The Brothers McKay by Craig Johnson

 

First Line: It wasn't so much of a surprise that Pepper McKay was dead as much as it was an amazement to everyone in the county that it had taken so long for him to die, or for somebody to kill him.

When Pepper McKay is found murdered on his ranch in Crazy Woman Canyon, suspects aren't in short supply-- he was one of the most hated men in Absaroka County. But Sheriff Walt Longmire quickly focuses on the people who attended a family meeting the night before his death. Those people? His very different sons: a charmer, a journalist, a monk, and a half-Native ranch hand. Each had a motive. Each insists he's innocent.

In no time at all, Walt is pulled into a web of old grudges and secrets. Then a second body turns up, and a wildfire roars through Crazy Woman Canyon, trapping Walt and making him fight for his life as the killer and the fire close in.

~

I have been a lover of Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire mysteries since the very first one, The Cold Dish, but even this diehard fan has to admit that, in the last few books, when Walt seriously began contemplating his mortality and his future, the spark that makes this series so special has been slowly flickering out. In the case of The Brothers McKay, maybe it's because I wasn't impressed by the author this book was inspired by. After reading Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, I knew he wasn't the writer for me, and my "underwhelm-ment" might have passed on to Johnson's book. Who knows?

But no matter how much I wasn't impressed by the storyline, I can always find something to enjoy in a Walt Longmire book. The wildfire scene is excellent. I was completely drawn in and even thought I could smell smoke in the house as I read. Johnson also manages to throw in one or two new characters for me to fall in love with. This time, it's Maxim Sidorov, a Russian whose English often made me smile. The other character? A mule named Borax. What an animal!

The end of The Brothers McKay promises readers that unfinished business will take Walt to the ends of the earth. It sounds like we're going to need to fasten our seatbelts. 

The Brothers McKay by Craig Johnson

eISBN: 9780593830741

Viking © 2026

eBook, 368 pages

Police Procedural, #22 Walt Longmire

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

Return to Sender by Craig Johnson

 

First Line: "Nobody smiles anymore."

The longest postal route in the country is in the Red Desert of Wyoming, and it covers over three hundred miles a day. When Blair McGowan, the person responsible for that route, goes missing, there's a lot of territory to cover to try to find her. Who does the Postal Inspector for the State of Wyoming turn to? Sheriff Walt Longmire, who poses as a mail carrier to follow her trail. 

The trail eventually leads to a cult living out in the Red Desert, and Walt finds himself right up to his neck in intrigue.

~

I always enjoy any time that I spend with Walt Longmire, and Return to Sender is no exception-- especially since every time I picked up the book and looked at the cover, my favorite Elvis Presley song began playing in my mind.

Once again, author Craig Johnson brings another section of Wyoming to life. This time, the Red Desert, the largest living dune system in the United States. Walt is pretty much solo as he goes undercover as a mail carrier. Only Dog accompanies him in a rather unique mode of transport: an old Travelall.

Return to Sender is filled with Johnson's trademark humor ("Benny, the walking skid mark"), and Walt is carrying something with him that may shock longtime fans. As he works to find the missing Blair McGowan, he meets several characters that I wish I could see again, like World War II Polish Resistance fighter, Mrs. Wasserstein. The story is filled with twists and turns that kept me smiling.

Walt is still debating whether or not he should retire, and he's not helped any when he's put right in the middle of someone else's choice. What's he going to decide to do? I'm looking forward to finding out in the next book.

Return to Sender by Craig Johnson

ISBN:  9780593830703

Viking © 2025

Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #21 Walt Longmire

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

January Reading Round-Up

 

Today (Monday) is one of those days when it would seem everyone is beating a path to our door. While I'm waiting on various people to show up, what better time to share some of the books I've read?  Once again, these are shorter reviews. I've included links to Amazon US in the titles in case you'd like to learn more. 

 

Let's get started!

 

 

Against the Grain by Peter Lovesey

Review copy courtesy of Net Galley.

