The Recommended Reading Order for Maggie Costello
For the best reading experience, we highly recommend following the Maggie Costello series in publication order. While each thriller functions perfectly well as a standalone story, reading them chronologically allows you to appreciate Maggie’s personal and professional evolution. More importantly, it highlights how author Sam Bourne (the pen name of British journalist Jonathan Freedland) adapts real-world geopolitical changes—from the post-9/11 peace talks in the Middle East to modern digital disinformation, populism, and gender politics—into the narrative tissue of the series.
Maggie Costello Series in Publication Order
1. The Last Testament (2007)
The series begins with Maggie Costello working as a brilliant negotiator in the Middle East, attempting to broker a historic peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The fragile talks are thrown into chaos when a prominent archaeologist is murdered, and a priceless ancient clay tablet is stolen. Maggie is drawn into a deadly race across Jerusalem to locate the artifact, which contains a secret that could either cement peace or ignite a devastating regional conflict.
2. The Chosen One (2010)
In her second outing, Maggie is called to Washington, D.C. as a troubleshooter for a newly elected, charismatic, and progressive U.S. President. When a series of scandals and leaked secrets threaten to destroy the administration, Maggie is tasked with finding the source. Her investigation leads her to a shadowy cabal determined to bring down the president at all costs, forcing her to confront the dark underbelly of American power and question her own political ideals.
3. To Kill the President / The Plot Against the President (2017)
Published as The Plot Against the President in some markets, this timely thriller finds Maggie working inside a highly polarized White House under a volatile, erratic, and dangerous demagogue. As the president pushes the nation toward a nuclear catastrophe, a group of high-level patriots conspires to assassinate him to save the world. Maggie discovers the plot and is caught in a profound moral dilemma: should she uphold the constitution and stop the conspirators, or let them commit treason to prevent a global war?
4. To Kill the Truth (2019)
The fourth installment focuses on the weaponization of history and the rise of "fake news." When a series of coordinated attacks target libraries, archives, and scholars worldwide—destroying evidence of humanity's greatest crimes, including slavery records and Holocaust archives—Maggie is hired to investigate. She must track down a brilliant and ruthless adversary who wants to erase the past to reshape the future, highlighting the vulnerability of truth in the internet age.
5. To Kill a Man (2020)
In the fifth book, Maggie is brought in to manage a political crisis involving Natasha Winthrop, a prominent Washington lawyer and rising political star tipped as a future presidential candidate. Winthrop kills an intruder in her home during a violent assault and is initially hailed as a hero of the #MeToo era. However, Maggie uncovers gaps and inconsistencies in Natasha's story, leading her into a murky conspiracy involving online manipulation, vigilante justice, and sexual violence.
Chronological Order vs. Publication Order
Because the internal chronology of the novels matches their release dates, there is no separate chronological order to worry about. The timeline progresses naturally from 2007 to 2020. Reading the books out of order will not leave you confused about the individual thriller plots, but it will spoil major character developments, particularly regarding Maggie's shifting roles within the Washington political machine, her disillusionment with power, and her personal relationships.
Sam Bourne’s Standalone Thrillers
In addition to the Maggie Costello series, Jonathan Freedland has written several standalone thrillers under the Sam Bourne pseudonym. These books do not feature Maggie Costello and can be read at any time:
- The Righteous Men (2006) – A religious-themed thriller focused on the mysterious murders of thirty-six righteous people around the globe.
- The Final Reckoning (2008) – A revenge thriller revolving around a historical secret from the Holocaust and a modern threat in the United Nations.
- Pantheon (2012) – A historical mystery linking a modern Oxford academic with a dark conspiracy dating back to World War II.
- The 3rd Woman (2015) – A near-future geopolitical thriller set in a United States heavily influenced by Chinese economic and political dominance.
What to Know Before You Start: Insider Journalism Meets Political Fiction
The defining feature of the Maggie Costello series is its sheer plausibility. Because Jonathan Freedland is a veteran columnist and broadcaster for The Guardian who has spent decades covering Washington politics and international conflicts, the administrative procedures, diplomatic backrooms, and crisis-management tactics ring incredibly true. Unlike standard action-packed spy thrillers, these books focus on the intellectual and moral weight of policy decisions. Maggie is not a gun-toting secret agent; she is a negotiator, a crisis manager, and a truth-seeker who relies on her intellect, political savvy, and determination to solve international crises.