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C J Box

(Charles James Box, Jr.)

(b.1958)

C. J. Box is the New York Times bestselling author of many novels including the Joe Pickett series. He has won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel (Blue Heaven, 2009) as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, the Barry Award, and the 2010 Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Award for fiction. Open Season, Blue Heaven, Nowhere to Run, and The Highway have been optioned for film and television. Over four million copies of his novels have been sold in the U.S. alone and they have been translated into twenty-seven languages. He lives in Wyoming.

Awards: Barry (2016), Edgar (2009), Macavity (2002), Anthony (2002) see all

Genres: Mystery

New and upcoming books

February 2025

Battle Mountain
(Joe Pickett, book 25)

Series

Joe Pickett
   1. Open Season (2001)
   2. Savage Run (2002)
   3. Winterkill (2003)
   4. Trophy Hunt (2004)
   4.5. Dull Knife (2005)
   5. Out of Range (2005)
   6. In Plain Sight (2006)
   6.5. The Master Falconer (2006)
   7. Free Fire (2007)
   8. Blood Trail (2008)
   9. Below Zero (2009)
   10. Nowhere to Run (2010)
   11. Cold Wind (2011)
   12. Force of Nature (2012)
   13. Breaking Point (2013)
   14. Stone Cold (2014)
   14.5. Shots Fired (2014)
   15. Endangered (2015)
   16. Off the Grid (2016)
   17. Vicious Circle (2017)
   18. The Disappeared (2018)
   19. Wolf Pack (2019)
   20. Long Range (2020)
   21. Dark Sky (2021)
   22. Shadows Reel (2022)
   23. Storm Watch (2023)
   Joe Pickett: A Mysterious Profile (2024)
   24. Three-Inch Teeth (2024)
   25. Battle Mountain (2025)

Highway Quartet
   1. Back of Beyond (2011)
   2. The Highway (2013)
   3. Badlands (2015)
   4. Paradise Valley (2017)
   5. The Bitterroots (2019)

Cassie Dewell
   1. The Highway (2013)
   2. Badlands (2015)
   3. Paradise Valley (2017)
   4. The Bitterroots (2019)
   5. Treasure State (2022)

Novels

   Blue Heaven (2008)
   Three Weeks to Say Goodbye (2009)
   Inherit the Dead (2013) (with others)

Novellas and Short Stories

Precious Cargo (2022)

Anthologies edited

Birds of Prey (2022) (with Harlan Coben)

Series contributed to

Bibliomysteries / Death Sentences
Pronghorns of the Third Reich (2012)

MatchUp Collection
Honor & ... (2018) (with Sandra Brown)

Best American Mystery Stories
The Best American Mystery Stories 2020 (2020) (with Otto Penzler)

Mysterious Profiles
Joe Pickett: A Mysterious Profile (2024)

Omnibus editions show

Books containing stories by C J Box

Killin' Time in San Diego (2023)
Bouchercon 2023 Anthology
(Bouchercon Anthology)
edited by
Holly West

Birds of Prey (2022)
The Harlan Coben Challenge
edited by
C J Box and Harlan Coben

The Best American Mystery Stories 2017 (2017)
(Best American Mystery Stories)
edited by
Otto Penzler and John Sandford

More books

Awards

	2021 Falcon Award : Breaking Point
	2016 Barry Award for Best Novel : Badlands
	2009 Edgar Award for Best Novel : Blue Heaven
	2002 Macavity Award for Best First Novel : Open Season
	2002 Barry Award for Best First Novel : Open Season
	2002 Anthony Award for Best First Novel : Open Season

Award nominations

	2011 Barry Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Nowhere to Run
	2008 Lefty Awards: Rocky Award (nominee) : Free Fire
	2002 Edgar Award for Best First Novel (nominee) : Open Season
	2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller (nominee) : Open Season

C J Box recommends

Blood Sisters (2023)
Vanessa Lillie
"Blood Sisters sets its hooks on page one and then pulls relentlessly and colorfully through buried secrets and rediscovered Native heritage."

Boomtown (2023)
(Delia Mariola, book 3)
A F Carter
"Smart, urgent, and sneakily deep."

Dead of Night (2023)
(Crystal Nguyen, book 2)
Michael Stanley
"An extraordinary tale."

City Under One Roof (2023)
(Detective Cara Kennedy, book 1)
Iris Yamashita
"Iris Yamashita blasts into the world of crime fiction by doing something spectacular: introducing us to a totally unique location and sub-culture. A compulsive page-turner that's both atmospheric and claustrophobic at the same time."

The Texas Job (2022)
Reavis Z Wortham
"Reavis z wortham is the real thing: a literary voice that's gut-bucket America delivered with a warm and knowing Texas twang."

A Thousand Steps (2022)
T Jefferson Parker
"T. Jefferson Parker is the poet of American crime fiction. . . There's a damned good reason he has won three Edgar Awards."

Hello, Transcriber (2021)
(Black Harbor, book 1)
Hannah Morrissey
"Hello, Transcriber is a dark, atmospheric, and compelling debut by a unique talent. I was sucked in immediately and could think of little else until the last page."

Dark Roads (2021)
Chevy Stevens
"Chevy Stevens is a brilliant and unique talent and Dark Roads is an instant classic. My hat's off to her."

Godspeed (2021)
Nickolas Butler
"Godspeed is a page-turning, race-against-the-clock novel about fatal obsession, love, violence, addiction, and faith beautifully set in my home state of Wyoming. After you turn the last page it’ll stay with you for a long, long time."

