Yes, you can start with The Iron Vault. It’s Book 3 of The Mercer Files, and it can be read as a standalone.
That’s the short answer for anyone looking at the October 20 release and wondering whether there are two books to finish first. You can choose the earlier books if you prefer to read a series in order, but this one is also an entry point.
Here’s the setup, without going beyond the book description. Navy lieutenant Eli Mercer needs to find an archive hidden in the Pacific Northwest. It holds evidence that could clear his father’s name, and a backdated destruction order means he has only days to reach it.
Working with him is forensic financial investigator Rosalie Tanaka. She follows the money carefully and needs proof before she’ll accept a theory. Their search takes them from a Bremerton records annex across Puget Sound as they trace missing settlement funds.
The difficulty is getting the evidence authenticated and released before Friday. Someone is erasing the trail, and the obstacles become dangerous. Legal obstruction gives way to sabotage, with fire and flood threatening both the records and the people trying to recover them.
If you enjoy a deadline, an investigation built around evidence, and characters who have to keep working when the situation turns against them, that gives you a sense of what awaits. This is a clean action-adventure thriller with procedural suspense and a slow-burn romantic undercurrent.
If you like meeting recurring characters in publication order, start with Book 1 and take your time. If this investigation is what caught your attention, you can begin here. There’s no need to rush through two books just to be ready for release day.
You can find the description and preorder link on The Iron Vault book page. Release day is October 20, 2026.