Montana book series in reading order

by Keith McCafferty

Montana features in the names of B.J. Daniels's series, including Cahill Ranch/Montana Cahills, Buckhorn, Montana, Beartooth, Montana, Montana Hamiltons, Cardwell Ranch: Montana Legacy and the Whitehorse, Montana sets. B.J. Daniels writes romantic suspense and western romance, with 150 books catalogued from Outlawed (1995) to Calling His Bluff (2026). Colt Brothers Investigation is another series. Subject tags include cowboys, sheriffs, murders and mystery.

Lisa Jackson

189 books• 27 series

Lisa Jackson, born Susan Lisa Jackson in 1952, is an American author of romance and romantic suspense novels, with more than 75 to that name. The catalogue holds 189 Lisa Jackson books, from A Twist of Fate (1983) to Not What It Seems (2026). Subjects across the list include serial murders, women detectives, Montana and contemporary romance. Jackson's series include Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli, McCaffertys, Cahills / San Francisco, Savannah and the Dark Jewels Trilogy, plus a historical trilogy issued as Susan Lynn Crose. New Jackson titles continue to appear.

Cowboys, ranchers and ranch life run through Linda Lael Miller's 134 catalogued books, in historical, contemporary and western romance alike. Miller's families and places include the McKettricks, the Montana Creeds, Stone Creek, Springwater Seasons, Painted Pony Creek and the Brides of Bliss County, with a Tremayne vampire sequence off to one side. Desire and Destiny (1983) is the earliest title and The Silver Hills Boarding House the newest.

Peter Bowen (1945-2020) was an American novelist who settled in Livingston, Montana, and had worked as a cowboy, hunting and fishing guide, folksinger and poet. Two series hold the fiction: the Gabriel Du Pre mysteries, set in Montana, and the Yellowstone Kelly historical novels. Luther Sage Kelly (1849-1928), the Nez Perce, the Spanish-American War and the South African War are among the subjects. Nineteen books are catalogued, from Gentleman and Scout (1987) to Solus (2018). Bowen also wrote humour and hunting pieces as Coyote Jack.

Jillian Hart grew up on a family homestead near Carnation, Washington, raising cattle to pay for college and riding horses in the Cascade foothills. After an English degree from Whitman College, Hart travelled, worked in advertising, taught Sunday school and volunteered before turning to writing. The catalogue lists 113 books from 1998 to 2020, opening with Last Chance Bride and Hannah's Heart (1998), then Cooper's Wife, Jonah's Bride and Lissa's Cowboy (1999). Series include McKaslin Clan, McPhee Clan, Granger Family Ranch, Bluebonnet Bride, Buttons & Bobbins, Timber Valley Brides and Rose Hill Brides. Christian and historical romance, Montana, ranchers and mail order brides appear in the subject tags.

Montana Heat, McBrides, Wild Rose Ranch, Wyoming Wilde and Dark Horse Dive Bar are romance series catalogued under Jennifer Ryan, whose subject headings name Montana, ranchers, cowboys, western romance and romantic suspense. Chasing Morgan, Saved by the Rancher and The Right Bride date from 2013, followed by Falling for Owen (2014), The Return of Brody McBride (2014) and At Wolf Ranch (2015). She's Mine is a further series in the listing, and abused women also appear among the subjects.

Ivan Doig

19 books• 5 series

Montana is Ivan Doig's territory: ranch life, teachers, fathers and sons, and the history of the American West. Doig's catalogue holds fiction and non-fiction alike, with the Two Medicine Country and Whistling Season books beside the Montana Trilogy, which runs English Creek (1984), Dancing at the Rascal Fair (1987) and Ride With Me, Mariah Montana (1990). Nineteen titles are catalogued, ending with Last Bus to Wisdom in 2015.

Linda Ford writes Christian historical romance, and the catalogue counts 125 books from The Heart Seeks a Home (2000) to Christmas in Golden Valley (2026). Cowboys, ranchers, widows, orphans and Montana are among the recorded subjects. Series include Big Sky Country, Glory, Montana, Montana Mail-Order Brides, Stagecoach to Golden Valley, Wagon Train Romance, Cowboys of Eden Valley and Dakota Brides. Early titles include Crane's Bride (2001) and Darcy's Inheritance (2007).

