C.J. Box Books In Order – Complete List of Novels
Reading the C. J. Box books in order means catching up with 24 Joe Pickett stories, 6 Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell books, his standalone novels, several short stories, and collections as well. Quite a lot of books, but well worth the read!
Here are the C. J. Box novels in order of publication and chronological order for all his mystery fiction works.
Latest C. J. Box Books
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Joe Pickett Books in Publication Order
- Open Season (#1), 2001
- Savage Run (#2), 2002
- Winterkill (#3), 2003
- Trophy Hunt (#4), 2004
- Dull Knife (#4.5), 2011
- Out of Range (#5), 2005
- In Plain Sight (#6), 2006
- Free Fire (#7), 2007
- Blood Trail (#8), 2008
- Below Zero (#9), 2009
- Nowhere to Run (#10), 2010
- Cold Wind (#11), 2011
- The Master Falconer (#11.5), 2011
- Force of Nature (#12), 2012
- Breaking Point (#13), 2013
- Stone Cold (#14), 2014
- Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country ( #14.5), 2014
- Endangered (#15), 2015
- Off the Grid (#16), 2016
- Vicious Circle (#17), 2017
- Disappeared (#18), 2018
- Wolf Pack (#19), 2019
- Long Range (#20), 2020
- Dark Sky (#21), 2021
- Shadows Reel (#22), 2022
- Storm Watch (#23), 2023
- Three-Inch Teeth (#24), 2024
- Battle Mountain, 2025
Joe Pickett Short Stories
- Dull Knife, 2011
- The Master Falconer, 2011
- Honor & …, 2018 (with Sandra Brown)
- Precious Cargo, 2022 (in Birds of Prey)
Joe Pickett Collections
Other Joe Pickett Books
Cody Hoyt / Cassie Dewell Series in Order of Publication
- Back of Beyond (#1), 2011
- The Highway (#2), 2013
- Badlands (#3), 2015
- Paradise Valley (#4), 2017
- The Bitterroots (#5), 2019
- Treasure State (#6), 2022
The Highway Quartet Books in Publication Order
- Back of Beyond (#1), 2011
- The Highway (#2), 2013
- Badlands (#3), 2015
- Paradise Valley (#4), 2017
Standalone Novels in Order of Publication
- Blue Heaven, 2008
- Three Weeks to Say Goodbye, 2009
- Inherit the Dead, 2013 (with Lee Child, Mary Higgins Clark, John Connolly, Charlaine Harris, Jonathan Santlofer, and Lisa Unger)
C.J. Box Novellas and Short Stories
- Honor & …, 2018 (with Sandra Brown)
- Pronghorns of the Third Reich, 2012 (Bibliomysteries)
Anthologies and Short Story Collections in Order of Publication
- The Best American Mystery Stories 2006, 2006
- Once Upon a Crime: An Anthology of Murder, Mayhem and Suspense, 2009
- Hook, Line & Sinister: Mysteries to Reel You In, 2010
- Live Noir or Die Trying (Damn Near Dead #2), 2010
- Mysterious Writers: The Many Facets of Mystery Writing, 2010
- Inherit the Dead, 2013
- Death Sentences: Stories of Deathly Books, Murderous Booksellers and Lethal Literature, 2014
- The Highway Kind, 2016
- Best American Mystery Stories 2017, 2017
- MatchUp, 2017 (edited by Lee Child)
- Murder, They Wrote: Five Bibliomysteries by Edgar Award-Winning Authors, 2018
- Gather at the River, 2019
- The Best American Mystery Stories 2020, 2020
- Birds of Prey: The Harlan Coben Challenge, 2022
- Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon Anthology 2023, 2023
Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order
- Travel Smart: Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, 1998 (with Paul Otteson)
Bibliomysteries Books in Publication Order
- The Book of Virtue (By: Ken Bruen), 2012
- Pronghorns of the Third Reich (By: C.J. Box), 2012
- The Book Thing (By: Laura Lippman), 2012
- The Book Case (By: Nelson DeMille), 2012
- An Acceptable Sacrifice (By: Jeffery Deaver), 2012
- Death Leaves a Bookmark (By: William Link), 2012
- The Final Testament (By: Peter Blauner), 2013
- Rides a Stranger (By: David Bell), 2013
- The Long Sonata of the Dead (By: Andrew Taylor), 2013
- The Book of Ghosts (By: Reed Farrel Coleman), 2013
- The Compendium of Srem (By: F. Paul Wilson), 2014
- What’s in a Name? (By: Thomas H. Cook), 2014
