John Treehorn Mystery Books in Order
Part ofDinah Miller Books in OrderExplore the John Treehorn Mystery series by Dinah Miller, with books in order, concise summaries, background, and a clear place to begin.
Last updated: July 14, 2026
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John Treehorn Mystery books in publication order
18 books
Bad Penny
by Dinah Miller
2018
This short mystery finds John Treehorn investigating the murder of an Indian Posse gang member. Two bullets, conflicting fingerprints, and witnesses who refuse to talk leave him to untangle who committed the crime and who will answer for it.
Shadow Dancer
by Dinah Miller
2018
FBI Agent John Treehorn returns to the Navajo Reservation when new evidence revives a long-buried federal crime. A missing prep-school leader, an old murder, and a feared legend force him to face the past he has never escaped.
Stolen Sisters
by Dinah Miller
2018
A wolf uncovers a frozen hand holding an FBI badge and a final request for John Treehorn. In an isolated oil boomtown, his search for a murdered engineer merges with Raven Shelley's hunt for a missing woman.
Indian Posse
by Dinah Miller
2019
Two bodies marked by the Indian Posse gang lead John Treehorn to a stolen weapons cache and a murdered Navajo police deputy. The deeper he digs, the more a powerful man tries to control a case tied to Treehorn's oldest failure.
Devil's Doorbell
by Dinah Miller
2020
A priest and his housekeeper are killed in a small upstate New York town, and the priest's private confession diary disappears. John Treehorn joins state police to connect the murders to a cold case and a secret the Church wants buried.
Railroad Crossing
by Dinah Miller
2020
John Treehorn investigates the murder of a psychiatrist on the Navajo Reservation who treated military veterans with PTSD. As the case turns deadly, old memories and the lasting pain of survival close in on both investigator and killer.
Tattoo You
by Dinah Miller
2021
In this short mystery, John Treehorn and a hired gun pursue a counterfeiter east of the Navajo Nation. One wants the criminal brought to justice, while the other wants a more permanent kind of reckoning.
The Hangman
by Dinah Miller
2021
John Treehorn investigates a group of twelve people who helped convict an innocent man. Now someone is hunting them one by one, and the surviving conspirators must decide whether telling the truth is safer than waiting for the killer.
The Stagecoach
by Dinah Miller
2021
John Treehorn investigates the murders of an ex-Pinkerton detective and a Wells Fargo client carrying bank bonds and a black book. Witness-protection disappearances and cartel connections deepen the case, while answers about Treehorn's late wife may finally surface.
Peyote Coyote
by Dinah Miller
2022
FBI Special Agents John Treehorn and Benjamin Latimer search southern Arizona for a missing teenager. When a cartel-linked body appears on the Navajo Nation and a double murder follows, the investigation forces Treehorn to confront truths buried in his own past.
Black Hat
by Dinah Miller
2023
Former residents of a condemned condominium complex believe their past crimes vanished with the rubble. When a figure called the skinwalker begins closing in, John Treehorn arrives with his badge and makes clear that buried wrongdoing still has consequences.
Grave Digger
by Dinah Miller
2023
A flooded cemetery exposes the skeletal remains of a murdered child in an unmarked grave. John Treehorn and Benjamin Latimer follow the few clues left behind, searching for an identity, a killer, and long-delayed answers for a family.
Lady Justice
by Dinah Miller
2024
A staged murder-suicide puts John Treehorn and Benjamin Latimer on the trail of a killer targeting people tied to a protected witness. As the case develops, Treehorn makes a choice that tests the moral limits of wearing a badge.
Locked Room
by Dinah Miller
2024
John Treehorn and Benjamin Latimer investigate the death of a famous author found in his locked writing studio. An inconclusive autopsy and a valuable estate leave the agents sorting through suspects, motives, and one crucial clue.
Marshal Air
by Dinah Miller
2024
When a plane piloted by the president's son vanishes over the Navajo Nation, John Treehorn and Benjamin Latimer join the Secret Service and U.S. Marshals. Political pressure rises after they learn a Mesa Cartel figure was aboard.
Copy Cat
by Dinah Miller
2025
An inmate keeps writing to claim he was wrongly convicted, and the FBI director orders John Treehorn to reopen the case. The review puts Treehorn's partner, Benjamin "Shady" Latimer, under scrutiny for possible misconduct during the original arrest.
