The Recommended Reading Order: Where to Begin?
For readers ready to ride along with the Amlingmeyer brothers, there are two primary entry points. The safest and most popular path is starting with the debut novel, Holmes on the Range (2006). This book perfectly introduces Gustav 'Old Red' Amlingmeyer—a crabby cowboy obsessed with Sherlock Holmes's methods—and his younger brother Otto 'Big Red' Amlingmeyer, who narrates their adventures with a dry, humorous frontier voice. Starting here gives you the perfect introduction to their dynamic before they officially become professional detectives.
However, if you want to see exactly how these redheaded cowboys first stumbled upon the stories of Sherlock Holmes and began their amateur sleuthing, you should start with the prequel short story collection Dear Mr. Holmes (2011). The stories inside are written as letters from Big Red to Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and various editors, and they chronologically precede the events of the first novel.
Publication Order vs. Chronological Order
Steve Hockensmith’s series is unique because the author frequently jumps back and forth in the timeline. While the publication order is straightforward, reading the books and short stories in chronological order offers a richer experience. In fact, writer Bob Byrne published an extensive chronology on the site Black Gate, which was reviewed and approved for accuracy by Hockensmith himself. Below are both pathways to help you choose how to tackle the frontier mysteries.
Publication Order of the Main Books
- Holmes on the Range (2006)
- On the Wrong Track (2007)
- The Black Dove (2008)
- The Crack in the Lens (2009)
- World's Greatest Sleuth! (2010)
- Dear Mr. Holmes (2011) – Prequel short story collection
- The Double-A Western Detective Agency (2018)
- Hunters of the Dead (2023)
- Partners in Crime (2023) – Short story collection
- Black List, White Death (2023) – Collection featuring two novellas and one short story
- Strong Medicine (2026)
The Author-Approved Chronological Order
If you prefer to follow Old Red and Big Red's lives as they happened, this chronological sequence weaves together the short stories and novels:
- 'Shadow of the Badger' (1871) – A standalone prequel short story featuring Gustav as a six-year-old boy.
- 'The Truest Story Ever Told' (1879) – A flashback short story centering on other Double-A operatives before the brothers join.
- Dear Mr. Holmes (1892–1893) – The first five stories in this collection ('Dear Mr. Holmes', 'Gustav Amlingmeyer, Holmes of the Range', 'Wolves in Winter', 'Dear Dr. Watson', and 'The Water Indian') establish their initial cases.
- Holmes on the Range (July 1893) – The first novel.
- 'The Devil's Acre' (November 1893) – A short story found in the Dear Mr. Holmes collection.
- Strong Medicine (Spring 1894) – The eighth novel, where the brothers travel to Galveston, Texas.
- Hunters of the Dead (May 1894) – The seventh novel, set during a cutthroat dinosaur fossil excavation in Wyoming.
- 'Greetings from Purgatory!' (July 1894) – The final short story in the Dear Mr. Holmes collection.
- On the Wrong Track (August 1894) – The second novel, set aboard a Pacific Express train.
- The Black Dove (Spring 1895) – The third novel, taking the brothers to San Francisco's Chinatown.
- The Crack in the Lens (Spring 1896) – The fourth novel, dealing with a deeply personal murder from Old Red's past.
- World's Greatest Sleuth! (Summer 1897) – The fifth novel, set during a detective competition at the World's Fair.
- The Double-A Western Detective Agency (Late 1890s) – The sixth novel, following their first official case in New Mexico after launching their agency.
Understanding the Collections and Novellas
Aside from the core novels, Hockensmith has released three essential compilations that fill in critical details of the brothers' detective career. Understanding how they fit into the broader reading order prevents confusion:
- Dear Mr. Holmes (2011): Contains seven foundational stories outlining their early days. The first five stories act as a chronological prequel, while the remaining two fit between the early novels.
- Partners in Crime (2023): A collection of five short stories that function as a novel-length addition, tracking the brothers' miscellaneous investigations across the West.
- Black List, White Death (2023): Features two longer novellas ('Black List' set in Arizona and 'White Death' set in a Colorado sanitarium) plus a comedic solo short story featuring Big Red.
The Double-A Western Detective Agency Spin-Offs
As the series progressed, Hockensmith expanded the universe. In the main novels, the brothers eventually work with Colonel Crowe and his daughter Diana under the banner of the Double-A Western Detective Agency. This inspired a dedicated spin-off series focusing on other colorful agency operatives rather than the Amlingmeyer brothers. These spin-off books lean slightly more toward traditional, action-packed Westerns than Holmesian deductive puzzles.
The spin-off books include Hired Guns (2024) and No Hallowed Ground (2024). They follow cavalry veterans Oswin Diehl and Ira Hoop, along with the Apache scout Eskaminzim, as they take on dangerous protection jobs on the frontier. You do not need to read these to understand the main Amlingmeyer mysteries, but they offer a great continuation of the shared universe.
What to Know Before You Start
The Holmes on the Range series is celebrated for its historic details and humorous, lighthearted tone. Hockensmith balances the grit of 1890s frontier life—such as range wars, outlaws, and railroad expansion—with the whimsical concept of two cowboys trying to apply brainy, Victorian detective logic to rugged Western scenarios. While most novels feature self-contained mysteries that can technically be read as standalones, we highly recommend following the publication or chronological order. Doing so allows you to appreciate the character growth, the evolution of the brothers' partnership, and the eventual founding of their detective agency.