The Longmire Defense
Sheriff Walt Longmire uncovers a cold case that hits very close to home and forces him to put his life on the line with implications that some people would kill to keep buried forever
Sheriff Walt Longmire and Dog are called on a routine search and rescue to Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains, where Walt finds himself on a rock outcropping remembering when his father told him about the first time he saw a man die. In the late forties, Bill Sutherland was shot but the investigation was stymied because no member of the elk camp—where he was found—was carrying the caliber rifle that killed the state accountant. When Dog discovers the missing weapon, the sheriff of Absaroka County is plunged headfirst into a cold case. His investigation quickly finds ties to a hidden mineral fund that someone is willing to kill to keep secret. The embodiment of the fair-minded detective, Walt is pushed to his ethical boundaries. In his relentless pursuit of the truth, he discovers the rifle in question belonged to none other than Walt’s infamous and uncompromising grandfather, Lloyd Longmire.
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Craig Johnson
In the wind-cut high plains of Wyoming, justice doesn’t come with a badge and a booming voice—it comes with quiet conviction, a deep sense of place, and a stubborn refusal to look away. That’s where Craig Johnson sets his stories, and it’s where his voice has found a lasting home. Best known for the Longmire series, Johnson has carved out a distinct space in modern Western crime fiction—not with flashy gimmicks, but with layered characters, stark landscapes, and a kind of storytelling that lets silence speak as loudly as gunfire.
Walt Longmire Mysteries
Out where the wind carves stories into canyon walls and justice isn't always clean-cut, one sheriff walks the line between duty and doubt. The Walt Longmire Mysteries are steeped in the raw, unforgiving beauty of Wyoming’s Absaroka County—a place where the past lingers like smoke and every silence feels like it’s holding its breath.
Walt Longmire Mysteries consists of twenty-one primary books, and includes six additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of two more books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
