Picked by Scot Harvath fans

Here are 16 books that Scot Harvath fans have personally recommended once you finish the Scot Harvath series. Book DNA is a community of authors and super-readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Book cover of The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington

Matt Scott Author Of Surviving the Lion's Den

From my list on political conspiracy books for election season.

Why am I passionate about this?

In college, I studied under the former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, General Sam Wilson, who laid the foundation for my understanding of geopolitics and the intelligence world. Post 9/11, I began reading every book on terrorism that I could find, and my vision for conspiracies was broadened by both what I read and what I experienced in the daily news cycle. Steadily, the combination of my creative juices and research led me to write my trilogy of political spy thrillers, the Surviving the Lion’s Den series, which explores the Iranian threat to the West via a mirage of conspiratorial plots. 

Matt's book list on political conspiracy books for election season

Matt Scott Why Matt loves this book

This may be the only nonfiction book on my list, but it reads like fiction. Meltzer has a fantastic mind for exploring aspects of history that have either been forgotten or have gone unexplored, and this book is no exception. I was immensely taken aback by the hardships that Washington encountered daily in confronting the British threat and keeping America together during the Revolutionary War.

At the same time, I was amazed at the man’s courage and willpower to endure the challenges he faced. By the end of the book, you will undoubtedly ask yourself, “What would America look like without George Washington?”

By Brad Meltzer , Josh Mensch ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The First Conspiracy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Taking place during the most critical period of our nation’s birth, The First Conspiracy tells a remarkable and previously untold piece of American history that not only reveals George Washington’s character, but also illuminates the origins of America’s counterintelligence movement that led to the modern day CIA.

In 1776, an elite group of soldiers were handpicked to serve as George Washington’s bodyguards. Washington trusted them; relied on them. But unbeknownst to Washington, some of them were part of a treasonous plan. In the months leading up to the Revolutionary War, these traitorous soldiers, along with the Governor of New York,…


Book cover of The Manchurian Candidate

Matt Scott Author Of Surviving the Lion's Den

From my list on political conspiracy books for election season.

Why am I passionate about this?

In college, I studied under the former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, General Sam Wilson, who laid the foundation for my understanding of geopolitics and the intelligence world. Post 9/11, I began reading every book on terrorism that I could find, and my vision for conspiracies was broadened by both what I read and what I experienced in the daily news cycle. Steadily, the combination of my creative juices and research led me to write my trilogy of political spy thrillers, the Surviving the Lion’s Den series, which explores the Iranian threat to the West via a mirage of conspiratorial plots. 

Matt's book list on political conspiracy books for election season

Matt Scott Why Matt loves this book

While the argument can be made that Julius Caesar was the original conspiracy thriller, this book set the stage for conspiracy theories in the modern era. With two film adaptations and multiple TV references, there’s a reason the book’s premise has imbedded itself into our popular culture.

A recurring question was constantly popping into my head as I was reading it: How deep does the deep state really go? One thing is for certain, you’ll never look at an election the same way again. 

By Richard Condon ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Manchurian Candidate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Brilliant...wild and exhilarating' New Yorker

Sgt Raymond Shaw is a hero of the first order. He's an ex-prisoner of war who saved the life of his entire outfit, a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the stepson of an influential senator...and the perfect assassin. Brainwashed during his time as a POW he is a 'sleeper', a living weapon to be triggered by a secret signal. He will act without question, no matter what order he is made to carry out.

To stop Shaw, his former commanding officer must uncover the truth behind a twisted conspiracy of torture, betrayal and…


Book cover of Act of Treason

Seth Sjostrom Author Of Patriot X

From my list on thrillers that kick terrorist butt.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have a fierce passion for justice. Studying political science in college, I keyed on moments in history where greed, power, and oppression marred human society. As a thriller writer myself (15 published titles and counting), I enjoy authors that understand the characters, settings, and combat sequences in their novels either through personal experience, training, or deep research. I work hard to ensure as wild as my characters’ adventures are, every detail is plausible. The books on this list are filled with raucous action and death-defying scenes while remaining possible. 

Seth's book list on thrillers that kick terrorist butt

Seth Sjostrom Why Seth loves this book

When asked about my favorite author and influences, Vince Flynn is right at the top. 

