Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
mystery
Series · mystery
Walt Longmire
The Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson has 30 known books (29 published; 1 announced) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Cold Dish (2004). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is The Brothers McKay. The next announced book, Have Courage: Longmire Stories, is due 3 November 2026.
- Books
- 30 known books (22 novels + 6 novellas + 2 collections)
- Published
- 29
- Announced
- 1
- First published
- 2004
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: The Cold Dish (2004) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series. Announced future books are marked below.
- Book 1:
The Cold Dish
The Cold Dish, Craig Johnson's 400-page debut, opens the Walt Longmire series in 2004, introducing the wry, weathered sheriff of fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming, and the tight circle around him -- deputy Vic Moretti, best friend Henry Standing Bear, and daughter Cady -- who carry as much of the emotional weight as the mysteries do.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Cold Dish - Book 2:
Death Without Company
Death Without Company, the second Walt Longmire novel, was published in 2006 at 271 pages. Like the rest of Johnson's series, it pairs a specific case with the high plains and mountains of north-central Wyoming, rendered with the same care as the plotting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Death Without Company - Book 3:
Kindness Goes Unpunished
Kindness Goes Unpunished, the third entry in the series, was published in 2007 at 288 pages. It continues Craig Johnson's slower-burn, character-driven approach -- Walt navigating Wyoming's brutal winters and moral gray areas with dry humor and a lawman's habit of quoting literature between fistfights.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Kindness Goes Unpunished - Book 4:
Another Man's Moccasins
Another Man's Moccasins, the fourth Walt Longmire novel, was published in 2008 at 290 pages. As with the rest of the series, Walt's investigation unfolds alongside his relationships with Vic Moretti and Henry Standing Bear, the deepening bonds that build across the books in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Another Man's Moccasins - Book 5:
The Dark Horse
The Dark Horse, the fifth installment of Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series, was published in 2009. It continues the series' sense of place -- the sparsely populated jurisdiction of Absaroka County bordering the Cheyenne reservation -- alongside a case for the wry, widowed sheriff to work.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Dark Horse - Book 6:
Junkyard Dogs
Junkyard Dogs, the sixth Walt Longmire novel, was published in 2010 at 306 pages. It carries forward the series' character-driven formula, with Walt's dry humor and his circle of Vic, Henry Standing Bear and daughter Cady doing as much narrative work as the case itself.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Junkyard Dogs - Book 7:
Hell Is Empty
Hell Is Empty, the seventh installment of the series, was published in 2011 at 312 pages. By this point the series had built its reputation on Wyoming's brutal winters and moral gray areas rendered with the same care Johnson gives the plotting, closer in spirit to C. J. Box's Joe Pickett novels than a big-city procedural.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hell Is Empty - Book 8:
As the Crow Flies
As the Crow Flies, the eighth Walt Longmire novel, was published in 2012 at 308 pages -- the same year the character reached a much wider audience through the Netflix/A&E adaptation Longmire. It continues the series' grounding in Absaroka County's real tensions around Native land and jurisdiction on and off the reservation.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of As the Crow Flies - Book 9:
A Serpent's Tooth
In the Walt Longmire reading order, A Serpent's Tooth sits between As the Crow Flies and Any Other Name as the ninth book. By Craig Johnson, it runs 335 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Serpent's Tooth - Book 10:
Any Other Name
Credited to Craig Johnson, Any Other Name holds the tenth spot in the Walt Longmire sequence across 411 pages. It follows A Serpent's Tooth in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Any Other Name - Book 11:
Dry Bones
Dry Bones, the eleventh installment of the series, was published in 2015 at 366 pages. A decade into the series, Walt's relationships with Vic Moretti and Henry Standing Bear -- and the slowly-revealed backstory involving his late wife -- had continued building book to book, as Johnson's publication order intends.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dry Bones - Book 12:
An Obvious Fact
An Obvious Fact, the twelfth Walt Longmire novel, was published in 2016 at 317 pages. It keeps the series' formula of a specific case -- a murder, a missing person, an old grudge resurfacing -- paired with the sense of place that defines Johnson's north-central Wyoming setting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of An Obvious Fact - Book 13:
The Western Star
Credited to Craig Johnson, The Western Star holds the thirteenth spot in the Walt Longmire sequence across 362 pages. It follows An Obvious Fact in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Western Star - Book 14:
Depth of Winter
Depth of Winter, Craig Johnson's fourteenth novel in the series, was published in 2018. It continues Walt's story deep into the series' run, still built on the same character-driven approach that sets it apart from bigger-city procedurals: a sheriff who reads Steinbeck and navigates moral gray areas with dry humor.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Depth of Winter - Book 15:
Land of Wolves
Land of Wolves, the fifteenth Walt Longmire novel, was published in 2019 at 336 pages. Fifteen books in, the series was still centered on Walt's tight circle -- Vic Moretti, Henry Standing Bear, and daughter Cady -- and the real tensions of policing Absaroka County along the Cheyenne reservation border.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Land of Wolves - Book 16:
Next to Last Stand
Next to Last Stand, the sixteenth entry in the series, was published in 2020 at 336 pages. It continues Craig Johnson's slower-burn approach to the mystery genre, where a specific case shares space with Walt's ongoing relationships and Wyoming's high-plains setting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Next to Last Stand - Book 17:
Daughter of the Morning Star
Daughter of the Morning Star, the seventeenth Walt Longmire novel, was published in 2021 at 420 pages -- one of the longer entries in the series. It continues Johnson's attention to the region's real tensions around Native land, poverty and law enforcement jurisdiction that run through the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Daughter of the Morning Star - Book 18:
