Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ice Hunter | 2001 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 2 | Blue Wolf In Green Fire | 2002 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 3 | Blue Wolf in Green Fire: A Woods Cop Mystery | 2019 | Joseph Heywood | N/A |
| 4 | Chasing a Blond Moon | 2003 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 5 | Running Dark | 2005 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 6 | Strike Dog | 2007 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 7 | Death Roe | 2008 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 8 | Shadow of the Wolf Tree | 2010 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 9 | Shadow of the Wolf Tree: A Woods Cop Mystery | 2010 | Joseph Heywood | N/A |
| 10 | Force of Blood | 2011 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 11 | Hard Ground | 2013 | Joseph Heywood | N/A |
| 12 | Killing a Cold One | 2013 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 13 | Killing a Cold One: A Woods Cop Mystery | 2013 | Joseph Heywood | N/A |
| 14 | Harder Ground | 2015 | Joseph Heywood | N/A |
| 15 | Buckular Dystrophy | 2016 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 16 | Bad Optics | 2018 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
| 17 | Out of Service | 2024 | Joseph Heywood | Buy |
The Woods Cop Mysteries are Joseph Heywood’s signature work, following conservation officer Grady Service through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula across seventeen novels. Service handles wildlife crimes — poaching, illegal logging, environmental violations — that routinely turn violent, making these mysteries as much about survival in the wilderness as detective work.
The series starts with Ice Hunter in 2001 and runs through Out of Service in 2024. Heywood’s authentic knowledge of the UP’s terrain, wildlife, and culture gives the books a specificity that outdoor fiction readers prize. Service is a complex, flawed protagonist whose personal struggles match the physical challenges of working in one of America’s last wild places.