Flynn and his character Mitch Rapp aren’t afraid to take on anyone in order to wreak justice, even if the trail leads them to the oval office itself. This is what I love about the book, series, and character, that urgent, calculated versus reckless pursuit of justice.

Act of Treason, like the rest of the Mitch Rapp series, is fast-paced, irreverent at times, and hard-hitting as CIA Agent Rapp faces down anyone, foreign or domestic, to complete his mission. I enjoy Flynn’s writing style and the emotional twists he makes Rapp and the readers endure. 

By Vince Flynn ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Act of Treason as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

Two weeks before the election - and presidential candidate Josh Alexander's motorcade is decimated by a terrorist bomb. Alexander survives the attack, although members of his entourage are not so lucky. It appears to be the work of al-Qaeda. But then CIA director Irene Kennedy is presented with classifed information so toxic that she considers destroying it altogether. Instead she summons Mitch Rapp, the one man reckless enough to follow the evidence to its explosive conclusion...

AMERICAN ASSASSIN, book one in the series, is soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Dylan…


Book cover of The Terminal List

Carl Michaelsen Author Of The Last of a Dying Breed

From my list on to bring on an airplane/vacation.

Why am I passionate about this?

If you’re at all like me, then finding time to sit down and read a book is incredibly challenging given how busy our everyday lives are. It seems like the only time I truly can dive into a book is on vacation. And so, all of the books I recommended I have either read on vacation or on an airplane. In my opinion, a good vacation book needs to be two things. It needs to be a quick read and it needs to be impossible to put down. When I sit down to write a book, I try to keep both of these in mind!

Carl's book list on to bring on an airplane/vacation

Carl Michaelsen Why Carl loves this book

The ultimate thrill ride from start to finish, Jack Carr’s first novel following Navy Seal Commander James Reece is one to remember. I bought this book at the airport in Anaheim, California, and started reading while waiting for my flight. A few delays and a five-hour flight later I had finished the entire book. It is a fantastically written book, laced with complex characters, government, and corporate conspiracies, and reminds us all why you must always be wary of those closest to us.

By Jack Carr ,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Terminal List as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**SOON TO BE A TV SERIES STARRING CHRIS PRATT**

'With a particular line in authentic tradecraft, this fabulously unrelenting thrill-ride was a struggle to put down' Mark Dawson, bestselling author of The Cleaner

James Reece has nothing to live for and everything to kill for in the debut thriller from former Navy SEAL Jack Carr, perfect for fans of Lee Child and David Baldacci.

On deployment in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Commander James Reece's entire team is killed in a catastrophic ambush. But the deaths don't stop there, and Reece soon discovers that this was not an act of war by a…


Book cover of A Dangerous Man

Lee Gimenez Author Of The Media Murders

From my list on murder mystery from award-winning thriller author.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a mystery writer and I’ve had 16 award-winning novels published. I also love to read mystery and thriller novels, and I read them voraciously. I’m best known for my highly-acclaimed J.T. Ryan mysteries and I was a Finalist for the Author Academy Award. Also, many of my books were Featured Novels of the International Thriller Writers Association. I’m also a multi-year nominee for the Georgia Author of the Year Award. 

Lee's book list on murder mystery from award-winning thriller author

Lee Gimenez Why Lee loves this book

Great plot line and great characters. Although this murder mystery novel is serious, the author also introduces a humorous angle to the reader, which I found to be refreshing. The interplay between Joe Pike and Elvis Cole, the two private investigators in the story, is priceless. Good action scenes and crisp dialogue.  

By Robert Crais ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Dangerous Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A brilliant new crime novel from the beloved, bestselling, and award-winning master of the genre--and Joe Pike's most perilous case to date.

