Oklahoma book series in reading order

by William Bernhardt

Carolyn Brown, born Carolyn Louise Brown on October 22, 1948, is an American writer of romance and women's fiction. Brown has written more than 100 novels and 8 novellas and has contributed to anthologies. The catalogue holds 153 books from Love Is (1999) to The Purple Thistles (2026), with Taking Sides due in 2027. Texas, Oklahoma, cowboys and ranchers run through the subject headings, and the series include Spikes & Spurs, Longhorn Canyon, Broken Roads, Honky Tonk and Cadillac, Texas.

JoAnna Carl's Chocoholic Mysteries put Lee McKinney Woodyard and the chocolate trade at the centre of murder investigations. Carl's catalogue holds 25 books, from Death Down Home (1990) to The Chocolate Raccoon Rigmarole (2021), with the Sam and Nicky Titus and Nell Matthews series alongside. Women detectives and cozy mystery are the standing subjects. No new Carl title has appeared since 2021.

The lawyer Ben Kincaid is the recurring character in William Bernhardt's legal mysteries. Primary Justice (1991) is the earliest of 77 catalogued titles, followed by Blind Justice (1992), Deadly Justice (1993) and Perfect Justice (1994), and the listing reaches The Superman Wars (2026). Daniel Pike, Splitsville, Susan Pulaski and the Red Sneaker Writers books are further series. Tulsa, Oklahoma, murder trials and serial murder fill the subject tags.

Amy Lillard has 67 books in the catalogue, from Saving Gideon (2012) to The Amish Rancher's Return (2026). Subjects include the Amish, Christian romance, mystery, widowers and settings in Oklahoma and Mississippi. Series include Wells Landing, Clover Ridge, Amish of Pontotoc, Amish Mystery, Main Street Book Club Mysteries, Sunflower Café Mystery, Mayhem & Magnolias, Cattle Creek, Loveless Texas and Always Texas. One 2013 title, Brodie's Bride, is credited under the name Amie Louellen.

Romance author Cat Johnson has 98 books in the catalogue, published from 2006 to 2026. Subjects include contemporary, western and erotic romance, military fiction, United States Navy SEALs, cowboys and Oklahoma. Hot SEALs and Studs in Spurs are listed as recurring character groups, and series include Smalltown Secrets, Red, Hot & Blue, Oklahoma Nights, Midnight Cowboys and Maverick Ranch. The first catalogued title is Black Cat (2006); the newest is Cadaver Lab 5: Mind Over Murder (2026). Johnson has also worked as a marketing manager, professional harpist, bartender, tour guide and radio show host.

P.C. Cast, born Phyllis Christine Cast on April 30, 1960, is an American romance and fantasy author. Cast writes the House of Night series, which is edited by Cast's daughter Kristin Cast, as well as the Goddess Summoning and Partholon series. The catalogue lists 59 books from Divine by Mistake (2001) to Queen of Shadow (2026), including Goddess of the Sea (2003) and Betrayed (2007). Subjects include vampires, goddesses, magic, time travel and Oklahoma. Other listings include Tales Of A New World, Sisters Of Salem and Moonstruck, and Cast is still publishing.

Brenda Minton writes Christian and western romance, clean and wholesome, often featuring cowboys, single mothers and Oklahoma. The catalogue counts 43 books from The Strongest Cord (2006) to A Valentine's Day Return (2024). Trusting Him (2007), His Little Cowgirl (2008), The Cowboy Next Door (2009) and The Cowboy's Courtship (2010) are among the earlier titles. Series include Cowboy, Martin's Crossing, Mercy Ranch and Bluebonnet Springs.

Elmore Leonard

65 books• 12 series

Elmore Leonard (October 11, 1925 to August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter. Leonard began with Westerns in the 1950s and moved on to crime fiction and suspense, and many of those books were filmed. The story "Three-Ten to Yuma" became the film 3:10 to Yuma (1957), which was remade in 2007. Anthony Lane, a British journalist, called Leonard one of the best crime writers in the land. Get Shorty, Rum Punch, Out of Sight, Glitz and LaBrava rank among Leonard's best-known works. The catalogue lists 65 titles starting with The Bounty Hunters (1953), plus series featuring Raylan Givens, Chili Palmer, Jack Foley and Carl Webster.

Dorothy Garlock (1919-2018) wrote historical romance, much of it set on the American frontier. The catalogue runs to 63 books published between 1980 and 2017, from Love and Cherish (1980) to The Nearness of You (2017), with the 1980s her heaviest decade. Series include Wyoming Frontier, Dolan Brothers, Wabash River, Route 66, Colorado Wind and the Tucker Family books. Garlock also published as Johanna Phillips, Dorothy Phillips and Dorothy Glenn.

Hardboiled crime fiction is Jim Thompson's territory. Born James Myers Thompson in 1906 and died in 1977, Thompson wrote more than 30 novels, most of them original paperbacks issued from the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, about swindlers, criminals, alcoholics and murderers in Oklahoma and Los Angeles. Recognition arrived late: little noticed in his lifetime beyond Anthony Boucher's reviews in The New York Times, Thompson was rediscovered when the Black Lizard imprint reissued his novels in the late 1980s. The Killer Inside Me, Savage Night, A Hell of a Woman and Pop. 1280 are his best-regarded books, among 33 catalogued titles dated 1942 to 1989.

Carla Cassidy, born Carla Bracale in Kansas, is an American romance novelist who has published since 1988. The first novels carried the maiden name Carla Bracale, later ones the married name Cassidy, and one fantasy novel appeared under the name Carla Cook. The catalogue lists 184 books, from Falling for You (1988, as Carla Bracale) to The Final Victim (2026). Series include Cowboys of Holiday Ranch, Wild West Bodyguards, Scarecrow Murders, Mustang, Montana, Lawmen of Black Rock, Cherokee Corners, Men of Wolf Creek and Kings of Coyote Creek. Subjects include romantic suspense, cowboys, bodyguards and serial murderers.

Carolyn G. Hart writes mystery and detective fiction with women sleuths, and the subject records name Annie Laurance Darling, Max Darling and Henrie O as fictitious characters, alongside booksellers and bookselling, women journalists and murder. The catalogue holds 69 books, from The Secret of the Cellars (1964) to Ghost Blows a Kiss (2021), with the 2000s the heaviest decade. Death On Demand, Bailey Ruth, Henrie O and Nela Farley are the lines on record, beside standalone novels, short stories and non-fiction. No new title has been listed since 2021, so the entry is dormant.