Kirk McGarvey Books In Order

Publication Order of Kirk McGarvey Books

The Kirk McGarvey series is a collection of seventeen different novels based on the thriller genre. The novels of the series were published from 1989 to 2014 and were written by American novelist David Hagberg. The series revolves around the life and career of the central character named Kirk McGarvey, who is also the main protagonist of the series. Kirk is depicted as a CIA agent who is trained to fight all sorts of communism. The plot of the series is set in the sixties. Kirk is superior in intelligence and always strives for winning. Initially, he co-owns a bookstore in Switzerland for a few years. He lives with Marta, her lovely wife, but gets bored with his life experiencing social issues. He ages something around 40. Waiting for something to happen in his life, he believes that the ladies would report his actions to the Swiss government as he is of a stubborn behavior.

Kirk is shown as an open-minded person who speaks his mind and never likes to back down from his beliefs. Many people do not like his attitude of being a pig-headed man and often refer him as a Neanderthal. He had served in the Agency few years back but was forced to retire early because of his rude behavior. Hence, when he gets hired again to work for the Agency, he keeps his terms and remains firm in working the way he likes. He asks the higher officials to kick him out again if they do not like him and if they can’t then they should allow him to get the job done in his own way. His life and career undergo drastic changes throughout the series. He reaches to the top position in the Agency before retiring, but never stops doing his duties as the he keeps landing in troubles all the time. The initial couple of novels of the series were titled ‘Without Honor’ and ‘Countdown’ and were published in the years 1989 and 1990 respectively. The descriptions of these two novels are as follows:

The first novel of the series ”Without Honor’ introduces the character of the former CIA agent Kirk McGarvey working as a co-owner of a bookstore. The plot starts with the hijacking of a plane headed for Cuba, killing four people, two of which are CIA operatives. To deal with the situation and bring the hijackers to justice, Kirk is recalled in the Agency. The officials of the Agency have relied on Kirk in the past and still have faith in him. But Kirk has some conditions to rejoin the Agency and does not want anyone to interfere with his investigations. He has had an unpleasant past which gets resurfaced to haunt him and destroy his present. He is asked to go after a man who is a former agent just like him but has taken a criminal route to disturb the smooth functioning of the U.S government.

In trying to deal with the criminal, Kirk discovers how he was a few years back and believes that he can still work just like the old days. His skills have not faded away with age and he is still perfectly active in his moves. The world is full of deception where Kirk is stuck between the right and wrong an does not know whom to believe and whom not to. He has to take careful steps in order to hunt down the criminal and prove himself to be the old Kirk McGarvey. The success of the novel made it to be republished in the year 1997 by the Tom Doherty Association. The action scenes of the novel were appreciated by many readers. The plot is full of complexity and betrayals and the fact that Kirk comes out of every betrayal and falseness is liked by many. The twists and turns of the story keep the readers interested in reading the novel in a joyful manner.

The second installment of the Kirk McGarvey series was titled ‘Countdown’ and was published in the year 1990. It was republished by Tor Books in 1991 in order to reach out to the masses. The plot of this novel a submarine goes missing from the coast of Italy. The submarine named U.S.S. Indianapolis is kept on training on the coast of Italy by the U.S.officials. When the receiving station stops getting transmissions from the submarine, the officials launch a search operation only to find it missing without leaving any trace. Another fearful incident happens when a Pershing missile gets hijacked from the West German Air Force base in spite of being under a maximum security installation. It is later found out that the people behind those fateful incidents are Colonel Valentin Baranov, who is the newly appointed head of the KGB and Arkady Kurshin, who is considered as a deadly weapon working under Colonel Baranov as well as a ruthless assassin. The CIA hires retired agent Kirk McGarvey, who has previously encountered with Colonel Baranov on one occasion and has some unfinished business with him. Kirk is asked to curb the sinister plans of Baranov and Kurshin and destroy their operation. He starts his mission by going after Kurshin trying to find him throughout the Europe.

Kirk is determined to find Kurshin and stop him from destroying the world peace. The mission is very important for Kirk and the CIA as the duo are planning to carry out an act of terrorism with devastating consequences. The balance of the world power will be affected drastically if they become successful in carrying out their plans. Kirk should find them before the time runs out as the countdown of the destructive plans have already started. Although few people do not find the novel interesting because of the fact that Kirk is described as a Neanderthal in his behavior and attitude, many other critics liked the overall story of the book. Many readers found it pretty enjoyable to read. The series unveils the grave dangers that the country faces or may face in future. It justifies the requirement of a number of people like Kirk McGarvey, who try to keep away those dangers of the life of the people of America. Author David Hagberg was praised for his efforts and was motivated to complete a few other novels in the series. Countdown won the American Mystery Award for the ‘Best Spy Novel’, which was awarded by the Mystery Scene Magazine.