C. J. Box Books in Order

C. J. Box is an American crime and thriller author best known for the Joe Pickett series following a Wyoming game warden who keeps finding himself in the middle of investigations that go beyond the scope of his job. C. J. Box is a #1 New York Times bestselling author whose debut, Open Season, won four Best First Novel awards including the Anthony and Barry Awards, and whose standalone Blue Heaven won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. His books have been translated into more than 27 languages and have sold over twenty million copies worldwide.

This page lists all C. J. Box books in order, including the Joe Pickett series, the Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell series, standalone novels, and short stories.

Latest C. J. Box Books

The Crossroads
The Crossroads (Joe Pickett #26), February 2026

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Joe Pickett Series (Books in Order)

The Joe Pickett series follows Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, who goes regularly on patrol on the public lands of Twelve Sleep County and keeps stumbling into cases that go well beyond poaching and wildlife violations. Corrupt officials, environmental cover-ups, violent outsiders are just some of the things he comes across in addition to threats to his own family.

Joe is an average man rather than a typical thriller hero. He is married with daughters, and he also admits he is a lousy shot. The series is set in the Mountain West, and the Wyoming terrain is the main background of the books. Nate Romanowski, a former Special Forces operative turned falconer with a complicated past, is a recurring character who becomes more important as the series goes on.

Reading Order

  1. Open Season, 2001
  2. Savage Run, 2002
  3. Winterkill, 2003
  4. Trophy Hunt, 2004
  5. Dull Knife, 2011
  6. Out of Range, 2005
  7. In Plain Sight, 2006
  8. Free Fire, 2007
  9. Blood Trail, 2008
  10. Below Zero, 2009
  11. Nowhere to Run, 2010
  12. Cold Wind, 2011
  13. The Master Falconer, 2011
  14. Force of Nature, 2012
  15. Breaking Point, 2013
  16. Stone Cold, 2014
  17. Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country, 2014
  18. Endangered, 2015
  19. Off the Grid, 2016
  20. Vicious Circle, 2017
  21. Disappeared, 2018
  22. Wolf Pack, 2019
  23. Long Range, 2020
  24. Dark Sky, 2021
  25. Shadows Reel, 2022
  26. Storm Watch, 2023
  27. Three-Inch Teeth, 2024
  28. Battle Mountain, 2025
  29. The Crossroads, 2026

Other Joe Pickett Books

Cody Hoyt / Cassie Dewell Series (Books in Order)

The Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell series begins with troubled investigator Cody Hoyt and his rookie partner Cassie Dewell tracking violent crimes across the Montana and Wyoming backcountry. The series features a more isolated version of the Mountain West than the Joe Pickett books, and its focus is more on serial crime and the vulnerabilities of people living in such remote places.

The Highway was adapted into ABC’s Big Sky television series. Back of Beyond introduces Cody Hoyt, and Cassie eventually takes over as the main character, working as a private investigator starting from Badlands, while already becoming an important character in The Highway.

Reading Order

  1. Back of Beyond, 2011
  2. The Highway, 2013
  3. Badlands, 2015
  4. Paradise Valley, 2017
  5. The Bitterroots, 2019
  6. Treasure State, 2022

Standalone Novels

Novellas and Short Stories

Short Story Collections and Anthologies

Non-Fiction Books

C.J. Box Biography

C J Box books in order

C. J. Box is an American crime and thriller author whose work includes the Joe Pickett series, the Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell series, several standalone novels, and short stories. He has published more than 30 books since his debut, Open Season, in 2001.
Official website: cjbox.net

Born in 1958 in Casper, Wyoming, Charles James Box, Jr. grew up in the state and has lived there most of his life. He graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in Mass Communications, then spent several years as a reporter and editor at a small newspaper in Saratoga, Wyoming. Before writing full-time, he also worked as a ranch hand, fishing guide, and surveyor, and co-owned an international tourism marketing firm with his wife Laurie.

That background in rural Wyoming inspired his books, as the Joe Pickett series is known for the real-life portrayal of the job of game wardens. As a result, C.J. Box has received a certificate of appreciation from the Wyoming Game Warden Association for his accurate portrayal of this profession.

Open Season started the Joe Pickett series, and it immediately became a bestseller, winning four Best First Novel awards. Blue Heaven, his first standalone novel, won the Edgar Award for Best Novel the year after its publication. In addition, he has also won two Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America for Off the Grid and Dark Sky, as well as the Western Heritage Award for Literature from the National Cowboy Museum. He has been executive producer on two television adaptations of his work: Big Sky, which was based on the Cassie Dewell series, and Joe Pickett.

In addition, C. J. Box is a frequent public speaker on outdoor and wildlife issues, and over the years, 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.

C.J. Box Book Adaptations

  • Cody Hoyt / Cassie Dewell series – adapted into the television series Big Sky (2020–2023)
  • Joe Pickett series – adapted into the television series Joe Pickett (2021–2023)

C.J. Box Awards and Honors

Awards

  • Open Season – Anthony Award for Best First Novel (2002)
  • Open Season – Barry Award for Best First Novel (2002)
  • Open Season – Macavity Award for Best First Novel (2002)
  • Open Season – Gumshoe Award for Best First Novel (2002)
  • Blue Heaven – Edgar Award for Best Novel (2009)
  • Blue Heaven – Prix Calibre .38, France (2009)
  • Badlands – Barry Award for Best Novel (2016)
  • National Cowboy Museum Western Heritage Award for Literature (2016)
  • Off the Grid – Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel, Western Writers of America (2017)
  • Breaking Point— Falcon Award, Japan (2021)
  • Dark Sky – Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel, Western Writers of America (2022)

Nominations and Shortlists

  • Open Season – Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller (2002)
  • Open Season – Edgar Award for Best First Novel (2002)
  • Free Fire – Lefty Award (Rocky Mountain Region) (2008)
  • Nowhere to Run – Barry Award for Best Novel (2011)

Edited by

Marika

Founder of Mystery Sequels, a reference site focused on listing mystery and thriller books in the correct reading order. I maintain and update the site’s bibliographies as new titles are released, ensuring accuracy and consistency across author and series pages.

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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

    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!

Comments are closed.