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John Treehorn Mystery Books in Order

Part ofDinah Miller Books in Order

Explore 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

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18 books

1

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.

2

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.

3

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.

4

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.

5

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.

6

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.

7

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.

8

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.

9

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.

10

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.

11

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.

12

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.

13

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.

14

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.

15

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.

16

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.

17
New

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.

18
New

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

  1. Book cover for "Shadow Dancer"

    Shadow Dancer

    by Dinah Miller

    2018John Treehorn Mystery, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Stolen Sisters"

    Stolen Sisters

    by Dinah Miller

    2018John Treehorn Mystery, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Bad Penny"

    Bad Penny

    by Dinah Miller

    2018John Treehorn Mystery, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Indian Posse"

    Indian Posse

    by Dinah Miller

    2019John Treehorn Mystery, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Devil's Doorbell"

    Devil's Doorbell

    by Dinah Miller

    2020John Treehorn Mystery, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Railroad Crossing"

    Railroad Crossing

    by Dinah Miller

    2020John Treehorn Mystery, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "The Hangman"

    The Hangman

    by Dinah Miller

    2021John Treehorn Mystery, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "The Stagecoach"

    The Stagecoach

    by Dinah Miller

    2021John Treehorn Mystery, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Tattoo You"

    Tattoo You

    by Dinah Miller

    2021John Treehorn Mystery, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "Peyote Coyote"

    Peyote Coyote

    by Dinah Miller

    2022John Treehorn Mystery, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Black Hat"

    Black Hat

    by Dinah Miller

    2023John Treehorn Mystery, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Grave Digger"

    Grave Digger

    by Dinah Miller

    2023John Treehorn Mystery, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Lady Justice"

    Lady Justice

    by Dinah Miller

    2024John Treehorn Mystery, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Marshal Air"

    Marshal Air

    by Dinah Miller

    2024John Treehorn Mystery, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Locked Room"

    Locked Room

    by Dinah Miller

    2024John Treehorn Mystery, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "Copy Cat"

    Copy Cat

    by Dinah Miller

    2025John Treehorn Mystery, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "Scorpion Weed"

    Scorpion Weed

    by Dinah Miller

    2026John Treehorn Mystery, Book 17
  18. Book cover for "Take Out"

    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.

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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