Susan May Warren writes Christian fiction spanning contemporary and historical romance, romantic suspense, thrillers, romantic comedy and Christmas novellas. The catalogue counts 144 books, starting with Happily Ever After and Tying the Knot (both 2003) and reaching Shadow (2026), with On Thin Ice set for 2027. Deep Haven, the Christiansen Family, Montana Rescue, Montana Fire, the Minnesota Marshalls and True Lies of Rembrandt Stone are among the series. Warren has won the Christy, RITA and Carol awards, coaches other writers, and was named Mentor of the Year by American Christian Fiction Writers in 2009.

Tracie Peterson, born 1959, writes Christian fiction, mostly historical novels carrying romance and faith themes. Peterson used the pen name Janelle Jamison early on and has written joint novels with other Christian authors; Bethany House publishes many of the titles. Several Peterson series feature Harvey Girls, the waitstaff of the Fred Harvey Company. The catalogue lists 153 books from A Kingdom Divided (1991) to Devoted to Love (2026), across series such as Heirs of Montana, Westward Chronicles, Ribbons West, Yukon Quest, Shannon Saga and Desert Roses. Peterson lives in Montana and runs Peterson Ink with husband Jim.

William Wallace Johnstone, October 28, 1938 to February 8, 2004, was an American author of westerns, horror and survivalist fiction. The Devil's Kiss opened the run in 1981, followed by The Last of the Dog Team (1981), Out of the Ashes (1983) and Anarchy in the Ashes (1984). Series filed under the name include Ashes, First Mountain Man, Smoke Jensen, Last Gunfighter, Blood Bond and Duff MacCallister, and subjects include outlaws, frontier and pioneer life, revenge and Texas. The catalogue carries 544 titles under the Johnstone name dated 1981 to 2026, well past the 2004 death date, and 400 of them carry a William W. Johnstone credit.

James Crumley, born in 1939 and died in 2008, wrote violent hardboiled crime fiction alongside short stories, essays and screenplays. Critics placed Crumley as a patron saint of the post-Vietnam private-eye novel and as a writer somewhere between Raymond Chandler and Hunter S. Thompson. Two detectives carry the work: C.W. Sughrue and Milo Milodragovitch, both operating through Montana and Texas. Ten books run from One to Count Cadence (1969) to The Right Madness (2005), among them The Last Good Kiss (1978) and The Mexican Tree Duck (1993).

Dave Robicheaux, a Louisiana detective, is the figure most associated with James Lee Burke, who also writes the Holland family novels around Billy Bob, Hackberry and Weldon Holland. Burke's 49 catalogued books stretch from Half of Paradise (1965) to The Hadacol Boogie in 2026, a span of six decades. Hard-boiled crime in Louisiana and Texas is the core subject. Median length is 387 pages, with the 2000s as the peak decade.

Julie Garwood (1944-2023) was an American novelist who wrote more than twenty-seven romance novels across historical and suspense subgenres. More than 35 million copies of Garwood's books are in print, and at least 24 reached the New York Times bestseller list. A Girl Named Summer is a Garwood novel for young adults. For the Roses became the television feature Rose Hill. The catalogue records 36 books, running from Gentle Warrior (1985) to Grace Under Fire (2022), with series including Buchanan-Renard-MacKenna, Claybornes of Rose Hill, Crown's Spies, Highlands' Lairds and Lairds' Brides.

Linda Howard is the pen name of Linda S. Howington, an American author of romance and suspense born on August 3, 1950, in Alabama. The catalogue counts 63 books between All That Glitters (1982) and After Sundown (2019). Series include the Mackenzie Family Saga, Rescues/Kell Sabin, CIA's Spies/John Medina, Blair Mallory and GO-Team, alongside standalone novels. Contemporary, historical and paranormal romance all appear in the subject tags, together with romantic suspense.

Janet Dailey

161 books• 16 series

Janet Anne Haradon Dailey (1944-2013) was an American author of romance novels, translated into nineteen languages and sold in the hundreds of millions of copies. The Dailey catalogue holds 161 books opening with No Quarter Asked (1974), followed by state-titled entries including Savage Land: Texas (1974), Darling Jenny: Wyoming (1975) and Dangerous Masquerade: Alabama (1976). Subjects cover contemporary and historical romance, western romance, ranch life, love stories, Christmas stories and the Calder family. Series listed include the Calder Saga, New Americana, Tylers of Texas, Bannon Brothers and Christmas Tree Ranch. The listing also carries titles dated after 2013, running to Kill for a Million (2026).

