A.B. Guthrie, Jr. Books In Order

Publication Order of Sheriff Chick Charleston Mysteries Books

Publication Order of The Big Sky Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

A.B. Guthrie, Jr. is an American author of fiction. His full name is Arthur Bertram Guthrie, Junior. He was born in 1901 and passed away in 1991. He was not only an American novelist when it comes to western fiction and has also worked in the industry as a screenwriter.

While A.B. Guthrie, Jr. grew up reading books, he also tried his hand at writing in high school. He went on and would major in journalism. After that he was working at a job that he would go on to hold for 22 years before writing a novel, working at the Lexington Leader. He started writing fiction on his afternoons off and would eventually get his first novel published, called Murders at Moon Dance, which was released in 1943 and is a western mystery.

He is also the author of the Sheriff Chick Charleston series. This series begins with the debut novel Wild Pitch, which came out in 1973. A.B. Guthrie followed this up with the sequel Wild Pitch and then after came the Genuine Article, the fourth novel No Second Wind, Playing Catch-up, and 1988’s Murder in the Cotswolds, which would be his official last fiction novel released after a lifetime of accolades, fans, and published work. His official last nonfiction novel was the book A Field Guide to Writing Fiction.

He also wrote many fictional novels after his first standalone was released, like The Big Sky, his third book Twenty-Six Years After, and 1949’s The Way West. The Way West ended up getting him the award for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. A.B.Guthrie was also nominated for his screenplay for the film Shane for an Academy Award. The movie was based on Jack Shaefer’s novel Shane.

Kentucky was another of his fictional novels, and he wrote a few more that were released during the fifties. He would see three of his novels released in the seventies; Arfive, One Upon a Pond, and The Lost Valley. Fair Land, Fair Land and Four Miles from Ear Mountain were released during the eighties. He has also contributed to the collection The Big It in 1960.

A.B. Guthrie, Jr., has also composed four nonfiction novels during his life. The first was released in 1965 is titled The Blue Hen’s Chick. The second is titled Big Sky, Fair Land and was released in 1989. Images from the Great West came out in 1990 and one year later a topic on writing came out in the novel A Field Guide to Writing Fiction.

Wild Pitch is the first in the Sheriff Chick Charleston series. It was released in 1973. When Buster Hogue is actually shot while attending the annual town picnic, there are plenty of reasons why it could have been done. Many people had the motive to shoot Buster and many people in town disliked him. It wouldn’t be hard to find several people that may have wished him death or injury thanks to the personal grudges that they hold against him.

So a lot of people don’t like Buster, but who actually was the one who shot him? Not every citizen would be just willing to pony up their freedom just for the chance to try and kill him. Even if many people think that he should die, who had the brazen courage to actually try and go and make it happen? With so many individuals with grudges against Buster but no clues as to who may have pulled the trigger, it’s looking like they’re never going to find out what happened.

They need evidence to try and figure things out. Chick Charleston works as a sheriff in a small town in Montana. But even he doesn’t really have the experience with cases like these. The county hasn’t really had homicidal cases or incidents for decades. So they don’t have the equipment or the staff that are used to dealing with murder mysteries. However, Charleston has a unique ability to be suited to these types of cases thanks to his patience, persistence, quick eye for detail, and understanding of how people operate.

He has a good sense of humor and knows how to do his job. Small town or not, Chick is up for solving this murder. He isn’t working alone as he has Jason Beard working as his assistant. This 17-year-old is the perfect Watson to his Holmes and the young detective not only takes notes but helps him in his cases and thinking over different aspects of the murder with this particularly troubling case.

This funny first novel in the series is chock full of suspense and mystery! Set in the west, you’ll love watching Chick Charleston take on cases along with his sidekick Jason. Jason is a narrator and the many characters in this unique town make this murder mystery a very interesting read indeed. Can they track down the killer? Pick up this novel and see for yourself!

The Genuine Article is the second in the Sheriff series, and it was released in 1977. Chick Charleston is back in this gripping sequel to the first novel in the mystery series of novels. There are many people in the town of Midbury that liked their neighbor F.Y. Grimsley. He was a rancher that had 500 cattle and 20,000 acres to his name. That’s a lot of wealth in terms of assets and a big industry to be in. Everyone is shocked when he’s found dead with a gash on his head on his back doorstep.

It’s up to Chief Chick Charleston and his fellow detectives to find out who did it. They are helped by the Deputy Jason Beard who grew up nearby and has been going to college for two years and waiting to go into the real world. Jason works with the small community to find out who did it through their investigations, which will take them through gossip, speculation, and even some local prejudice.

With pressure from their bosses and enduring some gritty characters along the way, Jason and Chick just get answers. Things are about to get worse– a second body is found. That’s when things really start to get out of control. With relations spiraling between the law, the town, and the local Indian reservation, they’ve got to find the killer and restore peace to the area. The Genuine Article is what its title suggests, and if you want to find out how it ends, grab yourself a copy and find out!