384 pages

Rating: A

 

My Thoughts: This finale of Lovesey's long-running series was a satisfying conclusion. Faced with a holiday in the country that he doesn't want, Peter Diamond tries everything in the book (including his elderly cat) to avoid going. Resistance is futile. Once there, he finds himself experiencing all sorts of country life as well as using a bit of what he calls the "Columbo Method of Detection" to help out a former colleague.

 

I was in just the right mood for this humorous excursion in the country to solve a nicely twisted mystery.

 
 

Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson

208 pages

Rating: A+

 

My Thoughts: A prequel to the Walt Longmire series, this was one of my Best Reads of 2024. Walt and his best friend, Henry Standing Bear, have returned from military service in Vietnam. Working for an oil company in the bitter cold of an Alaskan winter, they find themselves facing a ferocious polar bear, and the creature seems hell-bent on their destruction.

 

Tooth and Claw is a rip-roaring pageturner. Although Johnson has often thought of "thrillers as mysteries with lobotomies," he sure knows how to write one (minus the surgical procedure)! There's a feeling of dislocation for both Walt and Henry now that they're back in the U.S.  Johnson has his usual solid cast of characters as well as a blizzard where they and other members of the oil company crew have to take shelter on a ghost ship. If that's not enough to make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, there's that polar bear. The creature would make anyone's blood run cold. It's terrifying, it's supernatural... and while it scared the pudding out of me, I still felt sorry for it. Now that's a combination of emotions that's almost impossible to pull off, but Johnson does it with aplomb.

A Flower in the Desert by Walter Satterthwait

336 pages

Rating: B+

My Thoughts: I first came to Walter Satterthwait's writing through Miss Lizzie, his historical mystery featuring Lizzie Borden. Soon thereafter, I found his Joshua Croft private investigator series set in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A Flower in the Desert is the third book.

The mystery about a movie star wanting to hire Croft to find his missing wife and daughter is solid. Joshua Croft reminds me of Todd Borg's Owen McKenna in that he, too, is willing to be in a relationship on the woman's terms, even if those terms are contrary to his own desires. Croft has an irreverent sense of humor that often gets him into difficulty (asking an extremely difficult motel clerk, "Were you ever in the Wehrmacht?")

The mysteries are good, the characters are good, and Satterthwait's poetic descriptions of Santa Fe and the surrounding area bring the landscape to life. The next book in the series is waiting for me patiently.

Red, Green or Murder by Steven F. Havill

283 pages

Rating: B+

 

My Thoughts: Steven Havill's long-running Posadas County series never disappoints. He brings a fictional county in southwestern New Mexico to life with a phenomenal cast headed by former Sheriff Bill Gastner. 

 

Gastner is now a livestock inspector. On the Torrance Ranch, he's counting a small herd of cattle and thinking ahead to lunch in town with an old friend. But a breeze kicks up, a horse spooks, and he's taking a badly injured cowboy in the back of his SUV to meet an ambulance. He's barely back in town when Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman asks for his help in investigating an unattended death. Gastner's friend had gone ahead and eaten lunch... and died of an apparent heart attack. But something's not right.

 

To make matters even worse, the herd of cattle Gastner counted is wandering down the highway with no sign of the cowpuncher or his boss's $40,000 truck and livestock trailer. 

The mysteries concerning the theft of the vehicles and the death of Gastner's friend are fast-paced and absorbing. That's nothing new for this series. And neither is the fact that Havill is a master at creating and nurturing a cast of characters that grows and changes. Insomniac Gastner is older, has health problems, and his role in the series has changed, but he's gathered around him people like Estelle Reyes-Guzman who have become his extended family. Their lives have been woven seamlessly into this series that deserves to be much better known than it is.

~

Have I caught up with my reviews? Nope. That just means that you'll be hearing from me again, doesn't it? Next week, I hope to tell you a bit about some of the books I'm looking forward to-- there's a bunch! I'd also like to put together a link round-up. We shall see. If everything goes to plan, Denis and I will be going to the Phoenix Zoo, so there will be photos from that to share as well. I just may have to blog more frequently, eh?

