Yellowstone is back. It’s been almost two years since the Dutton family and their Yellowstone Ranch last graced TV screens, but this ranching crime family is ready for one more rodeo on Paramount starting this month.

The magnificent Kevin Costner, playing the family patriarch, has led the Duttons through elections, murders, lost cattle herds, and more. All members of the family have an extraordinary ability to survive and, most importantly, to suck in the viewers at home. The characters have truly become something of a cultural phenomenon, and if you don’t believe me, ask my sister to start sharing Beth Dutton memes with you on Instagram.

So if you just can’t get enough of Big Sky country, cattle, and crime, these reads are for you. Grab them on the Libby app to enjoy in between episodes.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Starting with an organized crime classic might seem like an odd choice as a recommendation for folks who enjoy a modern Western. But did you know that series creator, Taylor Sheridan, pitched the show as “The Godfather in Montana”? Honestly, once you know this, you can’t really unsee it. I mean, how brilliant is Beth Dutton as Sonny Corleone? And I’m total willing to accept Kevin Costner as a modern Western Marlon Brando. Wes Bentley’s character, Jamie, as a sort of reworked Tom Hagen, though, might be my favorite.

So, if what draws you most to Yellowstone is the complex family dynamic and their questionable relationship with the law, then your next stop really should be Puzo’s classic novel.

The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy

A more obvious inspiration for Yellowstone is Cormac McCarthy’s award-winning Border Trilogy. The series opens with All the Pretty Horses, where in 1949 John Grady Cole’s family ranch is sold upon the death of his grandfather and he heads to Mexico with his best friend to find work as cowboys.

The next book, The Crossing (which is Sheridan’s favorite McCarthy novel) features a new cast in the years before and during WWII. Once again, the story is set at the U.S./Mexico border, as a young cowboy tries to return a wolf to the mountains of Mexico.

In the final installment, Cities of the Plain, the casts from the first two books collide at an Alamogordo, New Mexico cattle ranch, for a story of friendship, land, and changing times.

The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson
🎧 Audiobook

Walt Longmire has been the sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming for 25 years when he first strolls onto the pages of The Cold Dish. Like John Dutton, Walt is a widower, but unlike Costner’s character, Walt is looking forward to retirement. But then Walt is suddenly confronted by the murder of a local man who, two years earlier, received only a suspended sentence for rape. Along with his deputy Victoria Moretti and lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, Walt has to not only solve this murder, but try to prevent the revenge killings of more young men who were involved in the rape.

And if you especially enjoy Walt and Henry’s dynamic, you’re going to love the prequel novella, Tooth and Claw, coming out Nov. 19. It finds the two men in an Alaskan adventure neither of them will forget shortly after their return from the Vietnam War.

Open Season by C. J. Box
🎧 Audiobook

If Walt Longmire just wants to retire soon, Joe Pickett is only getting started. (So, more Kayce Dutton than his dad, John.) And as the Duttons on Yellowstone are deeply entwined with the local Livestock Commission, Joe Pickett starts his series as a new Wyoming game warden. The main similarity between Walt and Joe is that they both want to do the right thing, whereas the Duttons are often looking to do what’s right for the family. In Open Season, Joe doesn’t just have to find who murdered a local hunting outfitter he’s had problems with over the years, but why the body was dumped in Joe’s backyard.

Things haven’t gotten easier for Joe over the years. In his most recent book, Three-Inch Teeth, things are extremely personal, as Joe investigates a rampaging grizzly bear and a recently released prisoner looking for revenge.

The Blessing Way by Tony and Anne Hillerman
🎧 Audiobook

One of the most beloved Western mystery series of all time began with Tony Hillerman’s introduction of Navajo Tribal police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. After 18 books and the author’s death in 2008, his daughter Anne picked up the series and added Jim Chee’s wife, Bernadette Manuelito, to the crime-fighting mix.

Earlier this year saw the release of Anne’s ninth book in the series, Lost Birds. Multiple cases weave together here, including Chee receiving a call from an old friend who mysteriously disappears after an explosion, a missing woman, and the hunt for the birth parents of an indigenous girl who was adopted as an infant.

It’s a book of twists and deep emotion that any Yellowstone fan could enjoy, especially those drawn to the multiple adoption storylines over the seasons.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle
🎧 Audiobook

For those particularly taken with the beautiful, if harsh, landscape of Yellowstone, this book is one for you to check out. The mysterious opening shows Adelaide Henry in 1915 leaving her home in California to homestead in Montana alone. All she’s taking with her is a heavy steamer trunk with secrets and danger locked inside.

Will Adelaide and her mystery find safety and peace in Montana? Well, it’s a horror novel, so there might be some difficulties and scares for her along the way! Luckily, Yellowstone fans will likely have the constitution for the more gruesome moments.

Winter in the Blood by James Welch
🎧 Audiobook

This classic of Native American literature began life as a poem, and yet the style is gorgeously simple and straightforward. Welch set his powerful debut novel on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana (where he spent much of his own childhood), and he tells the story of an unnamed young man searching for his own identity and meaning. Tragedy haunts the narrator, and yet there is beauty to be found in his connection to the past.

Yellowstone fans, particularly those drawn to the many storylines of reservation life, will appreciate this moving novel.

The Official Yellowstone Bar Book: 75 Cocktails to Enjoy After the Work's Done by Lex Taylor and Nathan Gurr
Release date: Nov. 26

As you’re watching this final season, you might find that you need a drink. If so, have I got the book for you!

Inspired by the original Yellowstone series, as well as the 1883 and 1923 prequel shows, this book has the sorts of cocktails any Dutton would be happy to sip. In addition to the cocktail recipes, the book also features insights into the characters and their drink preferences. The recipes offer a nice mix (pun slightly intended) of beers, shots, and cocktails, so you will be sure to find the right drink to quench your thirst. Cheers!

*Title availability may vary by library & region.

Now you’re ready to get back in the saddle for the latest Dutton shenanigans. And better yet, you’re ready to survive the withdrawal from horses, cowboy boots, and the most toxic family in Montana when the season wraps up.

Happy trails!

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