Diana Palmer is the pen name of Susan Kyle, born Susan Spaeth on December 11, 1946, an American novelist publishing romance since 1979. Kyle spent sixteen years as a journalist under the name Susan Spaeth before turning to fiction, and has also written as Diana Blayne, Katy Currie and Susan Kyle, with a science fiction novel as Susan S. Kyle. The catalogue lists 199 books from 1979 to 2026, opening with titles such as Dream's End and Sweet Enemy and reaching Blaze of Glory (2026). Wyoming Men, Soldiers of Fortune, Men of Medicine Ridge and Morcai Battalion are among the series, and Long, Tall Texans is a listed grouping. Diamond Girl became a 1998 television film. Subjects name ranchers, cowboys, Texas, Wyoming and western romance.

Ranchers, frontier life and women pioneers recur in the subjects of Joan Johnston's books, which cover historical, western and contemporary romance. Johnston, born in Little Rock, Arkansas, is an American romance author. The catalogue lists 68 Johnston books between A Loving Defiance (1985) and Winter Magic (2020), and the run is marked as likely complete. Series include Hawk's Way, Bitter Creek, Benedict Brothers, Captive Hearts, Sisters of the Lone Star and Frontier Brides.

Nicole Helm writes romantic suspense and western romance, with subjects covering law enforcement, cowboys, ranchers, Montana and Colorado. The catalogue holds 75 books from Flight Risk (2013) to Eyewitness in Danger (2026). Series include Hudson Sibling Solutions, Badlands Cops, North Star Novel, Covert Cowboy Soldiers, Bent County Protectors, Big Sky Cowboys and Navy SEAL Cowboys. Early titles include Too Close to Resist (2014), Bride by Mistake (2015) and Keep Me, Cowboy (2015).

Stephen Bly has 98 books in the catalogue, published from 1981 to 2013, and the list is likely complete. Radical Discipleship (1981) is the earliest, followed by Devotions with a Difference (1982) and God's Angry Side (1982), with Crystal's Blizzard Trek (1986) among the titles that followed and When the Cowboys Come to Town (2013) the newest. Bly series include Legend of Stuart Brannon, Code of the West, Crystal Blake Adventures, Adventures of Nathan T. Riggins, Fortunes of the Black Hills, Austin-Stoner Files, Hidden West, Old California and Heroines of the Golden West. Subjects include westerns, Christian life, women pioneers and the American West.

Thomas McGuane (Thomas Francis McGuane III, born December 11, 1939) is an American writer of ten novels, short fiction, screenplays and three essay collections about life outdoors. McGuane belongs to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the NCHA Members Hall of Fame and the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame. The Sporting Club (1968) opens the catalogue of 23 books, followed by The Bushwhacked Piano (1971) and Ninety-two in the Shade (1973), and A Wooded Shore: And Other Stories (2025) is the newest. Subjects include Montana, ranch life and Key West.

Sharon Dunn writes romantic suspense, including Christian suspense, with Montana, kidnapping victims and women detectives among the subjects. The 46 catalogued books run from Romance Rustlers and Thunderbird Thieves (2003) to Montana Ranch Crime Ring (2026). Ruby Taylor and Ginger Salinski are recurring characters. Dunn's series include Ruby Taylor Mysteries, Bargain Hunters Mystery, K-9 Unit and Texas Ranger Holidays.

Mary Connealy, born 1956, is an American Christian fiction author who specialises in romantic comedy set in the cowboy era of the American West. Connealy's catalogue holds 70 books, opening with Petticoat Ranch (2006). Series include Kincaid Brides, Lassoed in Texas, Sophie's Daughters, Trouble in Texas, Cimarron Legacy, High Sierra Sweethearts, Brides of Hope Mountain and Wyoming Sunrise. The Heart's Most Wanted came out in 2026, and Heart of an Outlaw is listed for 2027.

Michael Koryta

23 books• 5 series

Michael Koryta is an American author of crime and supernatural fiction, born September 20, 1982. Koryta's novels have made The New York Times Best Seller list, and Envy the Night (2008) won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and became a Reader's Digest Condensed Book. Other award nominations include the Edgar and the Shamus. The 23 catalogued books run from Tonight I Said Goodbye (2004) to Die Famous (2026), with Lincoln Perry and Markus Novak as the named series. Cleveland and Florida appear among the subject headings.