Introduced in 2004, the Longmire Mystery Series by Craig Johnson follows Sheriff Walter Longmire as he works to enforce the law in Wyoming’s Absaroka County. Since then, the series has expanded to 20 novels, three novellas, over a dozen short stories, and a television series that ran for six seasons.
The combination of crime story with Western mystery creates a warm atmosphere that’s easy for the average reader to slip into. It’s down to earth, rugged, and friendly, despite the sometimes gritty and violent situations Walt and his companions find themselves in.
Wyoming is still a place that can feel like stepping back in time, and the Longmire novels lean into that sense of nostalgia with a modern twist.
If you’re curious about the series that sparked the show, here is every book in the Walter Longmire Mystery Series, in order.
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The Longmire Mysteries in Order
The Cold Dish: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 1)
The first book in the Walter Longmire Mysteries introduces us to the Sheriff of Wyoming’s Absaroka County. He’s facing re-election in the middle of the toughest case of his 24 year career.
Two years ago, Cody Pritchard and his three accomplices were found guilty of raping a Northern California girl. But they were given suspended sentences. Now, Cody is dead. Is this a case of revenge? Or justice?
Death Without Company: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 2)
When long-time resident Mari Baroja is poisoned at the Durant Home for Assisted Living, Sheriff Longmire is called in to investigate. But finding the killer requires taking a look into the woman’s past.
Mari was mysterious and dramatic, but somewhere in her Basque history is a clue that just might reveal why someone wants her dead.
Kindness Goes Unpunished: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 3)
Walt Longmire was looking forward to tagging along when his friend Henry Standing Bear travelled to Philadelphia. Then his daughter is attacked and nearly left for dead.
Out of his jurisdiction, Longmire teams up with Deputy Victoria Moretti and her clan of Philadephia police officers to investigate. This may be the City of Brotherly Love, but Walt intends on showing them a taste of Western justice.
Another Man's Moccasins: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 4)
When a Vietnamese woman is found murdered on the highway, Sheriff Longmire is thrown into the past. The woman’s murder is eerily similar to one he investigated as a marine in Vietnam.
Determined to discover her identity and find her killer, he can’t shake the feeling that somehow the two murders are connected. With a suspect that doesn’t make sense and few clues to go on, Walt is going to have to face the injustice of the past if he wants justice now.
The Dark Horse: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 5)
Wade Barsad was shot in the head six times. His wife, Mary, says she did it because he burned down the barn with her horses inside. But Sheriff Longmire doesn’t buy her confession.
Turns out, everyone in town had reason to kill Wade. Now it’s up to Walt to figure out who really killed Wade—and why.
Junkyard Dogs: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 6)
There’s a new multi-million dollar development in town and they want the junk yard next door to go. But when a severed thumb is found in the yard, tensions threaten to boil over.
It’s up to Sheriff Longmire and his crew to figure out whose thumb they found and how to bridge the divide between the new ranchette owners and the rest of the town.
Hell Is Empty: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 7)
Sheriff Longmire is no stranger to difficult cases. He’s seen more than his fair share in the 30 years he’s overseen Wyoming’s Absaroka County.
When Raynaud Shade, an adopted Crow Indian, confesses to killing a boy and burying him in the Big Horn Mountains 10 years ago, Walt might just have encountered a case that pushes him to the limit.
Then Shade and several other convicted murderers escape transport during a snowstorm, and Walt refuses to wait for a break in the storm to pursue them. It’s a journey into the icy depths of hell with nothing but a little luck and mysticism.
Can Walt cheat death as he pursues justice?
Divorce Horse (Walt Longmire Mysteries)
Still recovering from his foray into the mountains, Sheriff Walt Longmire has little time to rest.
His daughter is getting married in a few months, the American Indian Days Parade and Pow Wow are drawing more tourists every day, and Tommy Jefferson’s pride and joy—the infamous divorce horse that cost him his marriage—has gone missing.
If Walt wants to enjoy some peace, he has to find that horse before Jefferson does something the whole town regrets.
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As the Crow Flies: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 8)
There’s just two weeks before Sheriff Walt Longmire’s beloved daughter, Cady, gets married. The only problem is the venue just went up in smoke.
When Walt and longtime friend Henry Standing Bear search for a new location, they witness a young Crow woman plummet to her death. It’s not his jurisdiction and he has his hands full with wedding plans, but when the new tribal police chief asks for his help he can’t say no.
Now, Walt has to figure out if this was a suicide or something more sinister—and he has to do it before his daughter’s wedding bells ring.
Christmas in Absaroka County: Walt Longmire Christmas Stories (A Penguin Special) (Walt Longmire Mysteries)
Get to know the softer side of Sheriff Walt Longmire in this short story collection. Several of these stories have been included in Johnson’s “Post-It” emails, with one brand new short story never seen before.
Celebrate Christmas over the years, through the good times and the bad, with your favorite Absaroka County Sheriff.
Messenger: A Walt Longmire Story
Sheriff Walt Longmire is on his way back from a fishing trip with friends when he gets a distress call. A forest service ranger is in trouble.
At first they think it’s just a case of enthusiastic wildlife when they find the ranger fending off three bears from the top of a porta potty. But the ranger says there’s another creature trapped inside the porta-potty itself—one that may actually be a messenger from the Camp of the Dead. And it has a message for Walt.
A Serpent's Tooth: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 9)
Homecoming in Absaroka County means football and festivities. Until a homeless Mormon boy stumbles into town looking for his missing mother.
With little to go on, Walt and longtime friend Henry Standing Bear go searching the plains looking for clues on where this missing mother might be. Instead, they stumble on a polygamous cult stockpiling weapons and vendettas.
Did they do something to this boys mother? And what else do they have planned?
