Molly Murphy
cozy mystery
Series · mystery
Joe Pickett
The Joe Pickett series by C. J. Box has 28 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Open Season (2001). The next book, The Missing, is due 23 February 2027.
- Books
- 28 books
- First published
- 2001
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: Open Season (2001) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Open Season
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Open Season - Book 2:
Savage Run
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Savage Run - Book 3:
Winterkill
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Winterkill - Book 4:
Trophy Hunt
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Trophy Hunt - Book 5:
Out of Range
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Out of Range - Book 6:
In Plain Sight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of In Plain Sight - Book 7:
Free Fire
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Free Fire - Book 8:
Blood Trail
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood Trail - Book 9:
Below Zero
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Below Zero - Book 10:
Nowhere to Run
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nowhere to Run - Book 11:
Cold Wind
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cold Wind - Book 12:
Force of Nature
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Force of Nature - Book 13:
Breaking Point
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Breaking Point - Book 14:
Stone Cold
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Stone Cold - Book 15:
Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country - Book 16:
Endangered
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Endangered - Book 17:
Off the Grid
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Off the Grid - Book 18:
Vicious Circle
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Vicious Circle - Book 19:
The Disappeared
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Disappeared - Book 20:
Wolf Pack
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wolf Pack - Book 21:
Long Range
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Long Range - Book 22:
Dark Sky
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dark Sky - Book 23:
Shadows Reel
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shadows Reel - Book 24:
Storm Watch
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Storm Watch - Book 25:
Three-Inch Teeth
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Three-Inch Teeth - Book 26:
Battle Mountain
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Battle Mountain - Book 27:
The Crossroads
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Crossroads - Book 28:
The Missing
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Missing
About the Joe Pickett series
Joe Pickett is a Wyoming game warden — a job that keeps landing him in the middle of murders, poaching conspiracies, eco-terrorism, corporate land grabs and political corruption across the vast, empty country around fictional Saddlestring. Joe is stubborn, chronically underpaid, allergic to political games, and hopeless at holding his tongue around powerful people, which gets him fired, reassigned and shot at with regularity — but it also makes him the game warden who actually goes after the people everyone else is too scared or too compromised to touch. C. J. Box builds each novel around a real environmental or Western issue (wolf reintroduction, public land sales, energy extraction, wildlife trafficking) filtered through a tight thriller plot, with genuine landscape writing that makes Wyoming's high plains and mountains a character in their own right.
Running alongside the case-of-the-book is Joe's family life with his wife Marybeth and their daughters, and his uneasy partnership with Nate Romanowski, a falconer and off-the-grid vigilante whose willingness to operate outside the law gives Joe a dangerous ally he can't quite approve of. The series has earned comparisons to Craig Johnson's Longmire novels for its modern-Western setting, and its blend of procedural plotting, environmental stakes and slow-building found-family warmth has made it one of the best-selling ongoing crime series in the genre, now adapted as the Paramount+ series Joe Pickett.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Joe Pickett series?
There are 27 novels as of The Crossroads (February 2026), plus the short story collection Shots Fired. Book 28, The Missing, is due February 23, 2027.
What order should I read the Joe Pickett books in?
Publication order, starting with Open Season. Joe's family and his partnership with Nate Romanowski build steadily across the series.
Is the Joe Pickett series finished?
No, it's ongoing. C. J. Box has published roughly one book a year since 2001; The Missing (book 28) is due February 23, 2027.
Do I need to read Shots Fired?
No. It's a short story collection mixing a few Joe Pickett tales with other Wyoming-set fiction, best treated as a bonus for fans rather than a numbered entry.
Is the Joe Pickett TV series based on the books?
Yes. Paramount+'s Joe Pickett series adapts C. J. Box's novels, starting with the events of Open Season.
If you like the Joe Pickett series
Reading order last verified .