- Remaindered (By: Peter Lovesey), 2014
- The Sequel (By: R.L. Stine), 2014
- The Gospel of Sheba (By: Lyndsay Faye), 2014
- The Nature of My Inheritance (By: Bradford Morrow), 2014
- It’s in the Book (By: Mickey Spillane), 2014
- The Scroll (By: Anne Perry), 2014
- The Book of the Lion (By: Thomas Perry), 2015
- The Little Men (By: Megan Abbott), 2015
- Condor in the Stacks (By: James Grady), 2015
- Mystery, Inc. (By: Joyce Carol Oates), 2015
- Every Seven Years (By: Denise Mina), 2015
- From the Queen (By: Carolyn Hart), 2015
- The Travelling Companion (By: Ian Rankin), 2016
- Citadel (By: Stephen Hunter), 2016
- Reconciliation Day (By: Christopher Fowler), 2016
- Dead Dames Don’t Sing (By: John Harvey), 2016
- The Haze (By: James W. Hall), 2016
- Hoodoo Harry (By: Joe R. Lansdale), 2017
- The Pretty Little Box (By: Charles Todd), 2018
- Seven Years (By: Peter Robinson), 2018
- The Hemingway Valise (By: Robert Olen Butler), 2018
- The Last Honest Horse Thief (By: Michael Koryta), 2018
- The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository (By: John Connolly), 2018
- The Dark Door (By: Lisa Unger), 2022
C.J. Box Biography – About the Author
C. J. Box, aka Charles James Box, is the New York Times bestselling author of the Joe Pickett mystery series.
The author is a native of Wyoming. Born in 1958 in Casper, WY, where he grew up. He is the older of three siblings. he graduated with a degree in Mass Communications from the University of Denver.
C.J. Box worked a variety of jobs after college, including as a ranch hand, surveyor, fishing guide, and newspaper reporter. He also worked for a time as a Wyoming temporary game warden, an experience that inspired his game warden Joe Pickett’s series of novels. At some point, he owned an international tourism marketing firm with his wife, Laurie.
He was and is involved in various aspects of tourism, earning the “BIG WYO” Award from the state tourism industry. He was on the Board of Directors of Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo and serves on the Wyoming Office of Tourism Board these days.
C J Box is currently living outside of Cheyenne with his family.
The C J Box novels have been translated into over 30 languages, and overall, the books have sold both in the US and abroad missions of copies.
At some point, I owned all the Joe Pickett novels, but I’ve in the meantime given many to the local charity bookshop for those who cannot afford to buy books. I still have one more, a trade paperback called Free Fire, bought several years ago.
Of course, I continue to buy the latest Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett novels featuring the Pickett family as soon as they come out, however, these days I rather buy them as Kindle downloads due to lack of space in my home. For me, reading the CJ Box books in order is one of the biggest joys when I know the latest novel has been just released and I can get ahold of it right away.
The most popular C.J. Box series is Joe Pickett. He is a Wyoming game warden in the small town of Twelve Sleep. This is a town of hunters, so it’s understandable that game wardens are not viewed with the utmost respect by the natives.
Joe is especially hated because he doesn’t take bribes and he takes his job seriously. Most people there love their rifles and love their drinks as well, not a healthy combination, especially when Joe has to give tickets to armed drunks who are caught in the act.
In The Disappeared, Joe works two cases at the same time. First, there is the disappearance of three British women who were visiting a local ranch, and second, he and his friend, Nate Romanowski, are called to investigate the killings of some eagles, which is a Federal offense. The problem is that someone wants Joe to stop investigating, but so far it’s not sure which case is someone trying to stall.