Spirit of Steamboat: A Longmire Story (Walt Longmire Mysteries)
Sheriff Walt Longmire is reading A Christmas Carol when a ghost from Christmas past arrives in the form of a young woman with a hairline scar. She wants to know about his predecessor, and since it’s a quiet night, he agrees to take her to the Durant Home for Assisted Living.
Lucian Connally is there, but he doesn’t know this woman. Until she whispers “Steamboat” and tells them a tale about one snowy Christmas back in 1988.
Any Other Name: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 10)
When Sheriff Walt Longmire’s old boss, Lucian Connally, asks him for a favor, he can’t say no. Lucian’s friend, Detective Gerald Holman, took his own life and Lucian wants to know why.
Walt discovers that Holman may have suppressed evidence regarding three missing women. As he digs, he finds a dark secret that threatens to claim even more lives before Walt can serve justice.
Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories (Walt Longmire Mysteries)
It all began with one award-winning short story. After the success of the Walt Longmire books and accompanying television series, Craig Johnson released a new short story every Christmas.
For the first time ever, all 11 stories are available in one collection, including a brand-new, never-before-read short story.
It’s the perfect addition to any Walt Longmire collection.
Dry Bones: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 11)
It should be good news for Absaroka County when the largest, most complete fossil of a T-Rex is discovered. But then the rancher who owns the land—and the fossil—is found dead in a pond, things get complicated.
Now, fellow rancher’s, government officials, and the Cheyenne tribe all vie for the priceless remains. Sheriff Longmire has to find the killer and figure out who the T-Rex belongs to before anyone else goes extinct.
The Highwayman: A Longmire Story (Walt Longmire Mysteries)
There’s a stretch of Wyoming highway known among the trooper’s as No Man’s Land. Communication is spotty at best through the area.
When patrolman Rosey Wayman starts receiving officer in distress calls, things get eerie. The calls are coming from an Arapaho patrolman who died almost 50 years ago.
Can Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear take on a ghostly legend to find the truth?
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An Obvious Fact: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 12)
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is the largest in the world. Accidents happen, but when a young biker is run off the road and left in critical condition, Sheriff Walt Longmire is called in to help.
But this isn’t an ordinary rally. Drawing tourists, biker gangs, and government officials to the event, it becomes clear that one biker accident is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Western Star: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 13)
Every four years, Sheriff Walt Longmire attends the parole hearing for one of the most dangerous criminals he’s ever encountered in his law enforcement career. But this time it’s different: the prisoner is dying and wants compassionate release.
Walt barely has time to process what that means when a young man confronts him with a photo that takes him back to when he was a young deputy fresh from Vietnam. The past and present hurtle together as a startling case of revenge threatens to destroy Walt and everyone he cares about.
Depth of Winter: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 14)
Sheriff Walt Longmire’s worst nightmare has come to life: his daughter Cady has been kidnapped by the cartel.
Alone in the Mexican desert, Walt doesn’t speak the language and doesn’t know who to trust. But he won’t let anything happen to his beloved daughter.
Armed with only his Colt .45, Walt sets out into the desert, hoping his father’s intuition and instinct will lead him to Cady where one man will face an army.
Land of Wolves: A Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries Book 15)
Sheriff Walt Longmire has barely recovered from his harrowing desert rescue, but crime waits for no man. A local shepherd was found hanging.
No one knows if it’s suicide or murder. But as Walt investigates, the case takes a dark turn with a Basque family known for cutting off the legs of law enforcement.
Tying it all together is a large wolf who may be a predator or a messenger—or both.
Next to Last Stand: A Longmire Mystery
Custer’s Last Fight is one of America’s most viewed paintings. The original was destroyed in a fire in 1946. Or was it?
That’s what Sheriff Walt Longmire has to figure out after Charley Lee Stillwater dies of a heart attack and finds some unusual items in his room at the Wyoming Home for Soldiers & Sailors. One is a piece of a painting. The other is a shoebox filled with a million dollars.
Was the disappearance of that famous painting an art heist? And can Charley’s death lead Walt to the original painting after all these years?
Daughter of the Morning Star: A Longmire Mystery
Tribal police chief Lolo Long has plenty of reason to be proud of her niece. Jaya Longshot Long is the phenom of her basketball team.
But the attention is bringing with it some death threats. Jaya’s older sister disappeared only one year ago, and Lolo is determined to protect Jaya with everything she’s got.
She calls in Sheriff Walt Longmire to help. But Jaya’s sister isn’t the only Native woman who has gone missing, and now Walt is in the sightline of one of the most deadly adversary’s he’s ever faced.
Hell and Back: A Longmire Mystery
Wyoming has its own dark histories to contend with, like the Native American boarding schools designed to strip young Natives of their heritage. When Jeanie One Moon disappears, her father gives Walt a photo of the building.
As Walt’s search comes up empty, he has to face the dawning realization that things aren’t exactly what they appear. And he might be facing an otherworldly adversary that has pulled him into a different time.
The Longmire Defense: A Longmire Mystery
Sheriff Walt Longmire is called to a crime scene unlike any he’s seen before. But the case quickly becomes personal as it raises questions about Walt’s grandfather and his time in Wyoming.
The more he learns about his grandfather, the clearer the motives and clues for this case become. But each revelation forces Walt to examine the ghosts of his past and challenge his perceptions about justice and mercy in the West.
First Frost: A Longmire Mystery
The 20th and most recent book in the Walt Longmire series follows the Sheriff through the changing nature of Wyoming.
Walt Longmire has been Sheriff for over 30 years, and he’s seen a lot of change. But the wild nature of the Old West is dying, and a new criminal underworld is rising up in its place.
As his personal life gets more complicated, Walt faces a sinister plot that not only threatens those closest to him, but might forever change the way he see his beloved home state.
Featured image: Taylor Brandon / Unsplash