In the Company of Killers (2021)
Bryan Christy
"In the Company of Killers is a special kind of thriller: crisp, fast, wise, intelligent, world-weary, violent, and propulsive. Bryan Christy provides an indispensable inside-view to a world we only thought we knew."

The Unwilling (2021)
John Hart
"John Hart creates novels that are somehow raw, tender, brutal, and exquisite - all at the same time. Exceptional."

Winter Counts (2020)
David Heska Wanbli Weiden
"I've been waiting most of my life for this book without realizing it. Winter Counts is a knowing, authentic, closely observed novel about modern-day Lakotas that rings absolutely true, warts and all. The sense of place is breathtaking and raw. It's a hell of a debut."

The Heartless (2020)
(Bruno Johnson, book 7)
David Putnam
"...A shocking and intense tale of brotherly love and redemption."

Won't Back Down (2019)
(Jack Keller, book 6)
J D Rhoades
"J D Rhoades writes action as well as anybody in the business."

Open Carry (2019)
(Arliss Cutter, book 1)
Marc Cameron
"A double-barreled blast of action, narrative, and impossible-to-fake authenticity with a great sense of place and a terrific protagonist. I'm looking forward to many more Arliss Cutter thrillers."

The Paris Diversion (2019)
(Expats, book 2)
Chris Pavone
"Since he exploded onto the scene with The Expats, Chris Pavone has quickly become one of the elite must-read can’t-miss thriller writers working today. Grab The Paris Diversion and hold on for the ride."

Invisible (2019)
(Paul McGrath, book 1)
Andrew Grant
"Propulsive and engaging from the very first page."

Maze Master (2018)
Kathleen O'Neal Gear
"Dazzling...MAZE MASTER is an epic, breathless countdown to the end of mankind that can only be saved by locating and understanding ancient clues."

A Death in Eden (2018)
(Sean Stranahan Mystery, book 7)
Keith McCafferty
"A top-notch, first-rate, can't-miss novelist."

Bearskin (2018)
James A McLaughlin
"Bearskin is visceral, raw, and compelling—filled with sights, smells, and sounds truly observed. It’s a powerful debut and an absolute showcase of exceptional prose. There are very few first novels when I feel compelled to circle brilliant passages, but James McLaughlin’s writing had me doing just that."

This Scorched Earth (2018)
William Gear
"Thoroughly engaging."

The Dark Lake (2017)
(Gemma Woodstock, book 1)
Sarah Bailey
"A stunning debut that gripped me from page one and never eased up. Dark, dark, dark-but infused with insight, pathos, a great sense of place, and razor-sharp writing. It's going to be big and Sarah Bailey needs to clear a shelf for awards."

Nothing Short of Dying (2016)
(Clyde Barr, book 1)
Erik Storey
"Furious, Non-stop action...Clyde Barr is not a man to be messed with."

Shadow War (2016)
(Tom Locke, book 1)
Sean McFate
"Step aside, faux thriller writers and armchair warrior storytellers. Ex-mercenary Sean McFate has produced a first novel that’s assured, authentic, timely, gritty, and most of all real... I enjoyed the hell out of it."

The Dry (2016)
(Aaron Falk, book 1)
Jane Harper
"It's extremely rare and exciting to read a debut that enthralls from the very first page and then absolutely sticks the landing. Told with heart and guts and an authentic sense of place that simply cannot be faked, The Dry is the debut of the year."

Where It Hurts (2016)
(Gus Murphy, book 1)
Reed Farrel Coleman
"Where It Hurts is taut, smart, and engaging with a terrific sense of place. Readers will never go wrong with Gus Murphy or his creator Reed Farrel Coleman."

Buffalo Trail (2015)
(Cash McLendon, book 2)
Jeff Guinn
"Glorious is old-fashioned in the very best way: itâ€™s good-hearted, optimistic, compelling, comfortable, and extremely well told."

Bull Mountain (2015)
(Bull Mountain, book 1)
Brian Panowich
"Brian Panowich had me at the first word of his spectacular debut novel, 'Family, ' and he held me until the very last page. Bull Mountain is a sprawling, gritty, violent, tribal inter-generational crime epic with a deeply rooted sense of place and an gut-punch ending I didn t see coming. Expect to see Bull Mountain on the short-list of many 'Best First Novel' awards."

Canyon Sacrifice (2014)
(National Park Mystery, book 1)
Scott Graham
"A terrific debut novel."

Sundance (2014)
David Fuller
"Intriguing and unique."

The Poacher's Son (2010)
(Mike Bowditch Mystery, book 1)
Paul Doiron
"[An] excellent debut... filled with murder, betrayal, and a terrific sense of place."

Sworn to Silence (2009)
(Kate Burkholder, book 1)
Linda Castillo
"Kate Burkholder is the real deal and Sworn to Silence is a vivid, intense, and brutal page-turner of a novel."

Poacher's Moon (2008)
John D Nesbitt
"John Nesbitt knows hunting, knows Wyoming, knows the interplay of men in the field, and knows how to tell an authentic, warts-and-all story of the real outdoors."

Wild Inferno (2008)
(Wild Mystery, book 2)
Sandi Ault
"Jamaica Wild (and her wolf, Montain) are formidable new players in outdoor mystery fiction."

The Barbed-Wire Kiss (2003)
(Harry Rane Mystery, book 1)
Wallace Stroby
"The Barbed-Wire Kiss is as gritty and tough as its Soprano-land New Jersey setting, and Wallace Stroby is a no-nonsense guide and a fine writer."

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