A popular Joe Pickett story, The Master Falconer, was named a chilling short story of death and retribution, as well as a dramatic story of justice both old and new.
Reading the Joe Pickett series in order helps us get involved in the world that C.J. Box has created. We can also follow the character development and complexity of their relationships. Each year a new novel in the Joe Pickett series is released, and the latest Joe Pickett novel is Three-Inch Teeth, published in 2024.
In addition to his writing, Box is a frequent public speaker and commentator on outdoor and wildlife issues. He has served on the board of directors for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo and the Wyoming Humanities Council. He currently lives with his family in Wyoming.
Overview of the Joe Pickett Series
The series is about Joe Pickett, a game warden who lives in Twelve Sleep, a remote fictional town in rural west Wyoming. He is a dedicated family man, he considers himself a humble person who wants to do what’s right, and he takes his job seriously.
However, the game warden Joe Pickett’s cases are often dangerous, as he investigates crimes in the region. Some of the issues he comes across are related to the environment, corruption, and violence. For example, during his investigations, he works against environmental terrorists, rogue federal land managers, animal abusers, corrupt bureaucrats, crazy hitmen, domestic abusers, and crazy animal rights activists.
While at some point or another, the game warden had to do things he was not proud of, overall, he is an honest, dedicated man who respects the law, loves his family, and has a moral compass that he rigorously follows.
Overview of the Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell Series
The series revolves around the investigative work of Cody Hoyt, who is a troubled former cop, and Cassie Dewell, a recently divorced single mother who now works as a private investigator.
Cody is an ex-police investigator who is also Cassie’s former partner. Especially in the earlier books, he is the main protagonist of the series, while the later books focus only on Cassie.
When the two separate series merged together, it turned into one big series involving the two main characters, with the two protagonists’s names in the title.
The Cassie Dewel book series is also called the Highway Quartet series by C.J. Box, which focuses on investigating crimes happening on highways.
Cassie Dewell is a police investigator who has sharp investigative skills which she puts them to good use when working together with Cody Hyt. Initially, she is a single mother who is living in Montana. She is also Cody’s ex-partner.
Eventually, Cassie moves to North Dakota where she gets a job at the local sheriff’s department to hunt down criminals.
In the first book in the series, Back of Beyond, we meet Cody, who is struggling with alcoholism and is facing his personal demons, and Cassie, who is hired to investigate the disappearance of a wealthy businessman in Montana. The more they investigate, the closer they come to uncovering a major chain of deceit and corruption that leads them on a dangerous journey through the wilderness.
The order of appearance of Cody and Cassie in the Highway Quartet books:
- Back And Beyond features Cody .
- The Highway features both Cody and Cassie.
- Badlands, Paradise Valley, The Bitterroots, and Treasure State feature only Cassie.
C.J. Box Books Adaptations
The Joe Pickett stories have been adapted into a two-season TV series running between 2021 and 2023. After two seasons, the series was canceled. It featured Michael Dorman as Joe Pickett and Julianna Guill as Marybeth Pickett.
C.J. Box Awards
Several of the books written by C J Box received awards, including the Anthony Award, the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, the Barry Awards, the Prix Calibre 38 (France), and the Maltese Falcon Award (Japan). His first standalone novel, Blue Season, received the Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel of 2008.
He was also awarded the 2016 Western Heritage Award for Literature by the National Cowboy Museum, as well as and the Spur Award from Western Writers of America for Best Contemporary Novel.
- Anthony Award Best First Novel winner in 2002 for Open Season
- Edgar Award Best Novel winner in 2009 for Blue Heaven
- Barry Award Best Novel winner in 2016 for Badlands
CJ, has a way of immersing you into Joe Picketts shoes. The observations and surroundings that are described are spot on from the Wolf Lodge to Virginian Inn to the mountain ranges and prairies. Highway numbers and exit numbers are all there. I have personally visited many of the locations described and can see everything he is talking about in the books. I am on my second round through all of the books on Audible and enjoy them as much or more than the first. Read many of them as well.