Joe Pike didn't expect to rescue a woman that day. He went to the bank same as anyone goes to the bank, and returned to his Jeep. So when Isabel Roland, the lonely young teller who helped him, steps out of the bank on her way to lunch, Joe is on hand when two men abduct her. Joe chases them down, and the two men are arrested. But instead of putting the drama to bed, the arrests are…


Book cover of The Hit

Lee Gimenez Author Of The Media Murders

From my list on murder mystery from award-winning thriller author.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a mystery writer and I’ve had 16 award-winning novels published. I also love to read mystery and thriller novels, and I read them voraciously. I’m best known for my highly-acclaimed J.T. Ryan mysteries and I was a Finalist for the Author Academy Award. Also, many of my books were Featured Novels of the International Thriller Writers Association. I’m also a multi-year nominee for the Georgia Author of the Year Award. 

Lee's book list on murder mystery from award-winning thriller author

Lee Gimenez Why Lee loves this book

The Hit is my favorite of David Baldacci's many novels. It's a page-turning, pulse-racing action thriller with one of the best plots I've ever read. I found Will Robie, the main character in the book, a riveting personality. He's a U.S. government agent and the man the government calls on to eliminate the worst of the worst. No one can match Robie's talents as a hitman. No one, except Jessica Reel. A fellow assassin, Reel is every bit as lethal as Robie. And now she's gone rogue, turning her gun sights on other members of their agency. I found the captivating characters, the plot line, and the relentless pace of this novel a great read. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last.

By David Baldacci ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Hit is David Baldacci's blockbuster follow up to The Innocent, the smash-hit bestseller featuring U.S. government assassin, Will Robie.

YOU SEND A KILLER TO CATCH A KILLER.

Government hitman Will Robie is an elite killer. Called on by the US authorities to assassinate enemies of the state, his formidable skill set makes him an irreplaceable asset to his employers. But when he's given his next target, he knows he's about to embark on his toughest mission yet.

Reports indicate fellow assassin Jessica Reel has gone rogue, leaving a trail of deaths in her wake including her handler. To stop…


Book cover of The 20th Victim

Lee Gimenez Author Of The Media Murders

From my list on murder mystery from award-winning thriller author.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a mystery writer and I’ve had 16 award-winning novels published. I also love to read mystery and thriller novels, and I read them voraciously. I’m best known for my highly-acclaimed J.T. Ryan mysteries and I was a Finalist for the Author Academy Award. Also, many of my books were Featured Novels of the International Thriller Writers Association. I’m also a multi-year nominee for the Georgia Author of the Year Award. 

Lee's book list on murder mystery from award-winning thriller author

Lee Gimenez Why Lee loves this book

This book grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go until the very end. I loved the pacing of this murder mystery novel. The book starts out with three murders that have happened at the exact time, one in Chicago, one in L.A., and the third in San Francisco. The main character, SFPD sergeant Lindsey Boxer attempts to solve them with the help of the Women’s Murder Club. The interaction between the women as they go about their investigation is the best I’ve ever read. 

By James Patterson , Maxine Paetro ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The 20th Victim as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sergeant Lindsay Boxer tackles an ambitious case that spans San Francisco, L.A., and Chicago in this pulse-pounding thriller of "smart characters" and "shocking twists" (Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
Three victims, three bullets, three cities. The shooters' aim is as fearsomely precise as their target selection. When Lindsay realizes that the fallen men and women excel in a lucrative, criminal activity, she leads the charge in the manhunt for the killers. As the casualty list expands, fear and fascination with this suspicious shooting gallery galvanizes the country.
The victims were no angels, but are the shooters villains…


Book cover of Absolute Power

Matt Scott Author Of Surviving the Lion's Den

From my list on political conspiracy books for election season.

Why am I passionate about this?

In college, I studied under the former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, General Sam Wilson, who laid the foundation for my understanding of geopolitics and the intelligence world. Post 9/11, I began reading every book on terrorism that I could find, and my vision for conspiracies was broadened by both what I read and what I experienced in the daily news cycle. Steadily, the combination of my creative juices and research led me to write my trilogy of political spy thrillers, the Surviving the Lion’s Den series, which explores the Iranian threat to the West via a mirage of conspiratorial plots. 

Matt's book list on political conspiracy books for election season

Matt Scott Why Matt loves this book

I’ll be honest: I read this book out of pure nostalgia. David Baldacci’s novels have sold over 150 million copies, so I wanted to go back to his debut novel to see how it all started, and it didn’t disappoint. Though it had the luck of being released during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the novel lives well on its own merits.

