Stephen Mertz Books in Order

Stephen Mertz has written 60 books, published between 1979 and 2023. The first book is Some Die Hard (1979) and the newest is Hellfire in Syria (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
60
Published
1979–2023
Pages on record
2,654 in 13 of 60 books

Stephen Mertz is an American fiction writer, born in 1947, known chiefly for thrillers. Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine called Mertz an action specialist, and Booklist singled out Nightwind and The Korean Intercept. The catalogue lists 60 Mertz books from Some Die Hard (1979) to Hellfire in Syria (2023), with tags for thrillers, westerns, terrorists, private investigators and missing children. Cambodian Hellhole and Hanoi Deathgrip (both 1985) and Cody's Army (1986) appear in the list, and series include M.I.A. Hunter, Cody's War, Kilroy Mystery and Night Wind.

Source: Wikidata

How many Stephen Mertz books are there?

Stephen Mertz has 60 books, released between 1979 and 2023. They include 7 series and 13 titles listed outside any series.

Stephen Mertz Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 60 Stephen Mertz books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of October 2026.

  1. 1
    Some Die HardKilroy Mystery #11979 · 142 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979142
  2. 2
    The Vampire ChaseSteve Madison Mysteries #11979 · confirmed 1/4
    1979–
  3. 3
    StoneM.I.A. Hunter #11985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
  4. 4
    Cambodian HellholeM.I.A. Hunter #21985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
  5. 5
    Hanoi DeathgripM.I.A. Hunter #31985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
  6. 6
    Mountain MassacreM.I.A. Hunter #41985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
  7. 7
    Cody's ArmyCody's Army #11986 · confirmed 1/4
    1986–
  8. 8
    Assault into LibyaCody's Army #21986 · confirmed 1/4
    1986–
  9. 9
    Exodus From HellM.I.A. Hunter #51986 · confirmed 1/4
    1986–
  10. 10
    Blood StormM.I.A. Hunter #61986 · confirmed 1/4
    1986–
  11. 11
    Philippine HardpunchCody's Army #31987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
  12. 12
    Belfast BlitzCody's Army #41987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
  13. 13
    D.C. FirestrikeCody's Army #51987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
  14. 14
    Saigon SlaughterM.I.A. Hunter #71987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
  15. 15
    Escape from NicaraguaM.I.A. Hunter #81987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
  16. 16
    Hellfire in HaitiCody's Army #61988 · confirmed 1/4
    1988–
  17. 17
    Sword of the ProphetCody's Army #71988 · 218 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988218
  18. 18
    Invasion U.S.S.R.M.I.A. Hunter #91988 · confirmed 1/4
    1988–
  19. 19
    Miami War ZoneM.I.A. Hunter #101988 · confirmed 1/4
    1988–
  20. 20
    Crossfire KillM.I.A. Hunter #111988 · confirmed 1/4
    1988–
  21. 21
    Blood Red Sun1989 · confirmed 1/4
    1989–
  22. 22
    Desert Death RaidM.I.A. Hunter #121989 · confirmed 1/4
    1989–
  23. 23
    L.A. Gang WarM.I.A. Hunter #131990 · confirmed 1/4
    1990–
  24. 24
    Back To 'NamM.I.A. Hunter #141990 · confirmed 1/4
    1990–
  25. 25
    Heavy FireM.I.A. Hunter #151991 · confirmed 1/4
    1991–
  26. 26
    China StrikeM.I.A. Hunter #161991 · confirmed 1/4
    1991–
  27. 27
    Sudden Death1995 · 1 pages · confirmed 1/4
    19951
  28. 28
    Night WindNight Wind #12002 · 277 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002277
  29. 29
    Fade to TomorrowSteve Madison Mysteries #22004 · 239 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004239
  30. 30
    The Korean Intercept2005 · 342 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005342

Stephen Mertz books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

M.I.A. Hunter in order

17 books
  1. 1. Stone
  2. 2. Cambodian Hellhole
  3. 3. Hanoi Deathgrip
  4. 4. Mountain Massacre
  5. 5. Exodus From Hell
  6. 6. Blood Storm
  7. 7. Saigon Slaughter
  8. 8. Escape from Nicaragua
  9. 9. Invasion U.S.S.R.
  10. 10. Miami War Zone
  11. 11. Crossfire Kill
  12. 12. Desert Death Raid
  13. and 5 more in the table above

Cody's War in order

10 books
  1. 1. Dragonfire!
  2. 2. Camp David Has Fallen!
  3. 3. The Fires of Allah
  4. 4. Day of Reckoning
  5. 5. The Last Refuge
  6. 6. Cody's Return
  7. 7. Lethal Assault
  8. 8. Final Strike
  9. 9. Afghanistan Payback
  10. 10. Hellfire in Syria

Cody's Army in order

7 books
  1. 1. Cody's Army
  2. 2. Assault into Libya
  3. 3. Philippine Hardpunch
  4. 4. Belfast Blitz
  5. 5. D.C. Firestrike
  6. 6. Hellfire in Haiti
  7. 7. Sword of the Prophet

Kilroy Mystery in order

4 books
  1. 1. Some Die Hard
  2. 2. Cold In The Grave
  3. 3. The Devil's Music
  4. 4. Sweet Blackmail

Blaze! Western in order

4 books
  1. 3. Blaze!
  2. 6. Blaze! Zombies Over Yonder
  3. 9. Blaze! A Son of the Gun
  4. 14. Blaze! The Christmas Journey

Steve Madison Mysteries in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Vampire Chase
  2. 2. Fade to Tomorrow

Night Wind in order

2 books
  1. 1. Night Wind
  2. 2. Devil Creek

McShan in order

1 book
  1. 1. Say It Was Murder

Standalone books

13 books

13 Stephen Mertz titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Stephen Mertz books in order?

You only need to read Stephen Mertz books in order within each series: the books listed here span 7 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Stephen Mertz

Start with Some Die Hard (1979), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Stephen Mertz book?

Hellfire in Syria (2023) is the newest Stephen Mertz book released so far.

Is there a new Stephen Mertz book coming?

No next Stephen Mertz book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Stephen Mertz at a glance

Paused
No new Stephen Mertz title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
Release pace
Stephen Mertz books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
2,654 pages across the 13 of 60 books with a recorded length, a median of 212 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Stephen Mertz books, 23 of 60, were published in the 2010s.

When Stephen Mertz books were published

Publication distribution by decade, showing when Stephen Mertz titles appeared. 2010s was the most productive decade with 23 titles.

1970s
2
1980s
20
1990s
5
2000s
3
2010s
23
2020s
7

60 books total across 6 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.

What the Stephen Mertz books are about

14 of the 60 Stephen Mertz books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: westerns is tagged on 3 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.