Walt Longmire Books in Order

Where to Start the Walt Longmire Series

For the best reading experience, it is highly recommended to read the Walt Longmire series in publication order. Sheriff Walt Longmire’s life, his relationships with deputy Victoria “Vic” Moretti and lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, and the ongoing character arcs in Absaroka County develop linearly from book to book. Starting at the beginning lets you experience the depth of these characters as author Craig Johnson intended.

Your journey should begin with The Cold Dish (2004). This debut novel establishes the series’ distinct mix of dry humor, modern Western grit, and Native American mysticism. It introduces the widower sheriff as he investigates the murder of a young man who was previously involved in a controversial local trial.

The Full Publication Order

Here is the complete list of Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire novels, including key novellas and short stories, in the sequence they were published. This timeline includes the recent releases up through 2026:

• The Cold Dish (2004) – The novel that introduces Sheriff Walt Longmire.
• Death Without Company (2006) – Walt investigates a suspicious death at an assisted living facility.
• Kindness Goes Unpunished (2007) – Walt travels to Philadelphia to protect his daughter, Cady.
• Another Man's Moccasins (2008) – A murder investigation linked to a cold case from Walt’s time in Vietnam.
• The Dark Horse (2009) – Walt goes undercover in a neighboring county to investigate a woman accused of murdering her husband.
• Junkyard Dogs (2010) – A turf war erupts at the local landfill during a freezing Wyoming winter.
• Hell Is Empty (2011) – Walt pursues escaped convicts up the treacherous slopes of the Bighorn Mountains.
• Divorce Horse (2012) – A novella set around the annual Sheriff’s Race during the Basque festival.
• As the Crow Flies (2012) – Walt assists the northern Cheyenne tribal police chief, Lolo Long, on a canyon-cliff investigation.
• Christmas in Absaroka County (2012) – A festive collection of seasonal short stories.
• Messenger (2013) – A novella featuring Walt, his daughter Cady, and Henry Standing Bear stranded in a state park.
• A Serpent's Tooth (2013) – Walt deals with a runaway polygamist teenager and a shadowy industrial presence.
• Spirit of Steamboat (2013) – A novella flashing back to a dangerous rescue mission during a 1953 blizzard.
• Any Other Name (2014) – Walt is asked to look into the suicide of a detective in Campbell County.
• Dry Bones (2015) – A massive Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton discovery sparks a deadly custody battle.
• The Highwayman (2016) – A novella focused on a state trooper who hears spectral radio transmissions in the Wind River Canyon.
• An Obvious Fact (2016) – Walt and Henry investigate a motorcycle accident during the Sturgis Rally.
• The Western Star (2017) – A dual-timeline novel set on a vintage steam train excursion, flashing back to Walt's early days as a deputy.
• Depth of Winter (2018) – Walt heads to Mexico on a high-stakes mission to rescue his kidnapped daughter.
• Land of Wolves (2019) – Recovering from the events in Mexico, Walt faces a lone wolf and a Basque sheepherding family feud.
• Next to Last Stand (2020) – An investigation involving a missing masterpiece painting that may have survived the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
• Daughter of the Morning Star (2021) – Walt investigates threats against a young Native American basketball star.
• Hell and Back (2022) – Walt wakes up with no memory in a snowy, eerie town, facing his deepest psychological challenges.
• The Longmire Defense (2023) – A cold case leads Walt to confront dark secrets about his own grandfather.
• First Frost (2024) – Features a dual timeline following Walt and Henry facing the draft board in 1964 and the modern fallout of the previous novel.
• Tooth and Claw (2024) – A prequel novella set in the Alaskan tundra right after the Vietnam War.
• Return to Sender (2025) – Walt investigates a postal worker's disappearance, leading him to the Red Desert.
• The Brothers McKay (2026) – Walt investigates a murder on a canyon ranch, paying homage to Dostoevsky's classic themes.

Understanding Chronological Caveats

While the main series flows chronologically, Craig Johnson frequently employs flashbacks, prequels, and frame stories. If you want to follow the timeline of Walt’s life rather than the publication dates, here are the main shifts to keep in mind:

• Tooth and Claw (2024): Serves as a prequel set shortly after Walt and Henry returned from Vietnam, long before Walt became sheriff.
• First Frost (2024): Alternates between the present day and 1964, when Walt and Henry were young men dealing with the draft.
• The Western Star (2017): Focuses heavily on a flashback to 1972, during Walt's early career as a deputy sheriff under his predecessor, Lucian Connally.
• Spirit of Steamboat (2013): Tells the story of a dramatic rescue in 1953, framed by a modern-day conversation on Christmas Eve.

Reading these prequels and flashbacks in chronological sequence is not necessary to understand the main plot. In fact, reading them in publication order allows you to appreciate the backstories more, as you already know the older, wiser versions of the characters.

The Shorter Works: Novellas and Collections

Craig Johnson’s shorter fiction offers wonderful character vignettes. For a comprehensive look at the shorter stories, pick up the anthology collection titled Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories. This collection compiles many of the short stories Johnson originally wrote as annual Christmas gifts for his readers, filling in small moments in Walt's life. The standalone novellas like The Highwayman, Spirit of Steamboat, and Tooth and Claw function as self-contained adventures that can be read at any point, though they fit beautifully when read in their publication slots.

What to Know Before You Start: Book vs. TV Adaptation

Many readers discover Craig Johnson’s work through the hit television show Longmire (which ran from 2012 to 2017 on A&E and Netflix). While the show captures the atmospheric essence of Wyoming and the core personalities of the characters, the books differ in several major ways:

• The Tone: The books feature much more dry humor, literary references, and spiritual or mystical undertones, narrated in the first-person by Walt himself.
• Character Arcs: Certain character relationships progress differently in the books. Cady's career trajectory, Walt's history with his wife, and Deputy Vic Moretti's background are all more deeply fleshed out in the novels.
• The Scale: The books span a much longer timeframe, allowing readers to watch characters age and deal with the long-term consequences of their choices.