Craig Johnson Books in Order
Craig Johnson has written 32 books, published between 2004 and 2026. The first book is The Cold Dish (2004) and the newest is The Brothers McKay (2026). Publication order is the reading order below. 29 of the 32 books listed here are in the Walt Longmire series, which has its own page: Walt Longmire books in order.
- Books
- 32
- Published
- 2004–2026
- Confirmed
- 31 of 32 titles
- Pages on record
- 5,461 in 17 of 32 books
- Reading time
- 91–137 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,461 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 32 titles with a page count on record.
Craig Johnson has 32 books in the catalogue, from The Cold Dish (2004) to The Brothers McKay (2026). Walt Longmire is the recurring character, and the subject headings list sheriffs, Wyoming, westerns and police procedural mystery. Early titles include Death Without Company (2006), Kindness Goes Unpunished (2007) and Another Man's Moccasins (2008). The Johnson list also carries Walt Longmire short stories and novellas plus standalone novels.
Walt Longmire serves as sheriff of fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming, in Craig Johnson's mystery series. The books combine contemporary crime plots with the challenges of rural life, mixing humor with suspense.
How many Craig Johnson books are there?
Craig Johnson has 32 books, released between 2004 and 2026. 29 of them belong to the Walt Longmire series.
Craig Johnson Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 32 Craig Johnson books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 120044003/4
- 220062713/4
- 320073363/4
- 42008–3/4
- 520093683/4
- 62010–3/4
- 72011–3/4
- 82012–3/4
- 92012–3/4
- 1020123523/4
- 112013–3/4
- 1220133683/4
- 1320131763/4
- 1420141833/4
- 1520143683/4
- 1620153523/4
- 1720162083/4
- 1820163173/4
- 1920172953/4
- 202018–3/4
- 2120182923/4
- 222019–3/4
- 2320203363/4
- 24Daughter of the Morning Star2021 · confirmed 1/42021–1/4
- 2520225033/4
- 2620223363/4
- 272023–3/4
- 282024–4/4
- 292024–3/4
- 302025–4/4
- 312026–3/4
- 322026–4/4
Craig Johnson series and characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Walt Longmire books in order 30 books
Craig Johnson books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.
Walt Longmire books in order
29 books by Craig Johnson- 1. The Cold Dish
- 1. Wait for Signs
- 2. Death Without Company
- 2. Have Courage
- 3. Kindness Goes Unpunished
- 4. Another Man's Moccasins
- 5. The Dark Horse
- 6. Junkyard Dogs
- 7. Hell Is Empty
- 8. Divorce Horse
- 9. As the Crow Flies
- 10. Messenger
- and 17 more in the table above
Walt Longmire Short Stories/Novellas
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Craig Johnson Standalone Novels
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Standalone books
1 book1 Craig Johnson title here is not listed as part of any series.
Craig Johnson Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Craig Johnson books run from The Cold Dish (2004) to The Brothers McKay (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Craig Johnson in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Craig Johnson books in order?
You only need to read Craig Johnson books in order within the Walt Longmire series, which holds 29 of the 32 Craig Johnson books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Craig Johnson
Start with The Cold Dish (2004), the first Walt Longmire book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest Craig Johnson book?
The Brothers McKay (2026) is the newest Craig Johnson book released so far.
Is there a new Craig Johnson book coming?
No next Craig Johnson book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Printable Craig Johnson Books in Order Checklist
A printable checklist of all 32 books in publication order is on the Craig Johnson reading checklist, with a tick box beside each title.
Craig Johnson at a glance
- Still publishing
- Craig Johnson published a book as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Craig Johnson books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,461 pages across the 17 of 32 books with a recorded length, a median of 336 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Craig Johnson books, 17 of 32, were published in the 2010s.
- Corroboration
- 3 of the 32 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and 31 in at least three.
What the Craig Johnson books are about
22 of the 32 Craig Johnson books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: longmire, walt (fictitious character) is tagged on 17 of 22. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Longmire, walt (fictitious character) 17 of 22 books
- Mystery & detective 15 of 22 books
- Wyoming 15 of 22 books
- Westerns 12 of 22 books
- Sheriffs 6 of 22 books
- Walt Longmire (Fictitious character) 5 of 22 books
- Indians of North America 4 of 22 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 4 of 22 books
- American literature 2 of 22 books
Other Mystery authors
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
- Mystery authors and series in order
- Freida McFadden books in order 35 books
- J.D. Robb books in order 41 books
- Agatha Christie books in order 290 books
- Janet Evanovich books in order 79 books
- Ann Cleeves books in order 52 books
- Richard Osman books in order 14 books
- Elly Griffiths books in order 49 books
- Elizabeth George books in order 36 books