Reading order · 22 books · 2004 to 2026 · Set in the fictional Durant, Wyoming
Walt Longmire Books in Order
Walt Longmire is the sheriff of Absaroka County, the least populated county in the least populated state, Wyoming. Big, patient, well read and dryly funny, he solves murders with the help of his oldest friend, Henry Standing Bear, a Cheyenne bar owner, and his foul-mouthed undersheriff, Vic Moretti. The books inspired the television series Longmire.
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Series facts
- Books
- 22
- Published
- 2004 to 2026
- First book
- The Cold Dish
- Latest
- The Brothers McKay (2026)
- Setting
- Set in the fictional Durant, Wyoming
The reading order
Every Walt Longmire book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
22 books · Set in the fictional Durant, Wyoming
- 1The Cold Dish2004With Walt LongmireWalt Longmire is nearing the end of his career when the body of Cody Pritchard is found near the Northern Cheyenne reservation.Buy on Amazon
- 2Death Without Company2006With Walt LongmireAn elderly woman dies at the Durant Home for Assisted Living, where Walt’s predecessor Lucian Connally lives, and Lucian insists it was murder.Buy on Amazon
- 3Kindness Goes Unpunished2007With Walt LongmireWalt goes to Philadelphia to visit his daughter Cady and meet Vic Moretti’s family, but Cady is attacked and left in a coma, and Walt cannot stay out of the investigation.Buy on Amazon
- 4Another Man’s Moccasins2008With Walt LongmireThe body of a young Vietnamese woman is found by the highway in Absaroka County, and Walt finds himself remembering a case from his time as a Marine investigator in Vietnam.Buy on Amazon
- 5The Dark Horse2009With Walt LongmireA woman has confessed to shooting her husband after he burned her horses alive in their barn, but Walt does not believe her, and goes undercover in the small town of Absalom to find the truth.Buy on Amazon
- 6Junkyard Dogs2010With Walt LongmireA man is found being dragged behind a car on the outskirts of Durant, and Walt is drawn into a feud between an eccentric junkyard family and a property developer.Buy on Amazon
- 7Hell Is Empty2011With Walt LongmireWalt is helping to transport dangerous prisoners when a killer escapes into the Bighorn Mountains, and Walt follows him into a blizzard, guided by a giant Crow warrior.Buy on Amazon
- 8As the Crow Flies2012With Walt LongmireWalt is planning his daughter’s wedding on the Northern Cheyenne reservation when he and Henry see a woman fall from a cliff, and Walt helps a new tribal police chief investigate.Buy on Amazon
- 9A Serpent’s Tooth2013With Walt LongmireA runaway teenager, a lost boy cast out from a polygamist community, turns up in Absaroka County looking for his mother, and Walt finds the boy’s past is dangerous.Buy on Amazon
- 10Any Other Name2014With Walt LongmireWalt’s old friend Lucian asks him to look into the suicide of a detective in a neighbouring county, a man who was investigating missing women.Buy on Amazon
- 11Dry Bones2015With Walt LongmireThe skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex is found on a rancher’s land, and when the rancher is found dead, a battle over the fossil begins.Buy on Amazon
- 12An Obvious Fact2016With Walt LongmireWalt and Henry go to the huge motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, to look into a hit-and-run that left a young biker in hospital.Buy on Amazon
- 13The Western Star2017With Walt LongmireIn 1972, a young Walt Longmire travels on the Western Star, a steam train carrying the sheriffs of Wyoming, and a murder on board comes back to him decades later.Buy on Amazon
- 14Depth of Winter2018With Walt LongmireWalt’s daughter Cady has been kidnapped by a drug lord and taken to Mexico, and Walt crosses the border alone to get her back.Buy on Amazon
- 15Land of Wolves2019With Walt LongmireWalt investigates the death of a shepherd in the Bighorn Mountains, apparently killed by a wolf.Buy on Amazon
- 16Next to Last Stand2020With Walt LongmireA Second World War veteran dies at a veterans’ home, and Walt finds he had a famous painting of Custer’s Last Stand hidden in his room.Buy on Amazon
- 17Daughter of the Morning Star2021With Walt LongmireA star player of the Lame Deer girls’ basketball team on the Northern Cheyenne reservation is being threatened, and her cousin is among the many missing Native American women.Buy on Amazon
- 18Hell and Back2022With Walt LongmireWalt wakes up in the middle of a snowy street in Fort Pierce, Montana, with no memory of how he got there, in a town haunted by the history of an Indian boarding school.Buy on Amazon
- 19The Longmire Defense2023With Walt LongmireOn a search-and-rescue call in the Bighorn Mountains, Walt revisits a murder at an elk camp in the 1940s, and finds the weapon belonged to his own grandfather.Buy on Amazon
- 20First Frost2024With Walt LongmireIn 1964, young Walt and Henry Standing Bear, fresh out of college, get tangled up with smuggled goods on the California coast, while in the present Walt must answer to a judge.Buy on Amazon
- 21Return to Sender2025With Walt LongmireWalt is asked to find a mail carrier who has vanished on one of the longest postal routes in the country, and he goes undercover as a mailman to follow her trail.Buy on Amazon
- 22The Brothers McKay2026With Walt LongmireBuy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read the books in order, starting with The Cold Dish. Each case is complete, but Walt’s family, his grief for his wife and his relationships with Vic and Henry develop across the series.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Walt Longmire | Henry Standing Bear | Vic Moretti | Lucian Connally | Cady Longmire | Santiago Saizarbitoria | Dog | Virgil White Buffalo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Cold Dish | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 2 Death Without Company | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 3 Kindness Goes Unpunished | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 4 Another Man’s Moccasins | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 5 The Dark Horse | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 6 Junkyard Dogs | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 7 Hell Is Empty | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 8 As the Crow Flies | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 9 A Serpent’s Tooth | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 10 Any Other Name | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 11 Dry Bones | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 12 An Obvious Fact | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 13 The Western Star | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 14 Depth of Winter | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 15 Land of Wolves | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 16 Next to Last Stand | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 17 Daughter of the Morning Star | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 18 Hell and Back | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 19 The Longmire Defense | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 20 First Frost | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 21 Return to Sender | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 22 The Brothers McKay | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
Characters in the Walt Longmire books
8 characters from Craig Johnson’s chart, with the number of Walt Longmire books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Walt LongmireSheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming | 22 | The Cold Dish 2004 |
| Henry Standing BearCheyenne bar owner and Walt’s best friend | 22 | The Cold Dish 2004 |
| Vic MorettiWalt’s undersheriff from Philadelphia | 22 | The Cold Dish 2004 |
| Lucian ConnallyWalt’s predecessor as sheriff | 22 | The Cold Dish 2004 |
| Cady LongmireWalt’s daughter, a lawyer | 22 | The Cold Dish 2004 |
| Santiago SaizarbitoriaDeputy | 21 | Death Without Company 2006 |
| DogWalt’s dog | 21 | Death Without Company 2006 |
| Virgil White BuffaloGiant Crow warrior Walt meets in the mountains | 3 | Hell Is Empty 2011 |