How to read C.J. Box books in order
If you are looking for a thrilling read that will keep you on the edge of your seat, you should take a look at C.J. Box’s magnum opus. Box is a New York Times bestselling author whose works span from standalone novels to extensive series. In this article, we will tell you a bit about him, his style of writing, and his popular Joe Pickett and Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell series.
Who is author C.J. Box?
C.J. Box is short for Charles James Box, he was born in 1958, grew up in Casper, and as a native still lives in Wyoming. C.J. Box graduated from the University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications. Box enjoys fishing, golfing, and outdoor activities.
His first novel was published in 2001 under the title Open Season, which was one of the best novels #1 New York Times bestselling series, and received numerous awards such as the Anthony Award, Edgar Award, Macavity Award, Gumshoe Award, and Barry Award.
The novels of Joe Pickett were adapted for the TV series Spectrum. The author also received the Gumshoe Awards for popular literary works of crime fiction from Joe Pickett Country for his exceptional skills in creating the character, tension, and deep sense of place that make Shots Fired.
In addition to being the author of the Joe Pickett series Box has also written several stand-alone novels and collections of short stories. Although the novels of C.J. Box are fairly independent, you may be interested in reading them in order of publication.
A brief introduction to C.J. Box’s writing
Box’s writing style is known for its fast pace, action-packed scenes, and descriptive settings that transport readers into the story’s location. He is a master at building suspense and tension, keeping readers guessing until the very end.
Early writings
Box’s first three books were standalone thrillers, but it was his 2001 novel Open Season that introduced his most well-known protagonist, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett.
Joe Pickett series
Box’s Joe Pickett series follows the life of a game warden who finds himself in the middle of various criminal activities while trying to maintain order in the wilderness. The series, consisting of twenty-two books, is a mix of mystery, suspense, and thriller.
Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell series
In 2011, Box introduced the character of Cassie Dewell, a former police officer turned private investigator. Her character is the focus of the Highway Quartet series, which consists of four novels. The series is set in North Dakota and focuses on crimes that take place along highways and interstates.
C.J. Box books in publication order
Joe Pickett books
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 7 hours 52 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: January 21, 2010
- Language: English
3.98
(26895 ratings)
3.98
(26895 ratings)
Regular Price: 19.99 USD
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C.J. Box’s Open Season is a rare debut mystery that “immediately sets itself apart from the crowd” (Booklist). This thrilling novel stars Joe Pickett, a game warden in Wyoming who finds his life in danger after he looks into a... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 8 hours 51 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: February 25, 2011
- Language: English
4.13
(15209 ratings)
4.13
(15209 ratings)
Regular Price: 19.99 USD
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An Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Barry Award winner, C. J. Box delivers the second pulse-pounding installment in his critically acclaimed series. While investigating a string of bizarre murders, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is forced to... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 11 hours 26 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: July 12, 2013
- Language: English
4.23
(12560 ratings)
4.23
(12560 ratings)
Regular Price: 24.99 USD
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In the third adventure in C. J. Box’s engrossing series, Joe Pickett finds himself at the center of a confrontation between a special investigative team and a group of government-hating survivalists campedout on federal land. With the help of... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 11 hours 2 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: April 29, 2011
- Language: English
4.12
(10188 ratings)
4.12
(10188 ratings)
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Publishers Weekly calls this fourth entry in Anthony Award winner and New York Times best-selling author C.J. Box’s gripping Joe Pickett series “riveting.” Trophy Hunt opens at the Wyoming game warden’s chilling discovery of... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 9 hours 13 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: May 08, 2009
- Language: English
4.25
(10902 ratings)
4.25
(10902 ratings)
Regular Price: 19.99 USD
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C. J. Box’s best-selling Joe Pickett novels have earned him a spot on every serious suspense fan’s shortlist of favorites. The tightly constructed Out of Range brings game warden Joe to a new, remote beat in Wyoming’s vast... Read more
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 8 hours 25 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: December 23, 2008
- Language: English
4.22
(8767 ratings)
4.22
(8767 ratings)
Regular Price: 19.99 USD
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C. J. Box has won a host of awards, including the Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Barry. In Plain Sight sees game warden Joe Pickett’s life take a turn for the worse after millionaire Opal Scarlett goes missing. As Pickett discovers more and... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 11 hours 8 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: June 11, 2010
- Language: English
4.27
(10353 ratings)
4.27
(10353 ratings)
Regular Price: 24.99 USD
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Best-selling author C. J. Box-an Anthony and Macavity Award winner-earned starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist for this exceptional mystery. Taking advantage of a legal loophole, a lawyer kills four people in Yellowstone National... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 9 hours 8 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: September 26, 2008
- Language: English
4.28
(10236 ratings)
4.28
(10236 ratings)
Regular Price: 19.99 USD
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It’s elk season in the Rockies, but this year one hunter is stalking a different kind of prey. When the call comes in on the radio, Joe Pickett can hardly believe his ears: game wardens have found a hunter dead at a camp in the mountains... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 10 hours 25 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: July 03, 2009
- Language: English
4.19
(9002 ratings)
4.19
(9002 ratings)
Regular Price: 24.99 USD
