Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster.
0:00 /
Table of Contents
About The Book
When law enforcement, the courts, and the prison system fail, there is a fourth and final option. #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr launches a new thriller series.
Disillusioned by the government and institutions he dedicated his life to serving, former Navy SEAL and CIA ground branch operative Chris Walker is about to end his life when he receives a call that saves it. The wife of a teammate he lost in Afghanistan has now lost her son to the opioid crisis and needs Walker’s help. Thrust into a conspiracy that goes deeper than he ever imagined, Walker must go up against the system and the very Constitution he once swore an oath to support and defend in order to find justice for his friend’s widow.
With ambitious FBI agent Jarrett Stanton on his tail, Walker—accompanied by his loyal Belgian Malinois and using his off-the-grid VW pop-up camper filled with a hidden cache of weapons—takes the law into his own hands, exposing corruption and issuing a long-forgotten brand of lethal outlaw justice.
In the tradition of the great “stranger comes to town” Westerns of the past comes a modern interpretation of the mysterious vigilante gunslinger legend from “the hottest author on the thriller scene today” (The Real Book Spy). Get ready for a new kind of hero. Justice is coming.
Disillusioned by the government and institutions he dedicated his life to serving, former Navy SEAL and CIA ground branch operative Chris Walker is about to end his life when he receives a call that saves it. The wife of a teammate he lost in Afghanistan has now lost her son to the opioid crisis and needs Walker’s help. Thrust into a conspiracy that goes deeper than he ever imagined, Walker must go up against the system and the very Constitution he once swore an oath to support and defend in order to find justice for his friend’s widow.
With ambitious FBI agent Jarrett Stanton on his tail, Walker—accompanied by his loyal Belgian Malinois and using his off-the-grid VW pop-up camper filled with a hidden cache of weapons—takes the law into his own hands, exposing corruption and issuing a long-forgotten brand of lethal outlaw justice.
In the tradition of the great “stranger comes to town” Westerns of the past comes a modern interpretation of the mysterious vigilante gunslinger legend from “the hottest author on the thriller scene today” (The Real Book Spy). Get ready for a new kind of hero. Justice is coming.
About The Authors
Mike Stoner Photography
Jack Carr is a former Navy SEAL who led special operations teams as a team leader, platoon commander, troop commander, and task unit commander. Over his twenty years in Naval Special Warfare, he transitioned from an enlisted SEAL sniper to a junior officer leading assault and sniper teams in Iraq and Afghanistan, to a platoon commander practicing counterinsurgency in the southern Philippines, to commanding a special operations task unit in the most Iranian influenced section of southern Iraq throughout the tumultuous drawdown of US Forces. Jack retired from active duty in 2016 and lives with his wife and three children in Park City, Utah. He is the author of The Terminal List, True Believer, Savage Son, The Devil’s Hand, In the Blood, Only the Dead, Red Sky Mourning, Targeted: Beirut, and Cry Havoc. His debut novel, The Terminal List, was adapted into the #1 Prime Video series starring Chris Pratt. He is also the host of the top-rated Danger Close podcast. Visit him at OfficialJackCarr.com and follow Jack on Instagram, X, Facebook, and YouTube @JackCarrUSA.
M.P. Woodward is the New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Ryan, Jr. series and The Handler CIA espionage series (The Handler and Dead Drop). He served as a US naval intelligence officer before going on to an international career in tech and streaming media. He lives in Redmond, Washington.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books (May 12, 2026)
- Length: 432 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668072042
Browse Related Books
Raves and Reviews
“Moving from slow-burn ignition into a full-blown inferno, The Fourth Option wastes no time exploring corruption, betrayal, and the kind of evil that doesn’t just slip through the cracks but hides behind the system itself. It’s familiar enough that Carr’s legion of fans will feel right at home, but different enough to keep them off balance and guessing, even when they think they’ve got it all figured out.”
– The Real Book Spy
“One of Carr’s strongest and tightest books to date. Everything is woven together nicely. It’s an homage to the gunslingers of old dropped into the issues of the current day, and it’s done really well. It’s a hell of a lot of fun.”
– Clarion Ledger
"The Fourth Option is a storytelling masterpiece."
– Jon Land, BookTrib
"Carr is not just writing thrillers. He’s elevating the genre—pushing it toward something more layered, more literary, and ultimately more enduring."
– John Nantz, First Draft podcast
“A riveting mix of a cerebral investigative story and a brutal ‘stranger comes to town’ thriller.”
– Terminal Vengeance
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
-
Book Cover Image (jpg): The Fourth Option
eBook 9781668072042
-
Author Photo (jpg): Jack Carr Mike Stoner Photography(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
