Samuel Carver Books In Order

Publication Order of Samuel Carver Books

About Samuel Carver:

The Samuel Carver series, written by Tom Cain, is a modern thriller series about Samuel Carver, a man fresh out of the military who is ready to live a hard, professional life in a career not so far from his the one he has left.

In his later books, Samuel Carver is an agent. At first, however, he is an independent assassin known as “the accident man”. A notoriously nicknamed killer, Samuel murders his victims with such strong detail to attention that he is able to successfully stage any violent act to look like an accident. If the murder passes as an accident, the police won’t start digging into the details, and Samuel Carver will never face any charges for what he has done.

The first thing to know about Samuel is that he goes by an alias. Samuel Carver is not his real name. Paul Jackson grew up a strong, independent kid who joined the Royal Marine Corp just out of school and later became part of the elite Special Boat Service. After twelve harrowing years of service, he left with the cold, hard personality of a man who has spent his life watching death, later moving him to change his name and assume an alternate identity.

In an interview with Clayton Moore, Tom Cain stated that much the time, the worries of people about virtues and vices all come from the same place, or else reflect the same thing in two separate mediums. He goes on to explain that Carver is very good at his job because he has the ability to switch on and off emotions that allow him to commit horrible crimes. There are consequences to this action, however, because believing the crimes are for a good cause does not stop Carver from being repressed and distraught.

Of course, the major catch to Samuel Carver that allows him to be a relatable character to the audience is the conditions under which he would kill someone. Only those who deserved to die, who would make the world a better place by not being in it, would be removed from it by Samuel Carver. Though this sometimes upset his fairly stable employers, Carver became such an expert in his craft that he was able to turn the tables his way every time something went wrong.

It wasn’t until the plot of the first book began that Samuel Carver actually found himself in a position where something wasn’t going according to his plan.

What are the Samuel Carver books all about?

The first official book of the Samuel Carver series was published in July of 2007 by Bantam Press. The Accident Man, named for Samuel Carver’s nickname among his employers, was well-received by the public and was later followed by a sequel.

The novel mentions several historic events, such as the death of Princess Diana, and is loosely based on several conspiracy theories that went into circulation around the time of the event.

Cain explained that, in the case of Princess Diana, he never intended to come off as an obsessive conspiracy theorist. In fact, he really wanted to have the opportunity to explain some very real concerns, including the idea that Diana already believed she was going to be killed. There have been FBI investigations, as well as series of length detective cases in the UK and France. There must be enough truth to the mystery to warrant a good story.

Throughout the course of the plot, the reader learns that Samuel Carver was tricked into murdering her himself, and the rest of the book goes into detail about Carver’s narrow escapes from his ex-employer and his quest to discover the real masterminds behind the act.

Tom Cain explains that he choose the Lady Diana plot-point because he had been looking through the autobiography of an Englishman named Lord Charles Brocket.

Cain explained the Charles was very taken with the idea of the Princess Diana case. Charles had many theories of his own, and would discuss them with Cain as a subject while the two worked together. This is what eventually plotted the idea in Cain’s mind, and ultimately turned the light switch on. Cain also shares that this is the reason Charles Brocket is the first individual thanked at the end of the book.

The second Samuel Carver novel, The Survivor, was published in July of 2008, also by Bantam Press. The novel begins with Carver’s sabotage of a Texan businessman’s plane. The attempt fails and Waylon McCabe, the aforementioned businessman, begins to suspect someone is trying to kill him. At this point, the novel begins to tie in the ending of the first novel and shows Carver recovering from the lost memory and pain incurred by the villain of The Accident Man.

The plot of the second book then revolves around McCabe’s evil plot to instigate a nuclear war, and Samuel Carver’s desperate attempts to stop him. The Daily Mail said the novel was a “burst of pure adrenaline,” and also talked about its delivery of “a breathless reading.” Many other newspapers agreed with this statement, including The Star-Ledger.

Who is Tom Cain?

David Thomas was born in 1958 in Moscow, but is better known by his pen name Tom Cain. He is a famous journalist, but is most frequently recognized for his work on the Samuel Carver books.

Cain lived briefly in Moscow and then relocated to Washington DC, later moving to Havana, Cuba, where he settled as a local journalist.

Tom Cain is continuing the Samuel Carver books, of which he has already written six. The sixth and newest installment was released in 2012, and was titled Revenger.

Cain stated in an interview that he didn’t want to write something tacky or prurient, but rather something that would have the capability of being a massive personal and emotion commitment, worth the time spent writing, and something that he could find himself caring and feeling good about in the future books of the series. It seems he has done a spectacular job with Samuel Carver.

What’s next for Samuel Carver?

The Samuel Carver books have not yet seen the big screen, though Paramount Pictures did option the novel in 2007 when it was first released. Unfortunately, this was during the occurrence of the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, and little has been released about the project since.

Cain explained that the biggest issue was always about the quality of the stories. He claims that the best reason for starting and finishing a book is the idea of making sure it’s a worthwhile project. He says that that, more than anything else, was his major focus when writing.