At the time of its release, most political thriller books utilized protagonists fighting on behalf of their president to save the day, but this one turned the tables on its readers and not only made the president the villain but explored the filthy side of politics and the lengths to which administration officials will go to protect the presidency.

By David Baldacci ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Absolute Power as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When burglar Luther Whitney breaks into a Virginia mansion, he witnesses a brutal crime involving the president -- a man who believes he can get away with anything -- and now, Luther may be the only one who can stop him in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller.

In a heavily guarded mansion in the Virginia countryside, professional burglar and break-in artist Luther Whitney is trapped behind a two-way mirror. What he witnesses destroys his faith not only in justice, but in all he holds dear.

What follows is an unthinkable abuse of power and criminal conspiracy, as a…


Book cover of The Pelican Brief

Matt Scott Author Of Surviving the Lion's Den

From my list on political conspiracy books for election season.

Why am I passionate about this?

In college, I studied under the former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, General Sam Wilson, who laid the foundation for my understanding of geopolitics and the intelligence world. Post 9/11, I began reading every book on terrorism that I could find, and my vision for conspiracies was broadened by both what I read and what I experienced in the daily news cycle. Steadily, the combination of my creative juices and research led me to write my trilogy of political spy thrillers, the Surviving the Lion’s Den series, which explores the Iranian threat to the West via a mirage of conspiratorial plots. 

Matt's book list on political conspiracy books for election season

Matt Scott Why Matt loves this book

The best aspect to love about this book is that a curious twenty-four-year-old law student not only does what others couldn’t do, solve the murders of two Supreme Court justices, but her doing so manages to put one of the world’s richest men on the run from federal officers and keep the president from running for reelection.

Grisham finds a way to give hope to all the amateur sleuths and conspiracy theorists in the world that they can crack the code that elite professionals who are trained to do so somehow cannot.

By John Grisham ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Pelican Brief as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

_______________________________________
Two Supreme Court Justices are dead, their murders unsolved.
But one woman might have found the answer - if she can live to tell it.

Darby Shaw is a brilliant New Orleans legal student with a sharp political mind. For her own amusement, she draws up a legal brief showing how the judges might have been murdered for political reasons, and shows it to her professor. He shows it to his friend, an FBI lawyer.

Then the professor dies in a car bombing.

And Darby realises that her brief, which pointed to a vast presidential conspiracy, might be right.…


Book cover of The Bourne Identity

Patrick Weill Author Of The Mazatlan Showdown

From my list on action thrillers to keep you awake past bedtime.

Why am I passionate about this?

I remember carrying home tall stacks of library books in the summertime and spending entire days immersed in my heroes’ latest adventures as a kid. This continued as I grew up, as I learned that I ought to be a hero, too, by confronting evil both within and without. So I took steps to face my fears, and now when I write about good guys fighting bad guys in my own action fiction, it’s with a real passion for doing what’s right, for making this world better, even if it’s in my own way and only just a little. 

Patrick's book list on action thrillers to keep you awake past bedtime

Patrick Weill Why Patrick loves this book

This is the spy thriller that started it all! I was a huge fan of the Matt Damon trilogy and had always been an avid reader, so naturally, I gravitated toward the original novel, which was far better than the film.

Popular action thrillers tend to suffer from one of two diseases: “soldier syndrome,”—meaning the author knows what he or she is writing about but isn’t a master of the language—or from “poser-itis,” which is when the writer is good with a pen but would be too scared to use it to gauge out an eye if he or she had to.

So it’s a rare wordsmith who can understand the deepest, most primal parts of the human psyche and then put it into a literary form that delights the eyes and ears. Ludlum is one such writer.

By Robert Ludlum ,

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked The Bourne Identity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jason Bourne is back in the forthcoming major motion picture starring Matt Damon and Alicia Vikander. Go back to where it all began for Bourne in his first adventure - The Bourne Identity

He was dragged from the sea, his body riddled with bullets. There are a few clues: a frame of microfilm surgically implanted beneath the skin of his hip; evidence that plastic surgery has altered his face; strange things he says in his delirium, which could be code words. And a number on the film negative that leads to a bank account in Zurich, four million dollars, and…