Scorpion Weed
by Dinah Miller
2026
John Treehorn and Benjamin Latimer investigate the death of a Navajo Border Patrol agent outside a business employing undocumented workers. A mass grave reveals victims killed with military precision, raising fears that a serial killer is hiding within immigration enforcement.
Take Out
by Dinah Miller
2026
This later John Treehorn Mystery returns FBI Special Agents John Treehorn and Benjamin Latimer to the series' ongoing world of difficult investigations, strained loyalties, and the pursuit of justice in cases linked to the American Southwest.
John Treehorn Mystery books in chronological order

Shadow Dancer
by Dinah Miller
2018John Treehorn Mystery, Book 1
Stolen Sisters
by Dinah Miller
2018John Treehorn Mystery, Book 2
Bad Penny
by Dinah Miller
2018John Treehorn Mystery, Book 3
Indian Posse
by Dinah Miller
2019John Treehorn Mystery, Book 4
Devil's Doorbell
by Dinah Miller
2020John Treehorn Mystery, Book 5
Railroad Crossing
by Dinah Miller
2020John Treehorn Mystery, Book 6
The Hangman
by Dinah Miller
2021John Treehorn Mystery, Book 7
The Stagecoach
by Dinah Miller
2021John Treehorn Mystery, Book 8
Tattoo You
by Dinah Miller
2021John Treehorn Mystery, Book 9
Peyote Coyote
by Dinah Miller
2022John Treehorn Mystery, Book 10
Black Hat
by Dinah Miller
2023John Treehorn Mystery, Book 11
Grave Digger
by Dinah Miller
2023John Treehorn Mystery, Book 12
Lady Justice
by Dinah Miller
2024John Treehorn Mystery, Book 13
Marshal Air
by Dinah Miller
2024John Treehorn Mystery, Book 14
Locked Room
by Dinah Miller
2024John Treehorn Mystery, Book 15
Copy Cat
by Dinah Miller
2025John Treehorn Mystery, Book 16
Scorpion Weed
by Dinah Miller
2026John Treehorn Mystery, Book 17
Take Out
by Dinah Miller
2026John Treehorn Mystery, Book 18
Series background & context
The John Treehorn Mystery series follows FBI Special Agent John Treehorn, a man whose job and personal history often pull him in different directions. Treehorn is half Navajo and half white, and he investigates federal crimes while carrying ties to the Navajo Nation and the communities around it. He is used to working with the rules of the Bureau, but he also knows that a badge does not settle every question of responsibility, memory, or justice.
That tension is at the heart of the series.
The opening novel, Shadow Dancer, sends Treehorn back to the reservation to examine a cold case and the disappearance of a prep-school leader. The investigation brings him face-to-face with an old trauma and a legend that some people would rather blame than confront the human crimes beneath it. From there, the books build a continuing story around Treehorn's past, his work, and the people who have reasons to trust him, fear him, or keep secrets from him.
The settings move around the Southwest and beyond. Readers visit the Navajo Nation, border country near southern Arizona, isolated oil towns, New Mexico, and upstate New York. Place matters in these books. A case may involve a rural community where everyone knows one another, a reservation where federal and local authority overlap, or a town whose economic troubles have made people dependent on the wrong person. The landscape is not just scenery. It affects how information travels, who has power, and what can stay hidden.
Treehorn is joined at different points by fellow agents Benjamin "Shady" Latimer and Raven Shelley, along with Parker Greyhorse and other recurring figures. Their relationships change over time, so publication order is the most rewarding way to read. The main novels tell complete cases, while the shorter books, such as Bad Penny, Railroad Crossing, Tattoo You, Grave Digger, and Locked Room, add character moments, backstory, and cases that connect to the wider arc.
The tone is tough, serious, and adult. The crimes can involve missing people, murder, trafficking, corruption, addiction, and the harm left by old violence. Several books include graphic material. But the series does not treat its victims as mere clues. Treehorn's driving belief is that a victim should not be forgotten, and that idea shapes the way he approaches even the most politically messy investigation.
These are mysteries with ongoing consequences.
If you enjoy crime series where the personal stakes keep building, start with Shadow Dancer. It establishes Treehorn's world, his history, and the uneasy balance between law enforcement, community loyalty, and the search for truth. After that, each new case gives the reader another piece of the larger picture.
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