Isabella Rose Books In Order

Publication Order of Isabella Rose Books

The Isabella Rose series by Mark Dawson is a spin-off from the Beatrix Rose Trilogy, now featuring Isabella Rose the daughter of Beatrix. The author Dawson grew up in Chicago and Manchester though he was born in Lowestoft. While he is best known for his novels he has worked as a lawyer and is currently working in the film industry in London. “Subpoena Colada” and “The Art of Falling Apart” his first novels have been translated into multiple languages. Among his novels are the “John Milton,” “Beatrix Rose,” “Group 15,” and “Soho Noir” series. His popular “John Milton” series was about a disgruntled special agent who goes on a quest to help people make amends of the terrible things they have done. Mark Dawson currently lives in Wiltshire England with his family.

The Isabella Rose by Mark Dawson introduces Isabella Rose, an agent of Group 15 just as her mother Beatrix Rose was before her. Nonetheless, even as she is in charge of eliminating some of the most dangerous enemies of her country, she is an unofficial employee of British Intelligence given that she is underage. But official and unofficial never slowed down Isabella as she used to the life of being a covert agent. Since she was eleven, her mother, who had been one of the best British assassins had taught her how to kill and stay alive in the worst of conditions. Her mother had obtained some information that her boss did not want to get out and decided to eliminate her. The men sent had killed her father and would have killed the mother and the three year Isabella too. But Isabella had been hidden by Group Fifteen until she was eleven when she was reunited with her mother. But once they were reunited, the men that had tried to kill her and her mother got wind of it and came back on their trail intending to eliminate them. This necessitated the older Rose to take action in training her daughter in the skills to survive the coming war. Isabella Rose had become an expert in multiple languages, hand to hand combat, and guns. She also has the street smarts to survive almost anywhere in the world. They did finally manage to eliminate their enemies only for her mother to succumb to cancer. Sometime later, Isabella is approached to join the Intelligence services by Pope, a man that had always been their friend during their struggles and she agreed.

“The Angel: Act I” the first novel of the Isabella Rose series opens to a terrorist attack in London. It introduces Pope, the head of a covert intelligence agency who works to carry out unofficial sanctioned missions such as assassinations. He is more of a Mitch Rapp or James Bond character though he is more mature given that he runs a department, a team of assassins and also has a family. They are now going after terrorists from the Islamic State that are planning to attack the British Parliament to kill more government and civilians. Fighting the determined terrorists will not be an easy task and Pope realizes that he needs specialized skills. He calls up Isabella Rose who is in Morocco stockpiling weapons and training in the remote vastness of the Sahara. But while she thinks that he is there to check up on how she is doing, that is only part of the story. He wants her to go undercover in an exclusive school in Switzerland and while at it spy on a man suspected to be financing the terrorist attacks against London. She jumps at the opportunity given that she had been getting bored and lonely since the death of her mother. Furthermore, she had known Pope for years since he had helped Beatrix and Isabella avenge the death of their father and eliminate their enemies.

“The Asset: Act II” the second novel of the series starts off from where the first novel left off. Isabella had been recruited by Pope, a family friend to go undercover to find some information on a suspected financier of a terrorist group. But things had gone haywire and she had been caught by the Islamic State, which is now holding her prisoner. She is being held in northern Syria inside a caliphate camp. It is a horrible existence for Isabella and she has to bring all the training with her mother to bear if she is to survive. But her mother prepared her well and her resourcefulness in the seemingly medieval world is mind-blowing. Despite the hopelessness of her situation, she is always trying to find chinks in the security that she can exploit to get away. John Pope has never forgotten and is working hard to get her out as he feels responsible for putting her in the situation. Trusting no one but Isabella, he heads to Syria and though there is a sense of dread in the story, the best action sequences as he breaks out Isabella makes for an intriguing story.

“The Agent” the third novel of the Isabella Rose series opens to Pope and Rose in the middle of a conspiracy by American and British right-wing elements keen to blame ISIS for terrorist attacks. By doing so, they would pressure the governments of the two countries to launch strikes against fundamentalists in Iraq and Syria. Since they know too much, the right-wing elements are hunting them down and have kidnapped Pope’s family to ensure their silence. They have been to Italy, Syria, Turkey, Switzerland, London and many other cities, but nothing prepared them for the tough mission they are about to embark on. A third faction that is allegedly fighting the fundamentalists known as the Hawks is also thrown into the mix, though Pope is unsure if he can fully trust them yet. Nonetheless, they come through for Isabella and Pope several times saving their lives. Isabella is not yet fully recovered from her ordeal in Syria though she tags along determined to provide all the help she can to ensure Pope frees his family from the fundamentalists. But then it all boils down to a double cross exchange. Will Pope sacrifice his protégé for the sake of his family?

One Response to “Isabella Rose”

1. Chuck Bowles: 11 months ago

   I love all your series books. Will there be more Isabella Rose books? Will there be more Group 15 books?

   Reply