Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Stranger in Town | 2016 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 2 | Will Tanner | 2016 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 3 | Powder Burn | 2017 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 4 | Evil Never Sleeps | 2018 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 5 | Dig Your Own Grave | 2019 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 6 | Pray for Death | 2020 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 7 | The Violent Storm | 2022 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
The Will Tanner series follows a Deputy US Marshal working in Indian Territory during the late 1800s. Indian Territory, covering what is now Oklahoma, was one of the hardest places in America to enforce the law. Multiple tribal nations had their own governance, federal jurisdiction was murky, and outlaws from surrounding states routinely fled there to escape prosecution. For a deputy marshal operating in that environment, every assignment was a gamble.
Seven books were published between 2016 and 2022, giving the series room to develop both its main character and the world around him. A Stranger in Town and the self-titled Will Tanner get things started, and subsequent entries like Powder Burn, Evil Never Sleeps, Dig Your Own Grave, and Pray for Death send Tanner deeper into increasingly dangerous territory. J.A. Johnstone made good use of the Indian Territory setting, which provides complications that a standard Western town can’t match. Tanner has to navigate tribal politics, federal bureaucracy, and outlaw violence all at the same time, and that mix keeps the series fresh across its run.