Books set in Wyoming
Every state has its hallmark writers. Mississippi has William Faulkner and his incomparable (fictional) Yoknapatawpha County and Missouri can lay claim to Mark Twain. The state of Maine is gifted with Pulitzer winner Richard Russo and horror icon Stephen King. Rural Pennsylvania is the playground of the much-heralded (and occasionally maligned) John Updike, and when many bibliophiles think of New Jersey, they also think of Richard Ford's series of novels featuring recurring Everyman character Frank Bascombe. Illinois can lay claim to William Maxwell, Sandra Cisneros, and Adam Langer, among numerous others. And what reader can think of Washington State without contending with the sparkle-vampire yarns of Stephanie Meyer?
What makes authors like these inextricably associated with a particular state is not simply the matter of their having been born there or choosing to live there. The connection, from a writerly standpoint, is deeper than that—their work, nearly all of it, is set in "their" state.
Of course, there are certainly exceptions. Whether a writer sets a tale in the town where they went to college or spent part of their childhood—like Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" and its New England arts school setting and the almost-factual small town of Jo Ann Beard's "In Zanesville," respectively—or crafts a story that follows a social or political theme to a location they know little about but lay narrative claim to anyway, the world is rife with books known, loved, and respected that also capture the essence of place—books where setting itself is one of the strongest characters.
Stacker compiled a list of books set in Wyoming from Goodreads. Whether you're looking for a good read set in the state you call home, or you're looking to expand your curiosity with a writer you're already familiar with, we've got you covered.
Brokeback Mountain
- Author: Annie Proulx
- Published: October 13, 1997
- Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, LGBT, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads
Yellowstone Heart Song (Yellowstone Romance, #1)
- Author: Peggy L. Henderson
- Published: January 2, 2012
- Genres: Time Travel, Romance, Historical Romance, Historical
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The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire, #1)
- Author: Craig Johnson
- Published: December 29, 2004
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime
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Open Season (Joe Pickett #1)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: May 7, 2001
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
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Death Without Company (Walt Longmire, #2)
- Author: Craig Johnson
- Published: March 16, 2006
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime
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Winterkill (Joe Pickett, #3)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: January 1, 2003
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller
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Back of Beyond (Highway Quartet #1)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: August 2, 2011
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime
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Savage Run (Joe Pickett, #2)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: June 1, 2002
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Free Fire (Joe Pickett, #7)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: May 10, 2007
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Happiness for Beginners
- Author: Katherine Center
- Published: March 24, 2015
- Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit
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Cold Wind (Joe Pickett, #11)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: March 22, 2011
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Thriller
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Close Range: Wyoming Stories
- Author: Annie Proulx
- Published: May 10, 1999
- Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Westerns, LGBT
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My Friend Flicka (Flicka, #1)
- Author: Mary O'Hara
- Published: January 1, 1941
- Genres: Horses, Classics, Fiction, Animals
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Another Man's Moccasins (Walt Longmire, #4)
- Author: Craig Johnson
- Published: May 29, 2008
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime
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In Plain Sight (Joe Pickett, #6)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: November 30, 2006
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Force Of Nature (Joe Pickett, #12)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: March 20, 2012
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Nowhere To Run (Joe Pickett, #10)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: April 6, 2010
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Junkyard Dogs (Walt Longmire, #6)
- Author: Craig Johnson
- Published: May 26, 2010
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime
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The Dark Horse (Walt Longmire, #5)
- Author: Craig Johnson
- Published: April 15, 2009
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime
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Trophy Hunt (Joe Pickett, #4)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: January 1, 2004
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Below Zero (Joe Pickett, #9)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: June 30, 2009
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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The Legend of Colton H. Bryant
- Author: Alexandra Fuller
- Published: January 1, 2008
- Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, Westerns
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Out Of Range (Joe Pickett, #5)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: May 5, 2005
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Thriller
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Skies Like These
- Author: Tess Hilmo
- Published: July 15, 2014
- Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
Blood Trail (Joe Pickett, #8)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: May 20, 2008
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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The Haymeadow
- Author: Gary Paulsen
- Published: January 1, 1992
- Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Adventure, Childrens
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As The Crow Flies (Walt Longmire, #8)
- Author: Craig Johnson
- Published: May 15, 2012
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime
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Shane
- Author: Jack Schaefer
- Published: January 1, 1949
- Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction
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Long Range (Joe Pickett #20)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: March 3, 2020
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Hell Is Empty (Walt Longmire, #7)
- Author: Craig Johnson
- Published: May 14, 2011
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Crime
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Dark Sky (Joe Pickett, #21)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: March 2, 2021
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Green Grass of Wyoming (Flicka, #3)
- Author: Mary O'Hara
- Published: January 1, 1946
- Genres: Horses, Fiction, Young Adult, Animals
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Breaking Point (Joe Pickett, #13)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: March 12, 2013
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Stone Cold (Joe Pickett, #14)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: March 11, 2014
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
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Tempest (Old West, #3)
- Author: Beverly Jenkins
- Published: January 30, 2018
- Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical
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The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstone's Legendary Druid Pack
- Author: Rick McIntyre
- Published: September 29, 2020
- Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals, Wolves
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When Esther Morris Headed West: Women, Wyoming, and the Right to Vote
- Author: Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
- Published: August 1, 2001
- Genres: Picture Books, Biography, History, Nonfiction
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The Rise of Wolf 8: Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstone's Underdog
- Author: Rick McIntyre
- Published: January 1, 2019
- Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Animals
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Thunderhead (Flicka, #2)
- Author: Mary O'Hara
- Published: January 1, 1943
- Genres: Horses, Fiction, Young Adult, Animals
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The Laramie Project
- Author: Moisés Kaufman
- Published: September 11, 2001
- Genres: Plays, Nonfiction, Theatre, Drama
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Ever Faithful (Vintage National Parks #3)
- Author: Karen Barnett
- Published: June 1, 2019
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance, Fiction
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The Eagle Catcher (Wind River Reservation, #1)
- Author: Margaret Coel
- Published: January 1, 1995
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Mystery Thriller
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Spirit of Steamboat (Walt Longmire, #9.1)
- Author: Craig Johnson
- Published: October 17, 2013
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Audiobook
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Eruption (Supervolcano, #1)
- Author: Harry Turtledove
- Published: December 6, 2011
- Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Alternate History, Post Apocalyptic
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Angels Fall
- Author: Nora Roberts
- Published: July 11, 2006
- Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Fiction
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The Daily Coyote: Story of Love, Survival, and Trust In the Wilds of Wyoming
- Author: Shreve Stockton
- Published: January 1, 2008
- Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Memoir, Nature
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Endangered (Joe Pickett, #15)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: March 10, 2015
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Westerns, Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads
The Western Star (Walt Longmire, #13)
- Author: Craig Johnson
- Published: September 5, 2017
- Genres: Mystery, Westerns, Fiction, Audiobook
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The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains
- Author: Owen Wister
- Published: January 1, 1902
- Genres: Westerns, Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction
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Off the Grid (Joe Pickett, #16)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: March 8, 2016
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Westerns
- Read more on Goodreads