The Blackford Oakes Mysteries Series

Blackford Oakes launches a wild attempt to kill Castro on behalf of the CIA Ever since the botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro has run amok. He has executed thousands of his enemies, driven his countrymen to emigrate, and done everything possible to run Cuba into the ground—all in a deliberate attempt to humiliate the White House. At least, that’s how the situation looks from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where hatred of Castro has grown into an obsession. Under orders from John and Bobby Kennedy, the CIA will do anything necessary to kill Castro—no matter how ridiculous.   Even-tempered CIA agent Blackford Oakes is dismayed at the agency’s wild schemes, which include everything from poisoned wet suits to mafia hit men. But the evil of Castro’s regime is not a joke, and Oakes won’t be laughing when he tries to knock the dictator off his throne.   Mongoose, R.I.P. is the 8th book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A CIA agent goes from the White House swimming pool to the sweltering jungles of Vietnam in this novel in the New York Times–bestselling series: “A romp” (The Wall Street Journal).   It starts with a naked president. Blackford Oakes, the most elegant spy in the CIA, meets Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House swimming pool, and has no choice but to accept the president’s invitation to skinny-dip. Even naked, Johnson is all business, lambasting Oakes and the CIA for allowing the continued infiltration of guerillas into South Vietnam. Johnson demands for Oakes to fix it, and the agent can’t refuse—it’s impossible to say no to a stark-naked Texan.   Oakes teams up with hardened mercenary Tucker Montana, and they take to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. After slogging over hundreds of miles of jungle, they hit upon a brilliant plan to stop the North’s clandestine war in its tracks. But as the 1964 election turns bitter, Oakes finds that politics and war do not mix.   Tucker’s Last Stand is the 9th book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Dangerous Cold War secrets come to light in the age of glasnost in this “smooth and skillful” spy thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author (Publishers Weekly). In the bleakest hours of the Cold War, the CIA did terrible things. The agency arranged coups, assassinations, and wars, but no matter how dark their methods, they did it for America. Senator Hugh Blanton does not understand this. A bleeding-heart liberal with an impeccable academic pedigree, he came to Washington with one goal in mind: neutering the CIA. His prime target is Blackford Oakes—the agency’s most elegant cold warrior—whose shadowy past Blanton wants to expose to the world. But Oakes will not testify, lest he be forced to divulge the secrets of Operation Cyclops.   In the last days of the Cold War, as the USSR moved toward glasnost, the CIA became aware of a Russian plot to assassinate Premier Gorbachev. The only person Oakes told was President Reagan, with whom he was forced to decide if the leader of the evil empire would live or die.   A Very Private Plot is the 10th book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The “witty, charming, and courageous” CIA agent hunts for a mole inside MI6 in this New York Times–bestselling Cold War thriller series (Publishers Weekly). Albania may be a small nation, but it’s about to become the front line of the Cold War. In hopes of toppling the brutal Communist regime that controls the country, the British intelligence service has handpicked an elite group of Albanian freedom fighters to be molded into commandos by Blackford Oakes, the CIA’s all-purpose warrior. With the help of MI6’s most ruthless clandestine agent, Oakes is charged with turning the Albanians into a team of guerillas who will parachute back into their homeland to fight the good fight—and together, die.   When the Albanian mission ends in disaster, however, Oakes smells a rat inside MI6, and he begins a hunt for the most notorious mole in the history of espionage.   High Jinx is the 7th book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The New York Times–bestselling and National Book Award–winning mystery that’s “delightful reading for the spy thriller fan” (UPI.com). When the Wehrmacht took Warsaw, Alex Wintergrin led the charge. But as soon as Hitler’s army occupied the Polish capital, the charismatic young count disappeared, and he was assumed to be dead. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Wintergrin had ditched his uniform and turned himself in to Polish security forces, with whom he shared every scrap of Hitler’s plans for the invasion. He then waited out the war in Norway, fighting the Germans with the resistance. Now the fighting may be over, but for Wintergrin, a new battle has just begun.   When he starts inciting East Germans to throw off the yoke of Soviet oppression, the USSR threatens to roll its tanks across Europe. In order to keep another war from breaking out, the CIA must send in the charming devil Blackford Oakes to talk sense into Wintergrin—and if necessary, kill him.   Stained Glass is the 2nd book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

New York Times bestseller: The first mystery featuring the sophisticated deep-cover CIA agent: “Rollickingly ribald . . . Consistently witty.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review Blackford Oakes has never been afraid of obeying orders. During the war, it’s what kept him alive. When he leaves the air force for Yale, Oakes is studious, temperate, and polite. He knows how to follow rules—but he also knows the secret to breaking them: Never tell a little lie when a big lie will do. He’s exactly the man the CIA is looking for.   Just before Oakes graduates, an old friend recruits him to work for the Company. His military background, knowledge of French, and family in London make Oakes a perfect choice for the most glamorous role the CIA has to offer: deep-cover agent. When his 1st assignment reveals Soviet espionage inside Buckingham Palace and a plot against the young Queen, Oakes will throw the rulebook out the window.   Saving the Queen is the 1st book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

