Keith McCafferty Books In Order

Publication Order of Sean Stranahan Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Keith McCafferty is an award winning author that crafted a career out of writing and editing content about survival and the outdoors.

+Biography

For many people, Keith McCafferty is just another Vikings/Penguins Books author. Many of his fans are unaware of the work he has done with publications like ‘Mother Earth’ and ‘Fly Fisherman Magazine’, not to mention the ‘Chicago Tribune’.

Keith never sits still for long. He might tell you that he has a base in Montana, but the author is always trekking all over the world. If he isn’t finding adventure in the Himalayas, then do not be surprised to stumble upon Keith studying tigers in India. There’s a reason the author is always writing about diverse topics like mosquitoes, wolves and exorcisms. Keith McCafferty is a man of the world. He has seen so much and, as such, he has so much to write about, not only with regards to his nonfiction work but all the fiction novels he has produced over the years.

Keith McCafferty can trace his origins to the Southeastern area of Ohio. Growing up in the Appalachian hills, Keith’s childhood was spent outside. He was always tangled up in some shrub and playing with animals others would rather avoid. Concrete playgrounds held no appeal for the author.

It comes as little surprise that Keith became a man of the outdoors. Age hasn’t stopped the author from fishing, hiking and studying snakes to the extreme; though, the snake part doesn’t amuse his newspaper journalist wife.

Writing has always been in Keith’s blood, and it is no wonder that the author’s son is just as creatively gifted, with Tom having shown an affinity for art, writing and cooking. Along with his other child, a daughter that works as a school teacher and counselor, Keith McCafferty’s family has always allowed him to indulge in his bizarre passions. They didn’t bat an eye when he adopted a feral cat that had lost its ear tips to frostbite, or when he took to caring for a couple of birds whose nest had been destroyed.

It’s worth noting that Keith’s interests are more than just idle passion. The author was a student of Duke University where he acquired a degree in Zoology. Though, it was Michigan University that allowed the author to hone his skills as a writer as he pursued his Master’s in Journalism.

Keith did a lot of odd jobs before settling into his career as a writer. Though, for Keith, cleaning out rat cages in college was probably more of an adventure. And the author enjoyed his fair share of adventure even before he began traveling, whether he was playing poker in abandoned railroad cars or working for a highways department as a driller.

Keith’s path as a writer began to take shape when he started writing articles for magazines on his particular interests. Keith must have written over a thousand articles before he finally sat down to produce his first book.

Keith initially dabbled in nonfiction work. He wrote handbooks and guides on various outdoor activities. His first attempt at writing fiction produced ‘The Royal Wuff Murders’. The book was a big hit, not only garnering the praise of professional authors like C.J. Box and Henry Winkler but also receiving a Publisher’s Weekly Red Star review.

At the time that the idea for ‘The Royal Wuff Murders’ came to him, Keith was in the mountains trying to survive a winter night for an assignment. While he trembled and his teeth chattered and he pulled his scrap of tarp tighter, it occurred to Keith McCafferty that freezing to death was hardly the best method in the world to earn a living.

And when he thought about it, Keith realized that if he had his ways, he would rather be at a French café in Montana writing a novel while eating chocolate and taking a delicious cup of coffee. Not only would it be warmer but Keith would appreciate being much closer to civilization.

That idea sprouted into a desire that the author eventually pursued until it became his first novel. And he quickly followed it up with another mystery thriller, and this one made it to Oprah’s Book Club, with Oprah describing it as an addictive beautifully written novel.

Despite the critical success of his novels, Keith hasn’t completely given up on the outdoors. However, he appreciates the fact that he doesn’t have to expose his body to the dangerous extremes of the wild just to make a living. The author still loves fishing and always has a fly rod on hand.

+The Royal Wuff Murders

Martha Ettinger is a Sherriff with a murder on her hands. The body of a young man was discovered on the Madison and reeled in by a fishing guide. Martha knows the young man was murdered because he has a Royal Wuff trout fly in his lower lip and a stick in his eye.

Stranahan was once a private detective. But, like his marriage, he left that lackluster career behind and now lives as a fly fisherman and painter. When Velvet Lafayette comes to Stranahan for help in finding her missing brother, the private detective is intrigued.

The strongest aspect of this book, the first from Keith McCafferty, is the characters. Stranahan and Ettinger are very distinct people. There is an attraction between them but Keith avoids the silliness of instant love that often permeates books like this.

It takes the mystery a while to get going. Keith takes his time describing locations and building a sense of place. He also injects a lot of humor into the story.

+The Gray Ghost Murders

When Sheriff Martha Ettinger is called to the sight of two graves on Sphinx Mountain, she concludes from the hole in one of the skulls that the two men were murdered. However, she cannot find any clues on hand to prove her theory, so she reaches out to private investigator Sean Stranahan.

Sean is already on another job, having been hired by a fishing club to find a valuable fly that was stolen. It occurs to him that his case and Martha’s dead bodies could be connected in some way.

8 Responses to “Keith McCafferty”

1. DaveMills: 5 months ago

   I’m a 91 year Montanan hanging on to an Island off the coast of Maine which is what I deserve for marrying a woman from New Jersey. So reading these books takes me back to fly fishing around Bozeman during WW two with my Dad a faculty member at MSC(U). Thanks

   Reply
2. Edward Nentwig: 6 months ago

   A lifelong 4-5 gen true Montana I am sending my best thanks to Keith for making my days reading his heartfelt stories round the wood stove cup in hand it doesn’t get any better n this-thanks so much.

   Reply
3. Jay Martin: 6 months ago

   I’m starting to reread his novels. His way of expression is so hip and I have to slow down to make sure I got it. Outdoor knowledge and love is unrivaled. Great sense of humor and wit. I can enjoy and learn at the same time. Please keep cranking them out.

   Reply
4. Doug Goodwin: 1 year ago

   Just started reading Keith’s books after reading all of CJ Box, Craig Johnson and William Kent Krueger. Have read 3 of Sean Stranahan so far and cannot wait to read the rest of this series as well as all of his published works.
   Thank you, Keith for your great skills, knowledge and talent.

   Doug

   Reply
5. JoCaldwell: 1 year ago

   It’s 2022, I have read and reread all the books. Is there a possibility of a new release?

   Reply
6. Paulette E. Copple: 3 years ago

   I have bought and read all of Keith’s Stranahan novels and eagerly await another. I figured any author recommended by C. J. Box was worth a try, and was not disappointed in the least. C.J. Box, Craig Johnson, and McCafferty are always on my list of “must reads” right along with Grisham, Baldacci, and Iles.

   Reply
7. Charles Steffler: 3 years ago

   Any novel planned for 2021? I thought Keith had a new one coming out in August 2021

   Reply
   • Graeme: 3 years ago

     Last update I see from him was in April stating that he sent a book into his agent. Nothing released this year yet though.

     Reply