Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Thin Black Line | 2015 | Simon Gervais | Buy |
| 2 | A Long Gray Line (Short Story) | 2016 | Simon Gervais | Buy |
| 3 | A Red Dotted Line | 2016 | Simon Gervais | Buy |
| 4 | A Thick Crimson Line | 2018 | Simon Gervais | Buy |
The Thin Black Line (2015) was Simon Gervais’s debut, and it came out of the same career experience that would drive all his subsequent thrillers: an RCMP officer protagonist navigating international counterterrorism operations with the detail of someone who has actually done similar work. Mike Walton is drawn from Gervais’s own background in a more direct way than some of his later protagonists, and the authenticity of the tradecraft reflects that closeness.
The series runs to three full novels — The Thin Black Line, A Red Dotted Line, A Thick Crimson Line — and the novella A Long Gray Line. It was the foundation of a career that would eventually include six series and a New York Times bestseller, but the Mike Walton books are where Gervais found his voice and confirmed that his operational knowledge translated directly to the thriller format.