Top Secret · Classified Operations · Blake MacKay Series
The Blake MacKay Covert World SeriesCIA operative Blake MacKay doesn't wait for orders. He moves when the mission demands it — through covert ops, geopolitical powder kegs, and threats no agency will officially acknowledge.
Latest Release
An oil drilling research vessel disappears in the Arctic. The crew: gone. The cause: unknown. Research scientist uncovers a massive oil deposit worth trillions — and a shadow operation willing to start World War III to control it — Blake MacKay has one chance to stop the dominoes before the world breaks apart.
Operative Dossier
Four missions. One operative. A world that operates in shadows — and someone has to keep the lights on.
Intelligence Reports
Reads like a summer blockbuster. I finished it in one sitting and immediately went looking for the next book. Tate knows how to build tension that doesn't let go.
If you're a fan of Vince Flynn or Brad Thor, you need to read this series. MacKay is a character who feels completely real — flawed, driven, and impossible not to root for.
The Arctic setting is absolutely brutal in the best possible way. Tate puts you right in the cold. Beyond All Measure is the kind of thriller that reminds you why you love the genre.
Coming Soon
The Prequel — Before the Covert World Began
Every operative has an origin. Before the missions. Before the clearances. Before the world knew his name. The prequel that answers the question readers have been asking since page one of Intercept.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Blake MacKay is a CIA operative and the central character in the Covert World spy thriller series. A former soldier turned lethal intelligence asset, Blake operates in the shadows of geopolitics — executing high-stakes missions across the globe with the cold efficiency of a man who has nothing left to lose. Built from loss and forged at The Farm, he is one of the Agency's most dangerous precision instruments. The series follows his evolution from soldier to operative to something harder to define — a man hunting not just for his country, but for himself.
Yes — without question. Readers who enjoy Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp series or Brad Thor's Scot Harvath series consistently respond well to the Blake MacKay series. Like Flynn and Thor, Thom Tate writes fast-paced, ripped-from-the-headlines spy thrillers built around a lethal CIA operative navigating covert missions, geopolitical conspiracies, and high-stakes global threats. The series is also frequently compared to the work of Kyle Mills, Jack Carr, Mark Greaney, Daniel Silva, Ben Coes, Alex Berenson, and Tom Clancy. If any of those names are on your shelf, Blake MacKay belongs there too.
Start with Intercept — a free 72-page prequel novella that introduces Blake MacKay and hooks you from the first page. No cost, no sign-up required. From there, the reading order is: Spear Garden (Book 1), The Auroral Contingency (Book 2), and Beyond All Measure (Book 3). A fifth book, Who Is Blake MacKay?, is currently in development — an origin anthology covering five formative missions that forged Blake into a CIA killing machine.
Completely free. No catch, no email required, no subscription. Intercept is available as a direct download in ePub and PDF formats at tatescovertworld.com/intercept.html. It's Thom Tate's way of letting new readers experience Blake MacKay before committing to a full novel. At 72 pages, most readers finish it in one sitting.
Yes. All three full novels — Spear Garden, The Auroral Contingency, and Beyond All Measure — are available on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon. Audible audiobook editions are also available for readers who prefer to listen. You can find buy links for all formats on the Books page.
Yes. Thom Tate offers personally signed paperback editions of all three novels, available directly through this site. Signed copies make great gifts for the spy thriller reader in your life. Visit the Signed Copies page for pricing and ordering details.
Most spy thrillers give you an operative hunting for his country. Blake MacKay is hunting for himself. The Covert World series is built on real-world technology, actual geopolitical fault lines, and the psychological weight of a man shaped entirely by what was taken from him. The missions are global, the stakes are genuine, and the pacing reads like a blockbuster film. Thom Tate's background in research-driven storytelling means every threat in these books could make tomorrow's headlines — and sometimes already has.
Thom Tate is an American spy thriller author and the creator of the Covert World series. He writes fast-paced, cinematic espionage fiction in the tradition of Vince Flynn and Tom Clancy — grounded in real technology, real geopolitics, and the kind of tension that only comes from the world as it actually is. His books have been read by fans across the United States, Europe, and beyond. Learn more on the About page.