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Colt Ryder Books in Order

Part ofJT Brannan Books in Order

See the Colt Ryder books in order by JT Brannan, with quick summaries, series background, and tips on where to start this long-running action series.

Last updated: July 3, 2026

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Colt Ryder books in publication order

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23 books

1

The Thousand Dollar Hunt

by JT Brannan

2015

A missing-person case leads Colt to a New Mexico safari park where rich men hunt more than animals. Soon, Colt becomes the prey in the reserve's deadliest game.

2

The Thousand Dollar Man

by JT Brannan

2015

Scarred by Iraq and Afghanistan and failed by the life he came home to, Colt Ryder becomes the Thousand Dollar Man, a drifter who helps the desperate for a flat fee. With Kane beside him, he turns survival into rough justice.

3

The Thousand Dollar Contract

by JT Brannan

2016

When a contract killing and a desperate client collide, Colt steps into a deadly job where every side is hiding something and walking away may be impossible.

4

The Thousand Dollar Escape

by JT Brannan

2016

A job that looks simple turns into a brutal fight for survival, with Colt and Kane trapped between desperate victims, armed enemies, and a scheme they were never meant to uncover.

5

The Thousand Dollar Breakout

by JT Brannan

2017

Inside San Quentin, Colt uncovers a savage underground fight club and a prison job gone wrong. To stop it, he has to survive the inmates, the guards, and the breakout itself.

6

The Thousand Dollar Murder

by JT Brannan

2017

A missing-person case leads Colt to a horrifying snuff-film operation. Exposing it means going deep into one of his darkest and most dangerous missions yet.

7

The Thousand Dollar Chase

by JT Brannan

2018

A pursuit across the American heartland pulls Colt into a case that keeps getting bigger. With Kane at his side, he has to stay one step ahead of killers and figure out who is really being hunted.

8

The Thousand Dollar Christmas

by JT Brannan

2018

The holiday season turns bloody when Colt takes on a winter job in a town full of fear and bad secrets. Christmas goodwill only lasts until the shooting starts.

9

The Thousand Dollar Team

by JT Brannan

2018

In a small Missouri town, Colt goes undercover at a chemical plant after a worker vanishes and his wife refuses to believe the official story. What he finds is bigger, dirtier, and deadlier than expected.

10

The Thousand Dollar Kidnap

by JT Brannan

2019

A kidnapping case drags Colt into a tense hunt where time matters and nobody can be trusted. Saving the victim means cutting through lies before the trail goes cold.

11

The Thousand Dollar Killers

by JT Brannan

2019

A trip to Las Vegas turns deadly when Colt and Kane are swept into a bloody mafia scheme. Sin City is the last place to relax when killers are closing in.

12

The Thousand Dollar Patriot

by JT Brannan

2020

A case touched by extremism and revenge forces Colt to ask what patriotism looks like when it turns violent. Helping the innocent means stepping into a national nightmare.

13

The Thousand Dollar Shot

by JT Brannan

2020

A shooting puts Colt on the trail of a dangerous enemy and a deeper conspiracy. With danger coming fast, he has to find the truth before the next shot lands.

14

The Thousand Dollar Triad

by JT Brannan

2020

When Colt crosses paths with a brutal Triad operation, he is pulled into a fight against organized crime with international reach. This time, the enemy is disciplined, ruthless, and very well connected.

15

The Thousand Dollar Feud

by JT Brannan

2021

A bitter feud is turning deadly, and the people caught in the middle have nowhere to turn but Colt. Old grudges and fresh blood make this one especially volatile.

16

The Thousand Dollar Heist

by JT Brannan

2021

What starts as a robbery story quickly becomes something messier and more violent. Colt has to untangle the setup before the heist claims more victims.

17

The Thousand Dollar Patient

by JT Brannan

2021

A hospital-linked mystery puts Colt up against people who are used to operating behind closed doors. To protect the vulnerable, he must expose the truth before one more patient disappears.

18

The Thousand Dollar Slave

by JT Brannan

2021

A plea for help leads Colt toward a modern slavery operation built on fear and silence. To bring anyone out alive, he has to hit the traffickers hard and fast.

19

The Thousand Dollar Target

by JT Brannan

2021

Someone is being hunted, and Colt arrives just in time to be caught in the crossfire. To keep his client alive, he has to find the hidden motive behind the target on their back.

20

The Thousand Dollar Touchdown

by JT Brannan

2021

Football money, local loyalties, and violence collide when Colt stumbles into a case tied to the game. Beneath the bright lights, someone is playing for keeps.

21

The Thousand Dollar Bullet

by JT Brannan

2022

A single bullet sets off a fast, dangerous investigation for Colt and Kane. To stop the next killing, Colt has to work out who pulled the trigger and why.

22

The Thousand Dollar Deal

by JT Brannan

2022

A shady deal with huge consequences draws Colt into another town's darkest business. The deeper he digs, the clearer it becomes that somebody will kill to protect it.