In this New York Times bestseller, a CIA agent is trapped in Budapest between KGB spies and Hungarian freedom fighters while trying to stop Sputnik. The students of Budapest rise up against the Soviets with the assurance that the West will help them fight. Instead, 200 Russian tanks roll across the Hungarian border, sweeping the resistance aside. It’s a heartbreaking setback for democracy in Eastern Europe—and a pain in the neck for Blackford Oakes. Trapped in Budapest when the fighting breaks out, this warm-hearted cold warrior must think quickly to stay ahead of the troops. But as the revolution collapses around him, he finds the Red Army is the least of his worries.   American intelligence has received word that the Soviets are planning to launch a satellite into space—a move that could shift the entire Cold War in their favor. It’s up to Oakes to stop them, and help the United States make its first steps toward the stars.   Who’s on First is the 3rd book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

A CIA agent is on trial in the USSR in this New York Times bestseller that “mixes politics, humor, suspense, and ingenious espionage capers” (Publishers Weekly). The prisoner in the dock is accused of unspeakable crimes against the Soviet Union—charges Blackford Oakes is proud to be guilty of. The agent has spent 9 years fighting the spread of Communism in Europe, and he intends to continue the battle. It shouldn’t be hard for the Russians to convict him of espionage—after all, Oakes was found on Soviet soil in a downed U-2 spy plane—and it will take a masterstroke for the agent to escape execution. The funny thing is, the Russians are playing right into his hands.   After 3 years on leave from the CIA, Oakes was brought back to take part in 1 of the most daring operations in intelligence history. His mission is to crash the plane, get captured, and endure the trial. So far, everything’s going according to plan. Now he just has to get out of the Soviet Union alive.   Marco Polo, If You Can is the 4th book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A CIA agent is out to save a resistance fighter in Communist-controlled Berlin in this “smoothly plotted,” New York Times–bestselling Cold War thriller (The New York Times). President Kennedy is sailing off Cape Cod when the Secret Service tells him they have to return to shore. This can only mean one thing: crisis. The president sails back to Hyannis Port as fast as possible, and upon stepping off the dock, his worst fears are realized. The Communists have cut Berlin in half. Kennedy will not let this stand; Germany is too important to be divided by the Soviets. The president knows he must fight to save Berlin, and there is 1 man in Washington with the savoir faire to carry out the mission. His name is Blackford Oakes.   Oakes infiltrates the divided city and makes contact with the resistance leader Henri Tod, whose men have dedicated themselves to driving the Communists out of East Berlin. When Tod disappears, Oakes will risk everything to save him, even if it means stepping across the Iron Curtain.   The Story of Henri Tod is the 5th book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Now in one volume—the first three New York Times bestsellers starring a Cold War–era CIA superspy.   Following the rules kept Blackford Oakes alive when he was an air force pilot during World War II, and it kept him in line as a student at Yale. But as a CIA agent, he knows that sometimes rules need to be broken . . .   Saving the Queen: It’s 1952 and Oakes tackles his first assignment in London. He must uncover a spy within Buckingham Palace and protect the young queen from assassination.   Stained Glass: In this National Book Award winner, Oakes must silence a righteous nationalist stirring up trouble in East Germany, because failure to do so could push the United States and the USSR into World War III.   Who’s on First: The Hungarian Uprising of 1956 erupts, leaving Oakes trapped in Budapest. He soon finds himself in a race to stop the Soviets from launching a satellite—before KGB spies put an end to him.

In the New York Times–bestselling spy series, Agent Oakes is in Cuba for secret negotiations with Che Guevara—on a mission that soon turns deadly. From his 1st day in office, President Kennedy has been bedeviled by Cuba. The CIA forced the Bay of Pigs invasion down his throat, resulting in lost lives, international embarrassment, and a new low in America’s relationship with the Caribbean. More than anything, Kennedy wants Cuba contained. Brute force didn’t work; it’s time to try a subtler approach—and there is no spy more tactful than Blackford Oakes.   The CIA calls it Operation Alligator: a top secret back-channel negotiation to put Cuba and the United States on better footing. Oakes goes south to meet with Castro’s right-hand man, the notorious Che Guevara, in hopes of finding common ground between their countries. Instead, he discovers a sinister Communist plot that could destabilize the hemisphere, and lead the US president to his doom.   See You Later, Alligator is the 6th book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The brilliant CIA agent goes up against infamous Soviet spy Kim Philby in this “lively, entertaining” Cold War thriller (Publishers Weekly).  Blackford “Blackie” Oakes is the greatest spy in American history, but he’s no longer allowed behind enemy lines. As the former director of covert operations for the CIA, he knows too much to risk falling into enemy hands. But something has come up that requires him to go farther behind the Iron Curtain than he ever has before—and if he’s captured, he’ll have no choice but to take his own life. But Blackie doesn’t mind; he’s always wanted a chance to die for his country.   Previously, a team of assassins had targeted Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, and Blackie acted on secret orders from President Ronald Reagan himself to save the Russian’s life. Now, Gorbachev is in danger once again, and his death could reignite the Cold War just as it’s coming to a close. To avert World War III, Blackie infiltrates Moscow, where he comes face-to-face with the Soviets’ own master of espionage: notorious defector Harold Adrian Russell “Kim” Philby.   Witty and urbane, and featuring an unforgettable cast of characters both real and imagined, Last Call for Blackford Oakes is a delightful ending to one of the greatest espionage sagas in history.