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New York Times best-selling author C. J. Box’s Below Zero is the 9th novel featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett. The telephone calls from her stepdaughter April send chills down the spine of Joe’s daughter Sherry. Wasn’t April... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 10 hours 16 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: June 04, 2010
- Language: English
4.28
(9387 ratings)
4.28
(9387 ratings)
Regular Price: 24.99 USD
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Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Barry Award winner C. J. Box crafts the 10th explosive entryfrom his acclaimed Joe Pickett series. When bizarre incidents start piling up, including the disappearance of afemale runner, Joe heads into the... Read more
Play Sample
- By: Paige Shelton
- Narrator: Suzie Althens
- Length: 9 hours 7 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: December 03, 2020
- Language: English
4.02
(1280 ratings)
4.02
(1280 ratings)
Beth Rivers is still in Alaska. The unidentified man who kidnapped her in her home of St. Louis hasn’t been found yet, so she’s not ready to go back. But as October comes to a close, Benedict is feeling more and more like her new home.... Read more
Play Sample
- By: Suzanne Brockmann
- Narrator: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 15 hours 18 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2016
- Language: English
4.16
(5562 ratings)
4.16
(5562 ratings)
Regular Price: 24.95 USD
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Florida private investigator Ric Alvarado’s life is spiraling out of control. His beautiful new assistant, Annie Dugan, is far more interested in fieldwork than filing, and despite Ric’s best efforts to ignore the attraction, sparks are... Read more
Play Sample
- By: Suzanne Brockmann
- Narrator: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 14 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2015
- Language: English
4.25
(7695 ratings)
4.25
(7695 ratings)
Regular Price: 22.95 USD
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Uncommon valor in the line of duty and unconditional devotion in the name of love are the salient qualities of the daring men and women who risk it all in the heart-pounding thrillers of New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann. Crafted... Read more
Play Sample
- By: David Baldacci
- Narrator: Ron McLarty
- Length: 10 hours 39 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: November 06, 2007
- Language: English
4.16
(36288 ratings)
4.16
(36288 ratings)
Regular Price: 22.98 USD
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In this #1 New York Times bestseller of conspiracy and murder, the Camel Club faces their greatest threat yet: a casino king and a stone-cold killer who are determined to bury the truth.Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 10 hours 22 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: March 10, 2015
- Language: English
4.37
(9400 ratings)
4.37
(9400 ratings)
Regular Price: 24.99 USD
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New York Times-bestselling writer C. J. Box returns with a thrilling new novel, featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett. She was gone. Joe Pickett had good reason to dislike Dallas Cates, even if he was a rodeo champion, and now he has even... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Narrator: C. J. Box
- Length: 10 hours 40 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: March 08, 2016
- Language: English
4.27
(9010 ratings)
4.27
(9010 ratings)
Regular Price: 24.99 USD
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New York Times-bestselling author C. J. Box returns with a suspenseful new Joe Pickett novel. Nate Romanowski is off the grid, recuperating from wounds and trying to deal with past crimes, when he is suddenly surrounded by a small team of elite... Read more
Play Sample
- By: Mike Carey
- Narrator: Michael Kramer
- Length: 16 hours 18 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: November 06, 2018
- Language: English
3.97
(7141 ratings)
3.97
(7141 ratings)
Regular Price: 24.98 USD
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Author of The Girl With All the Gifts Mike Carey presents the second book in his hip supernatural thriller series featuring freelance exorcist Felix Castor.Felix Castor has reluctantly returned to exorcism after a successful case convinces him that... Read more
Play Sample
- By: Kristina Ohlsson
- Narrator: Justine Eyre
- Length: 13 hours 1 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: March 04, 2014
- Language: English
3.92
(2583 ratings)
3.92
(2583 ratings)
Regular Price: 17.99 USD
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A young woman is found carved up and buried in a forest glade in a Stockholm suburb. She is identified as Rebecca Trolle, a student who went missing two years earlier. While Fredrika Bergman and her team try to find out why Rebecca met such a... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Length: 9 hours 51 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: March 12, 2019
- Language: English
4.38
(9848 ratings)
4.38
(9848 ratings)
Regular Price: 19.99 USD
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Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett encounters bad behavior on his own turf–only to have the FBI and the DOJ ask him to stand down–in the thrilling new novel from #1 New York Times-bestselling author C.J. Box. The good news is that Joe... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Length: 10 hours 35 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: March 03, 2020
- Language: English
4.41
(12646 ratings)
4.41
(12646 ratings)
Regular Price: 24.99 USD
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#1 New York Times bestseller C.J. Box returns with a blazing new Joe Pickett novel, in which the Wyoming game warden must investigate a murder that happens on his turf–a murder committed from a confoundingly long distance. When the wife of a... Read more
Play Sample
- By: Carla Neggers
- Narrator: Carla Neggers
- Length: 9 hours 23 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: February 06, 2008
- Language: English
3.88
(1052 ratings)
3.88
(1052 ratings)
Regular Price: 19.99 USD
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New York Times best-selling author Carla Neggers dishes out heart-pounding romantic thrillers. As a Deputy U.S. Marshal, Juliet Longstreet has locked up quite a few violent criminals. When one of Juliet’s enemies is released, he’s on a... Read more
Play Sample
- By: C. J. Box
- Length: 9 hours 7 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: March 08, 2022
- Language: English
4.19
(14612 ratings)
4.19
(14612 ratings)
Regular Price: 19.99 USD
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Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett and his wife, Marybeth, make separate discoveries that put the Pickett family in a pair of killers’ crosshairs in this thrilling new novel in the bestselling series.A day before the three Pickett girls come... Read more
Storm Watch
Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett investigates a mysterious death at a secret remote high-tech facility in this thrilling new novel Storm Watch, released in 2023.
