Mark Abernethy Books in Order
Mark Abernethy is a New Zealand-born Australian author, journalist, and ghostwriter, best known for the Alan McQueen spy thriller series featuring McQueen, an Australian ASIS agent who is operating in Southeast Asia, which is the author’s deliberate answer to the British and American heroes who dominate the genre. He also wrote the Mike Daly series and the Gerry Galen military thriller series under the pen name Mark Aitken.
This page lists all Mark Abernethy books in order, including the Alan McQueen series, the Mike Daly true crime books, the Gerry Galen series (as Mark Aitken), and standalone works.
Alan McQueen Series (Books in Order)
The Alan McQueen series follows Australian ASIS operative Alan McQueen, known as Mac, who goes on covert missions across Southeast Asia, in places like Indonesia, Singapore, East Timor, and Cambodia, against terrorism, rogue intelligence operators, and political conspiracies. The series is grounded in the Mark Abernethy’s background as a journalist and his research with Australian special force, which makes the books hyper realistic.
Reading Order
- Golden Serpent, 2007
- Second Strike, 2008
- Double Back, 2009
- Counter Attack, 2011
Mike Daly Series (Books in Order)
The Mike Daly series is a non-fiction series that follows an Australian builder, who is in fact a real Australian intelligence contractor using the alias Mike Daly, in order to protect his work and his identity. By day a Melbourne carpenter, Daly led private intelligence operations across Southeast Asia, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the region.
Reading Order
- The Contractor, 2017
- At Hell’s Gate, 2017
Gerry Galen Series (Books in Order)
The Gerry Galen series follows former US Marine special forces captain Gerry Gallen who is pulled back into dangerous operations after having already left the military life.
Written under the pseudonym Mark Aitken
Reading Order
- Arctic Floor, 2011
- Strikeforce Lightning, 2013
Non-Fiction Books
Mark Abernthey Biography
Mark Abernethy is a New Zealand-born author, journalist, and ghostwriter based in Australia, who writes spy thrillers and military action thrillers. He has published six novels and two non-fiction true crime books since 2007 under his name, and two books under the pseudonym Mark Aitken.
Mark Abernethy grew up in New Zealand and studied at Victoria University of Wellington, where he wrote for the university campus newsletter in the 1980s. He tried law school twice before switching to journalism, eventually writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Bulletin, and the Australian Financial Review. He also worked as a ghostwriter of business books, and then he started writing his own books.
His debut novel, Golden Serpent, came about when a publisher saw the first four chapters and pushed him to finish it. He completed the manuscript in eight weeks. Three more Alan McQueen novels followed between 2008 and 2011, all published by Allen & Unwin. The series follows a semiretired Australian super spy who gets lured back into espionage and assassin work.
Around the same time he wrote two military thrillers under the pen name Mark Aitken, featuring former US Marine Gerry Gallen. In 2017 he moved into non-fiction with The Contractor and At Hell’s Gate, two true crime collections based on the real operations of an Australian intelligence contractor. The Contractor was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime in 2018. His experience as a journalist and editor for Australian Penthouse magazine and a writer for the Australian Financial Review, The Bulletin, and Sydney Morning Herald aided his research and writing.
Mark Abernethy Awards and Honors
Nominations and Shortlists
- Golden Serpent – Ned Kelly Award for Best First Novel (2008)
- The Contractor – Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime (2018)
Gritty and engaging action novels with a distinctly down to earth australian touch.