First Frost by Craig Johnson

 

First Line: "You're too big to surf."

 

It's the summer of 1964 and recent college graduates Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear have enlisted to serve in the Vietnam War. Catching a few final waves in California before reporting for duty, a sudden storm capsizes a nearby boat, and Walt and Henry rescue some of the crew. Unfortunately, the boat was carrying valuable contraband, and the police are reluctant to turn Walt and Henry loose. But they finally do, and the two young men head east on Route 66. They have a date with the military.

Back in the present day, Walt is forced to speak before a judge concerning the fatal events of The Longmire Defense. It doesn't take the sheriff long to realize that he's got some powerful enemies lurking behind the scenes. 

These are two pivotal moments in Walt Longmire's life. Moments in which he stands in the crossfire of good and evil, of law and anarchy, and of compassion and cruelty.

~

When Vic Moretti starts cleaning out Walt's basement and finds a battered surfboard, it's the perfect beginning to the dual timeline tale of First Frost. Although the present-day timeline concerning Walt being questioned about the events in The Longmire Defense is important to his future, it's the treat of seeing Walt and Henry Standing Bear as young men that steals the show. 

Who wouldn't want to see these two on a road trip traveling Route 66, and where else should they be stranded than in the Middle-of-Nowhere, Arizona? Stranding Walt and Henry at the location of an old World War II Japanese internment camp lets Craig Johnson bring out a stellar cast of the weird, the downtrodden, and the deadly, and I relished meeting every one of them. 

Although Walt is still at a crossroads in his life, First Frost is also a return to some of the things longtime fans love the series for. There's Undersheriff Vic Moretti at her mouthy best and Henry Standing Bear, side by side with Walt, for example. I'm hoping that we'll get to see more of these two as young men, but who knows what Johnson has in store for us?

 

Characters, setting, story... Johnson is a master at all three. Moreover, he's also a master of the descriptive phrase that can really grab me. "...cruising away in the school of traffic like a killer whale." "...the hand that had reached up to me in the darkness like a flower breaking from the dark earth." "His eyes came up above the sunglasses again, dark, like swirling drains." 

I'm still smiling after finishing this latest installment in the life of my favorite sheriff, and once again, I'm waiting impatiently for the next. Boy howdy.

First Frost by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780593830673

Viking © 2024

Hardcover, 336 pages

 

Police Procedural, #20 Walt Longmire

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

The Longmire Defense by Craig Johnson

 

First Line: "Where have you been?"

 

When Sheriff Walt Longmire takes Dog on a routine search and rescue in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, Dog finds a gun that plunges Longmire into a cold case with ties to his infamous-- and uncompromising-- grandfather, Lloyd Longmire.

 

~

 

I've been a cheerleader for Craig Johnson and Walt Longmire since the first book in the series, The Cold Dish, was published. However, no matter how much I love these books, there's always going to be one that, for one reason or another, falls a bit flat, and The Longmire Defense was that book for me. Now it's time for me to get down to the why.

Yes, it was great to see Walt back home after all the wandering he'd done in previous books. Yes, it was great to see Ruby and Henry and Vic again, but-- once again-- after making initial appearances, both Henry and Vic (especially Vic) fade from the scene. The Longmire Defense is really a book that centers around Walt's daughter and granddaughter, which leads me to my favorite part of the entire book: seeing Walt as a besotted grandpa.

The cold case involving Walt's grandfather was intriguing and kept me guessing, but it was also at the heart of why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I have others in the series. Walt and his grandfather, Lloyd, had a problematic relationship. I could've used more background on their relationship for me to understand Walt's behavior better. Walt has always been one of the most fair-minded law enforcement characters in crime fiction, but he seemed convinced that his grandfather was guilty of murder. Consequently, he kept looking for evidence proving Lloyd Longmire was guilty, which is diametrically opposed to the Walt Longmire I've known and loved for years. Perhaps this was meant to prove that Walt is human, not ten feet tall and bulletproof, but I've always known that so I didn't need convincing.

