How To Read 'The Da Vinci Code' Books In Order Before 'Secret Of Secrets' Drops On Netflix

1. Angels & Demons

Dan Brown published Angels & Demons in 2000, where he first introduced readers to Robert Langdon. So, the motion picture series immediately deviated from the books since the film adaptation of Angels & Demons came as a sequel to The Da Vinci Code movie.

In this novel, Robert Langdon, a symbologist at Harvard, is called to a research facility in Switzerland to study a symbol that was burned into the chest of a dead physicist. What he uncovers is evidence that the Illuminati, an "ancient secret brotherhood," had resurfaced to target the Catholic Church.

"Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City," the novel's synopsis reads.

"With the countdown underway, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival."

2. The Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code, published in 2003, marks Dan Brown's second novel in the series and continues Robert Langdon's story as he goes on another fast-paced, thrill-packed adventure.

In the book, he's in the middle of visiting Paris on business when he finds out that a Louvre curator had been killed. Plus, a cipher was found near the body. Robert is called in to solve the riddle but ultimately realizes there are more clues hidden within Da Vinci's works.

"Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion–an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others," per the synopsis.

Together, Robert and Sophie have to race through Europe to figure out the puzzle before an ancient secret disappears forever.

3. The Lost Symbol

The third book in the series, The Lost Symbol, was released in 2009 and (of course) follows Robert Langdon as he's confronted with a third mystery. While lecturing at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., an encoded object with five symbols is found in the Rotunda.

He recognizes the object as an "ancient invitation," and after the kidnapping of his mentor, Peter Solomon, Robert comes to the conclusion that the key to saving Peter's life is accepting the invitation and following its lead.

"Langdon finds himself quickly swept behind the facade of America's most historic city into the unseen chambers, temples, and tunnels which exist there. All that was familiar is transformed into a shadowy, clandestine world of an artfully concealed past in which Masonic secrets and never-before-seen revelations seem to be leading him to a single impossible and inconceivable truth," the synopsis reads.

4. Inferno

Inferno, the third film adaptation in the franchise, was the fourth book in Dan Brown's series, published in 2013. This time, readers see Robert Langdon as he wakes up in the hospital with no memory of how he landed there.

Then, when his life is threatened, he relies on his knowledge of ancient streets and passageways in Florence to help him and a doctor named Sienna Brooks as they race against the clock.

"With only a few lines from Dante's dark and epic masterpiece, The Inferno, to guide them, they must decipher a sequence of codes buried deep within some of the most celebrated artifacts of the Renaissance–sculptures, paintings, buildings–to find the answers to a puzzle which may, or may not, help them save the world from a terrifying threat," according to the novel's synopsis.

5. Origin

Finally, Origin, released in 2017, is the last tale in Robert Langdon's story. He visits Spain to attend an event hosted at the Guggenheim Museum by his former student-turned-billionaire Edmon Kirsch, and there, Kirsch plans to announce a breakthrough that could answer two fundamental questions about human existence.

"But the meticulously orchestrated evening suddenly erupts into chaos, and Kirsch's precious discovery teeters on the brink of being lost forever," per the synopsis, "Reeling and facing an imminent threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape Bilbao."

While the book was applauded for sparking conversations surrounding the coexistence of science and religion, it remains unclear if it will ever be turned into a movie. It simply lacks as much action as the rest of the Da Vinci Code series, which might not resonate on the big screen.