Craig Johnson Books in Order
Craig Johnson is an American mystery author best known for the Walt Longmire series about a Wyoming sheriff whose cases often come with years of history behind them. The series is set in the fictional Absaroka County. It began with The Cold Dish and has grown into main novels, novellas, and Longmire stories. The books are the basis for the Longmire television drama, which aired on A&E and later Netflix. Craig Johnson has won multiple awards for the series including two Western Writers of America Spur Awards and the 2025 Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature.
This page lists all Craig Johnson books in order, including the Walt Longmire novels, novellas, short stories, story collections, anthology appearances, adaptations, and major awards.
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Latest Craig Johnson Books
More upcoming releases:
- Have Courage: Longmire Stories (November 3, 2026)
Where to Start with Craig Johnson
→ New to Craig Johnson? Start with The Cold Dish. It introduces Walt Longmire, Absaroka County, Henry Standing Bear, Vic Moretti, Cady Longmire, and the dry humor that is part of the series.
→ Watched Longmire first? Start with The Cold Dish. The TV series uses the same main world and characters, but the books and show do not move through the same cases in the same way.
→ Confused by Tooth and Claw? Treat it as a prequel-style side story, not the best first book. It follows a younger Walt and Henry after Vietnam, but it works better once you already know who they become.
→ Want a shorter Longmire entry? Try Spirit of Steamboat or The Highwayman after a few main novels. They are shorter Longmire stories, but they land better once you know Walt, Henry, Vic, and Lucian.
Walt Longmire Series (Books in Order)
The Walt Longmire series follows Sheriff Walt Longmire, a widowed lawman who takes over the least populated county in Wyoming, the fictional Absaroka County. During his work, he investigates murders, disappearances, old crimes, and political troubling cases, all that touch on the history and culture of the surrounding Northern Cheyenne and Crow communities. Longmire looks intimidating, but he’s quite humble and often lowkey funny, using subtle humor and banter in his interactions with his friends and collleagues. His closest friend is Henry Standing Bear, a Cheyenne Nation veteran, and his team includes sharp-tongued Philadelphia transplant deputy Vic Moretti, both of whom become more important as the series goes on. Present are also his daughter Cady, dispatcher Ruby, and a small sheriff’s department. Each novel takes place a few months later after the previous one, so the series almost happens in real life.
- Tooth and Claw, 2024
- The Cold Dish, 2004
- Death Without Company, 2006
- Kindness Goes Unpunished, 2007
- Another Man’s Moccasins, 2008
- The Dark Horse, 2009
- Junkyard Dogs, 2010
- Hell is Empty, 2011
- Divorce Horse, 2012
- As the Crow Flies, 2012
- Christmas in Absaroka County, 2012
- Messenger, 2013
- A Serpent’s Tooth, 2013
- Spirit of Steamboat, 2013
- Any Other Name, 2014
- Wait for Signs, 2014
- Dry Bones, 2015
- The Highwayman, 2016
- An Obvious Fact, 2017
- The Western Star, 2017
- Depth of Winter, 2018
- Land of Wolves, 2019
- Next to Last Stand, 2020
- Daughter of the Morning Star, 2021
- Hell and Back, 2022
- The Longmire Defense, 2023
- First Frost, 2024
- Return to Sender, 2025
- The Brothers McKay, 2026
- Have Courage, 2026 (short story collection)
Reading notes:
- Tooth and Claw is set before The Cold Dish, with a younger Walt and Henry after Vietnam, but it was published much later.
- First Frost has a dual perspective. The past is set in 1964, featuring 22-year-old Walt and Henry Standing Bear. The present part is set after The Longmire Defense. It should be read in publication order.
- Have Courage is a Longmire story collection, not the next main Longmire novel after The Brothers McKay.
Anthologies
- Crime and Music, 2016
- The Best American Mystery Stories 2017, 2017 (edited by John Sandford)
- This Time For Sure, 2021
- Rough Country, 2026
Craig Johnson Biography
Craig Johnson is an American author known primarily for the Walt Longmire mystery series, which includes novels, novellas, and short stories, all featuring the same Wyoming sheriff. He has published over 20 novels in the series since the debut The Cold Dish in 2004.
