·Minor |
Characters in the John Milton books
4 characters from Mark Dawson’s chart, with the number of John Milton books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| John MiltonFormer government assassin seeking redemption | 28 | The Cleaner 2013 |
| Beatrix RoseFormer Group Fifteen assassin out for revenge | 1 | Tempest 2019 |
| Michael PopeGroup Fifteen agent and Milton’s friend | 28 | The Cleaner 2013 |
| ControlHead of Group Fifteen | 6 | The Cleaner 2013 |
Crossovers with Mark Dawson’s other series
- Beatrix Rose: 1 book shared (Tempest); Beatrix Rose also appears in 4 of its books