C. J. Box Books in Order

67 Comments

1. My husband and I started the Joe Pickett series this summer and are hooked. We read and discuss and often find something that stirs our own family memories of visiting Wyoming with our now grown kids. We read one after the other with very few days in between, keeping us immersed in the excellent writing of CJ Box! Just finished -#21 on Dec. 26, 2025! Heading to the library tomorrow!

2. I just discovered C.J. Box this year (June 2025) and am enjoying the Joe Pickett series. I am a country girl from Pa and am enjoying all the detail about Yellowstone, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. I am up to Breaking Point. I purchased a swivel glider for my front porch and can consistently get my hour of sunshine daily while reading (in addition to yardwork, running around and other outdoor stuff). I appreciate the series and the education. Thank you.

3. I was on your email list to let me know when the next joe picket novel was coming out. I did not get one for battle mountain, what happened? are you no longer doing that. I have all your books and I came to see you when you were in Michigan and had you sign what I had at the time, one of your biggest fans.

4. Having read most of the Joe Picket novels, I decided to watch the series on Paramount. I was extremely disappointed with the character, Nate Romanaski. In the book Nate is a tall fit blond with a pony tail. The actor you chose to play Nate is a good actor, but he doesn’t fit the character in the books. Why??? Did you change the character?

   1. I too have read all of JC Box’s books – I am hooked. And, so did I watch the TV series but was also disappointed for the same reasons you were. Yes, the acting was all good – but since I had read many of the series books, I expected the characters to be more to the description of the book characters. I can say the same for Marybeth’s mother. The TV character didn’t match the character in the books.

      However, I would love to have the TV series come back, but making the characters more too the books.

5. Hi Mr Box, I have read all of your series on Joe Pickett, and Cassie Dewell. Please have Cassie in your writing to stop eating those damned donuts. Help slim her down. Really like her character except for her weakness for those awful donuts. She has low self esteem as does Joe Pickett but she doesn’t have someone like Joe does to lift her up. Give her a good man for God’s sakes. Thank you. CC

   1. Or a good woman.

   2. Please PLEASE write the sequel to TREASURE STATE! I’m into Cassie “Dool” Dewell! One sharp PI!

6. Really like the Dwell and Hoyt series books. I like a little change from Joe Picket series. Do more of Dwell and Hoyt. Series.
   Thanks. I have read all your books, I started out with Joe Pickett which I love. Thanks again keep writing.

7. 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.

8. I love all the books Box has written. Look forward to the next ones.
   Molly C.

9. Love these books! They keep me interested. Hope you write more!

10. Would love to meet this great author. We live in kimball ne. 60 miles from Cheyenne

11. 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!

12. Love his books, please sign me up for the newsletter! More Joe Pickett stories please!!!!!!!!

13. 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.

14. Husband was never a reader in high school and beyond. Now he cannot stop – loves the stories, the locale and the characters. Thanks.

15. His books are so suspenseful! 8 can’t put them down!

16. 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.

17. 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!

18. Wish all the Joe Pickett novels were on audible —— absolutely love everyone I have listened to —– thank you for writing such wonderful stories.

19. 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?

20. Why did out of range lead in to free fire….skipping in plain sight?

    1. Not sure what you mean? In Plain Sight is listed right between Out of Range and Free Fire.

21. 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………

22. 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.

23. 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!

24. 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.

    1. 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!

25. i have loved all your books – thought i had read them in order but find i missed dull knife. Am reading Three Weeks to Say Goodbye. Please don’t stop writing about Joe Pickett. I just like your style of writing. Keep it up.

26. Love your books, I’ve lived in Livingston, Bozeman, Bigfork, and Alberton for around 40 years; I know the country you tell about around the Yellowstone. You descriptions of people, events, way’s of living in that interesting part of the world are spot on. Parts of your stories cause me to laugh out loud as you depict the types of folks one can encounter there. I love your sense of justice too. Just started the Cassie Dewell series, because of the TV show. I stopped watching the tv and went straight to the source of the inspiration for it and am so glad I did.

    I worked for a Paso Fino ranch outside of Livingston for about 2.5 years. It was at the top of Coke Dale Rd. something like 6000 +/- acres. The owner was a nut, a well known nut. She’d been adopted by a wealthy Shell Oil daughter.. They were actually lovers, but in order for my boss to receive a substantial inheritance from her lover when she passed, they had to become mother and daughter. Both of them were a bit off, well more that a bit, and the huge amount of money caused them to become seriously eccentric. Anyway, it’s just interesting the types of people who are in the world.

    I now live in MO. It fits my budget and lifestyle. Thank you so much for your super fun books and for your honesty in portraying the kinds of folks and adventures you’ve encountered in the north west part of this country.

27. I had the pleasure of visiting Yellowstone in Winter (a New York Times trip) this past January and absolutely loved every minute. Born and raised in Sweden I spent my summers on an island with no running water, electricity or indoor plumbing. The Joe Pickett series was introduced to me and I have almost finished the whole series. I LOVE these books. C.J. Box has an uncanny ability to describe the nature and having spent time watching for wildlife in freezing cold temperatures I can feel the winters and storms he describes. Thank You! Love the mysterious mr N.