Official website: craigallenjohnson.com
Craig Johnson was born in 1961 in Huntington, West Virginia, and grew up reading mysteries since both his parents liked to read this particular genre. He studied at Marshall University and later completed postgraduate work in playwriting at Temple University in Philadelphia. He eventually settled in Ucross, a small community in Sheridan County, Wyoming, a town of roughly 25 people, where he lives on a ranch with his wife Judy. This place matters because the Longmire books are written with a familiarity with Wyoming as a place, the local weather, the ranch life, the small-town memory, secrets, and the way local stories can sit buried for years before they surface due to a new case.
Before becoming a novelist, Craig Johnson also worked as a police officer in New York City (in 1988) as a special officer attached to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Later when he moved to Wyoming, he worked several odd jobs, such as a teacher, cowboy, as well as longshoreman.
His first Walt Longmire novel, The Cold Dish, was published in 2004. The book introduced Sheriff Walt Longmire, Henry Standing Bear, Vic Moretti, Cady Longmire, and the fictional Absaroka County setting. Over time, the series grew beyond just main novels, which now also includes short stories, novellas, and collections.
The Cold Dish was nominated for the Dilys Award and was the beginning of what became one of the better-known ongoing Western mystery series currently in American crime fiction. The books have been translated into fourteen languages. In 2012, the series was adapted into a television drama, Longmire, that premiered on A&E as the network’s highest-rated original series, before switching to Netflix for its last seasons. The annual Longmire Days festival in Buffalo, Wyoming, which is the real-world model for the series’ fictional Durant, attracts around 15,000 fans a year.
Craig Johnson has won the Western Writers of America Spur Award twice, for Another Man’s Moccasins and The Longmire Defense, and received the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature in 2025 and and Bouchercon 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award also in 2025. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was also selected as the first One Book Wyoming community read.
Craig Johnson Book Adaptations
- Walt Longmire series – adapted into the television drama Longmire (A&E network 2012–2014; Netflix 2014–2017)
Craig Johnson Awards and Honors
Awards
- Another Man’s Moccasins – WWA Spur Award, Best Western Novel (2009)
- Another Man’s Moccasins – Mountains & Plains Booksellers Award for Fiction (2008)
- Death Without Company – Wyoming Historical Association Book of the Year
- The Dark Horse – Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year (2009)
- Death Without Company – Le Prix 813 (France) (2010)
- The Cold Dish – Le Prix du Polar Nouvel Observateur/Bibliobs (France) (2010)
- Junkyard Dogs – Watson Award for Best Sidekick (2010)
- Hell Is Empty – Library Journal Best Mystery of the Year (2011)
- As the Crow Flies – Rocky Award, Best Crime Novel Typifying the Western United States (2012)
- The Spirit of Steamboat – Wyoming State Library One Book Wyoming (inaugural selection, 2013)
- Prix SNCF du Polar award (2015)
- The Longmire Defense – WWA Spur Award, Best Western Contemporary Novel (2023)
- WWA Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature (2025)
- Bouchercon Lifetime Achievement Award (2025)
Nominations and Shortlists
- The Cold Dish – Dilys Award (2006)
- The Dark Horse – Dilys Award (2010)
- Hell Is Empty – Barry Award for Best Novel (2012)
- Depth of Winter – Barry Award for Best Novel (2019)
There is little parallel between the books and the Netflix series – books are fantastic so wish the series were similar. But Netflix series are very good as well – hard for me to not watch 3 or 4 in a row and before I know it is 3am (on a weekend night). Only Vic, Cady, Henry, and Ruby are represented in both.
Loved the Longmire on Netflicks, I am now hooked.😊
If you had read the books you would have found the Netflix series lacking in every way. Casting was awful as well as adaption
I am hooked on the Walt Longmire series on Netflix. I now want to read anything Craig Johnson wrote. I hope all of his books are as compelling as the Walt Longmire series.