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thriller
Series · political thriller
Marcus Ryker
The Marcus Ryker series by Joel C. Rosenberg has 6 known books (6 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Kremlin Conspiracy (2018). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is The Beijing Betrayal.
- Books
- 6 known books (6 novels)
- Published
- 6
- First published
- 2018
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: The Kremlin Conspiracy (2018) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Kremlin Conspiracy
Joel C. Rosenberg opened Marcus Ryker with The Kremlin Conspiracy on March 6, 2018: a former U.S. Marine and Secret Service agent is thrown into a new career as a covert CIA operative after his partner is killed in a Moscow assassination attempt on the American president. At 480 pages, it launches Rosenberg's longest-running series to date.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Kremlin Conspiracy - Book 2:
The Persian Gamble
The Persian Gamble followed in March 2019, the second book and the shortest in the series at 432 pages, sending Ryker into an Iranian nuclear gambit as Rosenberg continues building each novel around real-world geopolitical flashpoints.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Persian Gamble - Book 3:
The Jerusalem Assassin
The Jerusalem Assassin arrived in March 2020 as the third entry, 464 pages, centering an assassination threat against Israeli and American leaders meeting in Jerusalem -- one of the ripped-from-current-events crises that drives Rosenberg's Marcus Ryker series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Jerusalem Assassin - Book 4:
The Beirut Protocol
The Beirut Protocol, from March 2021, is the fourth book at 466 pages, pulling Marcus Ryker into a Hezbollah-Israel crisis as his personal arc -- grief over his partner's death, his CIA recruitment -- continues to build across Rosenberg's series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Beirut Protocol - Book 5:
The Libyan Diversion
The Libyan Diversion didn't appear until May 2023, two years after The Beirut Protocol, matching The Kremlin Conspiracy's 480-page length as the series' fifth entry.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Libyan Diversion - Book 6:
The Beijing Betrayal
The Beijing Betrayal, published March 2025, closed a two-year gap since The Libyan Diversion as the sixth and most recent Marcus Ryker novel, at 416 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Beijing Betrayal
About the Marcus Ryker series
Marcus Ryker is a former U.S. Marine and Secret Service agent whose partner is killed in a Moscow assassination attempt on the American president in the opening book, launching him into a new career as a covert CIA operative moving between Russia, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Libya and China across Rosenberg's ongoing fourth series. Each book centers on a fresh geopolitical flashpoint drawn from current headlines: a Kremlin plot against a Baltic NATO ally, an Iranian nuclear gambit, an assassination threat against Israeli and American leaders meeting in Jerusalem, a Hezbollah-Israel crisis, a Libyan weapons-smuggling operation, and a Chinese espionage plot reaching into the White House.
Marcus Ryker is Rosenberg's longest-running series to date and, as of this catalogue's curation, still active -- The Beijing Betrayal, the sixth entry, was published in March 2025. As with his earlier work, Rosenberg builds each novel around real-world geopolitical tension (Russia-NATO friction, Iran's nuclear program, Hezbollah, Chinese intelligence operations) filtered through his recurring interest in how current events track against biblical prophecy and the security of Israel.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Marcus Ryker series?
Six as of this catalogue's curation (August 2026): The Kremlin Conspiracy (2018), The Persian Gamble (2019), The Jerusalem Assassin (2020), The Beirut Protocol (2021), The Libyan Diversion (2023), and The Beijing Betrayal (2025).
Is the series finished?
No -- it is Rosenberg's current, ongoing series as of this curation, with roughly one new book every one to two years since 2018.
Who is Marcus Ryker?
A former U.S. Marine and Secret Service agent turned CIA operative, introduced in The Kremlin Conspiracy after his Secret Service partner is killed in an assassination attempt on the U.S. president in Moscow.
If you like the Marcus Ryker series
Reading order last verified .