28. just wondering when your next book will be out, enjoy all your books ,but Joe Pickett is the best, I have read all of your books and collect them. I also lived in wyo. most of my life ( rock river ) but have retired in vernal ut.
    have a merry xmass

    1. I can’t wait for the upcoming book i have been having a great time and sometimes read.one in one day 😌

29. Lost that speech.. Enjoy your books .

30. Just Read the book .. stop Whining about spelling …Great books …. Audio books don’t have
    Spelling ,punctuation problems.. only thing is you loose your place when you fall asleep
    And you wake up to find out were you were at. Humm chapter 4 or 6 LOL
    People whine about everything . Spelling .who’s doing What .President s , writer’s
    And how the person is driving the car next to you .
    Bless all you perfect people .why not try the other people’s job next time.
    Sure glad most of my posts, remarks gets lost in space to the Internet LOL

31. Just finished the newest Joe Picket book “Disappeared”. Another great story with
    the usual twists, turns and surprises. Left a lot of unanswered questions and
    story lines. Can’t wait for the new book in the series. Any idea when it will be
    coming out?

32. Le Sauvage Noble is available within “Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country” (a collection which is widely available through public libraries).

    1. That’s good to know, I couldn’t find it anywhere.

33. I’ve read them all, have them all, and will read them again in a few years!

34. I love the Joe Pickett series! I have read them all and looking forward to the next one. Would like to know when that will be?
    Please keep them coming. Like Nate very much too.
    Would like to see April a little more congenial. She would be much happier. Lol.
    Thank you for these wonderful books that all family members can enjoy.

35. So how come April dies in Winterkill but is going out with Dallas Cates in Endangered?

    1. Need to read the books in between…………

    2. April dies but no body was ever found? Hmm…

36. My husband and I have read All the Joe Picket books thus far and have preordered the newest one…we love these books. Besides enjoying CJ Box’s style of writing and his characters, we especially enjoy the terrain and locations he writes about. We lived in several cities in Wyoming over 12 years and can’t get over how many places he mentions that we experienced…we laugh and say “we didn’t realize there were so many murders in our little towns.”

    We will be sad after we have finished all the different series. These books have made for many interesting conversations!

37. A few typos in the titles here. Winterkill. In Plain Sight. I really love this site, I am sad to see title typos here and there.

    1. Jennifer you can’t say there’s a typo in a name, as the author has created the story title meaning that they know what it’s called an if it’s right. That’s is the right way to spell WinterKill, unless you mean that he was suppose to put a space, which he wasn’t as he created the book title. In Plain Sight is correct as Plane is a thing that flies in the sky. Sight and In is spelt correct. So you’re in the wrong as for typos, not the author

       1. spelt….? I thought spelt was a grain. Perhaps spelled is the correct word to use?

          1. Both forms are correct. It depends on where you live. Americans prefer the spelled form, while Europeans (especially Brits) rather use the spelt form.

38. Will we see the end of the Lizard King?

    1. Have read Badlands. Loved it. My first C. J.Box book. It needs a sequel. Hope to find out what happens with the Lizard King.

39. Where does Pronghorns of the Third Reich fit?

40. It’s not vital to read them in order – but I think you’ll enjoy them more if you do. The back story never swamps the plot, but there’s wry humour in the adventures of Marybeth’s mother, and watching Sheridan grow up, and develop from a child into a key player. And Joe himself has a back story that gently comes out over the span of these great novels.

41. Dear Mr. Box

    Have just finished your book “Off The Grid” and while I liked it as much as I have
    enjoyed reading all of your Joe Pickett and Nate series.
    However I have one serious complaint with how Daisy was abused.
    In portraying Joe’s Trek across the desert it was explained that Joe’s
    feet were burning right through his work boots. With that description in mind
    Daisy’s paws would have been raw, blistered and bleeding.
    Also when he returned to his vehicle in the desert Daisy remained inside the
    Vehicle with her head cocked, expectantly. It was sent on fire and burned. See page #276.
    No where do you have her getting out. Nor do you say that she jumps down and follows
    Joe and the girl, taking cover behind rocks. Next mention of Daisy is when she went
    with Sheridan and others to the rock formations.

    My input is that Joe knew he was going to be in the desert and should have left Daisy home.
    Gasped when I thought Daisy was stilled in the vehicle. Fortunately I didn’t think you
    would kill her. She is very special to me.

    Keep the series going.

    Audrey Doherty

42. i have just started reading the joe pickett series again. to get the best out of the series start with number one and read in order. this way you get the feel off the characters and understand when you lose them in the series. the growing up of his daughters and foster daughter is compelling. the joe pickett series tells of family life and his job and his help for nate .
    i reccomend this series to every one who likes good books

43. le Sauvage Noble, 2007 (short story – and long price! sadly it’s only available as used book)

    This is included in Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country published in 2014.

44. I definitely read series in order. If I read the first 2 books and like them staying in order is the best experience for me. I like to follow the characters as they age. I love CJ Box books😍

45. Would be good to have a stand alone Nate R series telling how he became the man he is

46. Can’t wait for cjs next book.

47. i would suggest reading the joe pickett series in publication order . this fits all characters into the series

    1. I have read them all in order & that is most certainly the way to read them. I can’t wait till the next Joe Pickett!

48. Love the Joe Pickett books. I was really shocked by Cody Hoyts death. Didn’t see that coming. Great characters. Very enjoyable. Can’t wait for the next book. Keep up the good work.

    1. I felt the same way. I was so sure he would be found alive; perhaps c j box has a surprise in stor!

    2. Thanks, haven’t read those yet!!! Probably won’t now!

       1. Ignore the spoilers! They are really good reads and good characters anyway!

49. I love your books.
    What is the name of the book where Nate meets
    Joe & his family? How did they meet & become such
    good friends?

    1. Winterkill, just finished it yesterday.

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