Order of Bill Runner Books

Bill Runner is an author of action-thriller novels. He writes the Axel Blaze series. Bill Runner began his career as an investigative journalist, delving into the gritty world of crime before transitioning to writing heart-pounding thrillers. Raised on a steady diet of westerns and lone ranger stories, Bill’s real-life encounters with both criminals and heroes helped shape his electrifying protagonist, Axel Blaze. An adrenaline junkie by nature, Bill is an experienced mountain climber, paraglider, and a lifelong martial arts enthusiast. His time covering the crime beat and mastering the art of combat have refined his ability to craft thrillers known for their razor-sharp action and intense, edge-of-your-seat moments.

Bill Runner made his debut as a novelist in 2022 with Blaze Returns. Below is a list of Bill Runner’s books in order of when they were first published:

Publication Order of Axel Blaze Books

If You Like Bill Runner Books, You’ll Love…

• Jack Slater
• Scott Blade
• Paul Healey

Bill Runner Synopses: Blaze Returns is the first Axel Blaze Thriller by Bill Runner. Blaze has seen it all—ten years in the special forces and five years in the US Marshals have shaped him into a ruthless and efficient force. He doesn’t just fight his enemies; he eliminates them. But after years of violence and hard decisions, Blaze has walked away from the field, determined to leave his dangerous life behind.

However, when Deputy Marshal Carter goes missing in the corrupt town of Little Butte, Nevada, Blaze is called back for one last mission. The Dawsons, a powerful family that controls the town, are on the verge of a war with the Mexican cartel, which is muscling in on their meth empire. As tensions escalate and both sides prepare for a brutal showdown, Blaze is the only one who can navigate the town’s deadly underworld to find Carter.

Reluctantly, Blaze accepts Director Flynn’s plea to come out of retirement. But what he finds in Little Butte is worse than he expected. With corruption running deep and violence ready to erupt, Blaze has to move fast to locate Carter before the town explodes into chaos. Armed with his lethal skill set and an unwavering sense of duty, Blaze is prepared to do whatever it takes to stop the bloodshed, even if it means going to war once again.

Time is running out, and Blaze must bring Carter home before all hell breaks loose in Little Butte.

Lethal Force by Bill Runner is book 2 in the Axel Blaze series. Axel Blaze, an ex-U.S. Marshal with a deadly skill set honed from years in the special forces and law enforcement, knows how to handle dangerous situations. But when he dismantles a Mexican cartel’s operations in Nevada, the cartel makes the fatal mistake of coming after him and those he holds dear.

They send their best hitmen to take Blaze down, thinking they can scare him into submission. What they don’t realize is that Blaze doesn’t run from threats—he eliminates them. Fueled by the need to protect his loved ones, Blaze turns the tables on the cartel. With a cold, calculated plan, he embarks on a relentless mission of vengeance, hunting down the hitmen one by one.

But Blaze doesn’t stop there. He aims to strike fear deep into the heart of the cartel, showing them that they’ve crossed the wrong man. As he prepares to hit back with brutal precision, the cartel will learn a deadly lesson: once Axel Blaze is in the fight, there’s no escape from his lethal force.

Hard Target is the third book in Bill Runner’s Axel Blaze series. Axel Blaze, always vigilant and never one to shy away from danger, stops at an isolated gas station deep in Kentucky’s Appalachian forests, where he senses something is amiss. His instincts are quickly confirmed when he spots a group of dangerous mercenaries on the verge of ambushing an unusual crowd—two cops, a fugitive, and a lawyer.

Recognizing the imminent threat and the deadly intentions behind it, Blaze intervenes before the situation turns fatal. His involvement, however, turns him into a target. Now, the hunters have become the hunted, but what these mercenaries don’t know is that they’ve picked a fight with a man who’s far more dangerous than they ever imagined.

From the rugged terrain of the Appalachians to the political heart of Washington, DC, Blaze is drawn into a relentless game of cat and mouse, evading and dismantling his pursuers with brutal precision. As the stakes rise and the bodies pile up, Blaze shows his enemies that he’s not just any target—he’s a force of nature, and once provoked, there’s no going back.