Hell and Back
Credited to Craig Johnson, Hell and Back holds the eighteenth spot in the Walt Longmire sequence across 336 pages. It follows Daughter of the Morning Star in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hell and Back - Book 19:
The Longmire Defense
The Longmire Defense, the nineteenth installment of the series, was published in 2023 at 368 pages. Nearly two decades into the series, Walt was still the same wry, weathered sheriff introduced in The Cold Dish, working cases alongside Vic Moretti and Henry Standing Bear in Absaroka County.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Longmire Defense - Book 20:
First Frost
First Frost, the twentieth Walt Longmire novel, was published in 2024 at 466 pages, arriving just ahead of Return to Sender. Twenty books into the series, Walt remains the same wry, widowed sheriff of Absaroka County first introduced in The Cold Dish, still leaning on Vic Moretti, Henry Standing Bear and daughter Cady to carry the story alongside the case.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of First Frost - Book 21:
Return to Sender
In the Walt Longmire reading order, Return to Sender sits between First Frost and The Brothers McKay as the twenty-first book. By Craig Johnson, it runs 336 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Return to Sender - Book 22:
The Brothers McKay
Credited to Craig Johnson, The Brothers McKay holds the twenty-second spot in the Walt Longmire sequence across 368 pages. It follows Return to Sender in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Brothers McKay - Book 23:
Tooth and Claw
Tooth and Claw is an unnumbered novella in the Walt Longmire series, appearing just ahead of Christmas in Absaroka County in publication order. It was published in 2024 at 208 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Tooth and Claw - Book 24:
Christmas in Absaroka County
Christmas in Absaroka County, published in 2012, is one of the Walt Longmire novellas that sit outside the main numbered sequence, best enjoyed once you already know Walt's circle -- Vic Moretti, Henry Standing Bear and daughter Cady. It falls between Tooth and Claw and Spirit of Steamboat in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Christmas in Absaroka County - Book 25:
Spirit of Steamboat
Spirit of Steamboat, published in 2013 at 146 pages, is one of the optional Walt Longmire novellas, sitting between Christmas in Absaroka County and The Highwayman. Like the other novellas, it isn't required to follow the main novel-to-novel plot, but it's set in the same wintry Absaroka County that defines the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Spirit of Steamboat - Book 26:
The Highwayman
Rather than carrying a series number, The Highwayman sits outside the main Walt Longmire numbering, following Spirit of Steamboat. By Craig Johnson, this novella was published in 2016 and runs 190 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Highwayman - Book 27:
Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories
Rather than carrying a series number, Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories sits outside the main Walt Longmire numbering, following The Highwayman. By Craig Johnson, this story collection was published in 2014 and runs 265 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories - Book 28:
Have Courage: Longmire Stories
Rather than carrying a series number, Have Courage: Longmire Stories sits outside the main Walt Longmire numbering, following Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories. By Craig Johnson, this story collection carries a publication date of 2026-11-03 and runs 461 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Have Courage: Longmire Stories - Book 29:
Divorce Horse
Divorce Horse, published in 2012, is an unnumbered Walt Longmire novella appearing just ahead of Messenger in publication order. Like the series' other novellas, it's optional side reading best enjoyed once readers already know Walt, Vic Moretti and Henry Standing Bear from the main sequence.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Divorce Horse - Book 30:
Messenger
Rather than carrying a series number, Messenger sits outside the main Walt Longmire numbering, following Divorce Horse. By Craig Johnson, this novella was published in 2013.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Messenger
About the Walt Longmire series
Walt Longmire is the longtime sheriff of fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming — a wry, weathered widower closer to retirement than he'd like to admit, working a sprawling, sparsely populated jurisdiction that borders the Cheyenne reservation. Craig Johnson builds each novel around a specific case (a murder, a missing person, a decades-old grudge resurfacing) but the real draw is Walt himself: a lawman who reads Steinbeck and quotes literature between fistfights, navigates Wyoming's brutal winters and moral gray areas with dry humor, and leans on a tight circle — deputy Victoria "Vic" Moretti, best friend Henry Standing Bear, and daughter Cady — who carry as much of the emotional weight as the mysteries do.
The series is prized for its sense of place: the high plains and mountains of north-central Wyoming are rendered with the same care as the plotting, and Johnson doesn't shy away from the region's real tensions around Native land, poverty and law enforcement jurisdiction on and off the reservation. It's a slower-burn, character-driven alternative to big-city procedurals — closer in spirit to C. J. Box's Joe Pickett novels — and its adaptation as the long-running Netflix/A&E series Longmire (2012-2017) introduced the character to a much wider audience while staying reasonably faithful to the books' tone.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Walt Longmire series?
There are 22 main novels as of The Brothers McKay (May 2026), plus six novellas and two short-story collections (Wait for Signs and Have Courage, November 2026).
What order should I read the Walt Longmire books in?
Publication order, starting with The Cold Dish. Walt's family history and relationships with Vic and Henry Standing Bear develop steadily across the series.
Is the Walt Longmire series finished?
No, it's ongoing. Craig Johnson has published new Longmire material almost every year since 2004; the newest book is the story collection Have Courage: Longmire Stories, due November 3, 2026.
Is the Longmire TV series the same as the books?
It's based on the same characters and starts from similar premises, but the Netflix/A&E series Longmire (2012-2017) diverges from the novels' plots substantially after the first couple of seasons.
Do I need to read the Longmire novellas and short story collections?
No. They're enjoyable extras that fill in side stories and earlier points in Walt's career, but the numbered novels carry the main plot and can be read without them.
If you like the Walt Longmire series
Reading order last verified .