23

The Thousand Dollar Payback

by JT Brannan

2022

Revenge is in the air when Colt lands in the middle of a payback mission spiraling out of control. Justice and vengeance are not the same thing, and Colt has to prove it the hard way.

Colt Ryder books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Man"

    The Thousand Dollar Man

    by JT Brannan

    2015Colt Ryder, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Hunt"

    The Thousand Dollar Hunt

    by JT Brannan

    2015Colt Ryder, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Escape"

    The Thousand Dollar Escape

    by JT Brannan

    2016Colt Ryder, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Contract"

    The Thousand Dollar Contract

    by JT Brannan

    2016Colt Ryder, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Breakout"

    The Thousand Dollar Breakout

    by JT Brannan

    2017Colt Ryder, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Murder"

    The Thousand Dollar Murder

    by JT Brannan

    2017Colt Ryder, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Team"

    The Thousand Dollar Team

    by JT Brannan

    2018Colt Ryder, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Chase"

    The Thousand Dollar Chase

    by JT Brannan

    2018Colt Ryder, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Christmas"

    The Thousand Dollar Christmas

    by JT Brannan

    2018Colt Ryder, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Killers"

    The Thousand Dollar Killers

    by JT Brannan

    2019Colt Ryder, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Kidnap"

    The Thousand Dollar Kidnap

    by JT Brannan

    2019Colt Ryder, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Shot"

    The Thousand Dollar Shot

    by JT Brannan

    2020Colt Ryder, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Triad"

    The Thousand Dollar Triad

    by JT Brannan

    2020Colt Ryder, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Patriot"

    The Thousand Dollar Patriot

    by JT Brannan

    2020Colt Ryder, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Slave"

    The Thousand Dollar Slave

    by JT Brannan

    2021Colt Ryder, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Heist"

    The Thousand Dollar Heist

    by JT Brannan

    2021Colt Ryder, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Patient"

    The Thousand Dollar Patient

    by JT Brannan

    2021Colt Ryder, Book 17
  18. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Feud"

    The Thousand Dollar Feud

    by JT Brannan

    2021Colt Ryder, Book 18
  19. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Target"

    The Thousand Dollar Target

    by JT Brannan

    2021Colt Ryder, Book 19
  20. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Touchdown"

    The Thousand Dollar Touchdown

    by JT Brannan

    2021Colt Ryder, Book 20
  21. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Bullet"

    The Thousand Dollar Bullet

    by JT Brannan

    2022Colt Ryder, Book 21
  22. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Deal"

    The Thousand Dollar Deal

    by JT Brannan

    2022Colt Ryder, Book 22
  23. Book cover for "The Thousand Dollar Payback"

    The Thousand Dollar Payback

    by JT Brannan

    2022Colt Ryder, Book 23

Series background & context

The Colt Ryder books are built around a simple idea that gives Brannan a lot of room to play. Somewhere out on the roads of America, there is a man people call the Thousand Dollar Man. If someone is desperate enough, and can scrape together a thousand dollars, he might show up and solve the problem nobody else will touch.

That man is Colt Ryder.

Colt is a former soldier, battered by war and by what came after it. He drifts from town to town with his dog, Kane, carrying little, staying light, and stepping into other people's trouble. He is not a cop, not a detective, and not exactly a hired gun either. What he offers is closer to rough justice. If the law is corrupt, if the local authorities are scared, or if the victim has simply been ignored, Colt becomes the last option.

That setup gives the series its shape. Most books drop him into a new corner of the United States, often a small town or overlooked place where something ugly is festering under the surface. Sometimes the problem is a missing person. Sometimes it is trafficking, organized crime, a corrupt business, a violent feud, or a case that looks smaller than it really is. Colt usually starts with one frightened client and one question. From there, things get messy fast.

Kane matters more than just as a sidekick. The dog gives the books warmth, instinct, and a bit of quiet companionship for a hero who spends most of his life on the move. Colt is a lone wanderer, but he is not entirely alone, and the bond between the two helps keep the series grounded even when the action turns wild.

The tone is direct and fast. These are action thrillers, but the stakes are often personal rather than abstract. The people Colt helps are usually ordinary people trapped in frightening situations, and that gives the violence a more immediate feel. He is not trying to save the world. He is trying to save one person, one family, or one town at a time. That smaller scale is part of what makes the series work.

At the same time, the books do not stay small for long. Colt has a habit of uncovering systems, not just bad individuals. A straightforward job can open into something much larger, and a quiet place can turn into a battlefield before the story is over. If you like wandering-hero thrillers, lots of momentum, and a lead character who answers injustice with action, this is very much that kind of series.

Start with The Thousand Dollar Man. It lays out who Colt is, why he lives this way, and what kind of promise the series is making to the reader.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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