I love all the books Box has written. Look forward to the next ones.
Molly C.
Love these books! They keep me interested. Hope you write more!
Would love to meet this great author. We live in kimball ne. 60 miles from Cheyenne
I am enjoying all of the books, reading through the Joe Pickett series. I actually got interested in the television series before knowing about the books. I loved the series because it didn’t exist to show sexual scenes, terribly vulgar language, and promote split families. Just good, basically down to earth for a series, acting. Great characters! I even liked this better than Longmire, which is a favorite. So hoping you’ll find a way, quickly, to bring this excellent series back to us with many future seasons to enjoy. It’s refreshing to find something that isn’t trashy nowadays.
5 stars from me!
Love his books, please sign me up for the newsletter! More Joe Pickett books please!!!!!!!!
I have read ever C.J. Box books, and Joe Pickett is my most favorite character. Then I saw they were making a series on it, and I thought, who could play Joe? And if they didn’t pick an actor who embodies Joe Pickett.
Man, my husband never watches shows based on books, and he is the one hollering for me now to get into the Living Room, He’s going to start Joe Pickett.
Husband was never a reader in high school and beyond. Now he cannot stop – loves the stories, the locale and the characters. Thanks.
His books are so suspenseful! 8 can’t put them down!
Love them all, even have the travel books you did before Joe Picket, Montana Wyoming & Idaho both editions. The 4 limited edition,Le Sauvage Noble, The Master Falconer, Dull Knife, The River God. Pronghorns of the Third Reich Compact Disc, Power Wagon in The Highway Kind, Pirates of Yellowstone in Meeting Across thje River, Fire & Ice in Inherit the Dead, The Encampment: The Hotter, Younger Sister in Gather the River. Mystery Stories C. J. Box Editor, Wolf Pack and The Disappeared in Readers Digest, Every Day is A Good Day On The River in Hook, Line & Sinister.
I don’t know what it is about these novels but they have a tremendously calming effect on me. It’s not like there is no violence… I think there is just such a lack of good, honest people/men in our society that loves their wife and family, makes mistakes and works to correct them. I, for one, wish Joe Pickett was a real person!
Wish all the Joe Pickett books were on audible —— absolutely love everyone I have listened to —– thank you for writing such wonderful stories.
Stopped watching the ‘Big Sky’ series before the first season ended. Why would they take a very good book , have it rewritten and turn it into a inclusion-woke tv series?
Why did out of range lead in to free fire….skipping in plain sight?
Not sure what you mean? In Plain Sight is listed right between Out of Range and Free Fire.
CJBox is a talented writer… I love the way he captures your attention from the beginning…his books are wonderful from beginning to end……I love Joe Pickett and his family…..and his friendship with Nate…..I have read all of the Joe Pickett Series…..I am ready to start the standalones………
Omg…I have read all the comments and I don’t think I can add anything different.
I love all the ones I have read so far. I am reading them in order and I’m just ready to start “Breaking Point”
Keep on writing CJ Box….I hope you can keep this series going for quite awhile.
A minor error I noted in the above article on the Joe Pickett novels. Joe is from Saddle String. Ten Sleep is the river in the area, running through town. These books are great! I can’t wait until the next one. I listened to all of them in order. More please!
Having read every single CJ Box book, they are singularly immersive. And all great. If you were perusing these comments looking for an absolute favorite. 1. Nowhere to Run is my favorite book of all time.
2. Wolf Pack is my second favorite Joe Pickett Book.
3. Of the non Joe Pickett, Back of Beyond is a great place to start and Blue Heaven is great too.
I absolutely love all of the CJ Box novels I have read so far. In the Pickett series I just finished Force of Nature, so I still have a few more to go. I’ve read all the books in the Hoyt/Dewell series as well as the standalones. My two favorites are Nowhere to Run, Winterkill and Three Weeks to Say Goodbye. Breaking Point is next!