Order of Book Series
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James C. Work Books in Order

James C. Work has written 21 books, published between 1992 and 2024. The first book is Following Where the River Begins (1992) and the newest is Down Fall River Dead (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
21
Published
1992–2024
Pages on record
3,427 in 14 of 21 books
Reading time
57–86 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,427 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 21 titles with a page count on record.

See all 21 books in order Printable James C. Work checklist

James C. Work writes westerns and crime fiction, with 21 catalogued books from Following Where the River Begins (1992) to Down Fall River Dead (2024). The Work series are Ranger McIntyre and Keystone Ranch. Ride South to Purgatory (1999), Ride West to Dawn (2001), A Title To Murder (2004), Riders of Deathwater Valley (2005) and Murder in the Blue Mist (2010) are among the titles. Ranch life and frontier life appear in the subjects.

How many James C. Work books are there?

James C. Work has 21 books, released between 1992 and 2024. They include 2 series and 10 titles listed outside any series.

James C. Work Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 21 James C. Work books in the order they were published, 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.

  1. Cover of Following Where the River Begins by James C. Work (1992)
  2. Cover of Ride South to Purgatory by James C. Work (1999)
  3. Cover of The Tobermory Manuscript by James C. Work (2000)
  4. Cover of Ride West to Dawn by James C. Work (2001)
  5. Cover of Ride to Banshee Cañon by James C. Work, book 1 of the Keystone Ranch series (2002)
  6. Cover of A Title To Murder by James C. Work (2004)
  7. Cover of Riders of Deathwater Valley by James C. Work, book 2 of the Keystone Ranch series (2005)
  8. Cover of Windmills, the River & Dust by James C. Work (2005)
  9. Cover of The Outcast of Spirit Ridge by James C. Work, book 3 of the Keystone Ranch series (2006)
  10. Cover of The Dead Ride Alone by James C. Work, book 4 of the Keystone Ranch series (2013)
  11. Cover of The Grub Rider by James C. Work, book 5 of the Keystone Ranch series (2017)
  12. Cover of The Contractor by James C. Work (2017)
  1. 1
    Following Where the River Begins1992 · 95 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199295
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Ride South to Purgatory1999 · 317 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999317
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Tobermory Manuscript2000 · 284 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000284
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Ride West to Dawn2001 · 284 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001284
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Ride to Banshee CañonKeystone Ranch #12002 · 232 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002232
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    A Title To Murder2004 · 228 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Riders of Deathwater ValleyKeystone Ranch #22005 · confirmed 1/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Windmills, the River & Dust2005 · 173 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005173
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Outcast of Spirit RidgeKeystone Ranch #32006 · 318 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006318
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Murder in the Blue Mist2010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Don't Shoot the Gentile2011 · 145 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2011145
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Once Upon a Time2012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Dead Ride AloneKeystone Ranch #42013 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Grub RiderKeystone Ranch #52017 · 275 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017275
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Contractor2017 · 300 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017300
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Unmentionable MurdersRanger McIntyre #12018 · 239 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2018239
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Small Delightful MurdersRanger McIntyre #22019 · confirmed 1/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Dunraven Hoard MurdersRanger McIntyre #32020 · 249 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2020249
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Stones of PerilRanger McIntyre #42021 · confirmed 1/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Mystery of the Missing BierstadtRanger McIntyre #52022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Down Fall River DeadRanger McIntyre #62024 · confirmed 1/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

James C. Work books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Ranger McIntyre in order

6 books
  1. 1. Unmentionable Murders
  2. 2. Small Delightful Murders
  3. 3. The Dunraven Hoard Murders
  4. 4. The Stones of Peril
  5. 5. The Mystery of the Missing Bierstadt
  6. 6. Down Fall River Dead

Keystone Ranch in order

5 books
  1. 1. Ride to Banshee Cañon
  2. 2. Riders of Deathwater Valley
  3. 3. The Outcast of Spirit Ridge
  4. 4. The Dead Ride Alone
  5. 5. The Grub Rider

Standalone books

10 books

10 James C. Work titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read James C. Work books in order?

You only need to read James C. Work books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with James C. Work

Start with Following Where the River Begins (1992), the earliest published title.

What is the newest James C. Work book?

Down Fall River Dead (2024) is the newest James C. Work book released so far.

Is there a new James C. Work book coming?

No next James C. Work book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

James C. Work at a glance

Still publishing
James C. Work published a book as recently as 2024.
Release pace
James C. Work books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,427 pages across the 14 of 21 books with a recorded length, a median of 262 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most James C. Work books, 8 of 21, were published in the 2010s.

What the James C. Work books are about

18 of the 21 James C. Work books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: westerns is tagged on 4 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.