When all is said and done, I may have been a mite disappointed with Walt in The Longmire Defense, but it certainly doesn't have any effect on my anticipation for the next book in the series. Bring it on!

The Longmire Defense by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780593297315

Viking © 2023

Hardcover, 368 pages

 

Police Procedural, #19 Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

Hell and Back by Craig Johnson

 

First Line: There was the sound of bells and then the silence-- the kind of quiet that only comes with snow, capturing the soundwaves of life and smothering them before they can cry out.

 

Fort Pratt, Montana has an unhappy history. In 1896, thirty Native American boys died in a boarding school fire there, and it's where Sheriff Walt Longmire wakes up, lying in the middle of the street with his sheepskin coat frozen to the ground.

Why is he in Fort Pratt? Why is he covered in blood? Why is there a bullet missing from his gun? The sweatband in his hat has a name printed on it, but... who's Walt Longmire?

And why does everyone he meets in town seem so familiar?

~

If you pick up Hell and Back and think you're about to enjoy the usual Walt Longmire mystery, think again. Open this book, and you're in the Twilight Zone. 

I found Hell and Back to be perfect reading for the Halloween season, because as Walt begins to roam the streets of Fort Pratt in order to find answers to all the questions swimming around in his head, I was getting creeped out. This is the type of book that a reviewer can't say much about without giving things away, but I will say this: (1) if you haven't read all the books in the series, you're going to be confused, and (2) if you're not a fan of Native American mysticism, dream sequences, and the fact that Henry Standing Bear and Vic Moretti only make cameo appearances, you might want to give this one a miss.

This is a very different Longmire novel, and I liked exploring this departure. I also admire Johnson for his bravery because something tells me he has a lot of fans who are not going to be happy-- to the point where they get their flaming torches and sharpened pitchforks and head to Ucross, Wyoming. 

What's going to be very interesting is finding out where Craig Johnson takes Walt next. I look forward to finding out.

Hell and Back by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780593297285

Viking © 2022

Hardcover, 352 pages

 

Thriller/Suspense, #18 Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson

 

First Line: "Play me."

 

When basketball phenom Jaya Long, niece of Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long, begins receiving death threats, Chief Long asks Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire for help. Bringing along Henry Standing Bear as backup, Walt travels up to Lame Deer, Montana, where he learns that Jaya's older sister disappeared the previous year, undoubtedly a victim of the scourge of missing and murdered Native American women in the U.S.

 

Lolo is hoping that Walt's presence will bring more public attention to Jaya's plight, but what she doesn't realize is that she's also inadvertently placed the sheriff in a one-on-one situation with what may be his deadliest adversary in this world or the next.

 

~

 

A year without a new tale from Craig Johnson is a year with no sunshine as far as I'm concerned, so I was glad to hear of his latest book. When I learned that one of the focuses of Daughter of the Morning Star is the horrendous scourge of missing and murdered Native American women, I couldn't wait to read it; I knew that Johnson would have something important to say about that, and he does.

 

What he also does is pay homage to bookstores by having Walt walk into PAPER TALK, talk with the owner, and walk out with just the book he needs to shed some light on his little unofficial investigation. One of the things this investigation of his uncovers is a bit of Native American supernatural folklore, the Éveohtsé-heómėse, the Wandering Without, the description of which makes the hair stand on the back of my neck. It is...

 

"...a collection of lost souls that hunger for the living. The outcasts banished from the tribes over the centuries-- the murderers, the mad, the deranged who were driven off to die in the wilderness."  

 

"...like all carnivores, it culls the herd, preying on the sad and lonely, those living in its hunting ground on the outskirts of humanity."

 

Daughter of the Morning Star also touches on something else that I hope is discussed more in the next book, the fact that some of the Indian boarding schools were so tragedy-ridden that they were removed from the history books. Walt's work is not done at the end of this book, so I shall have to wait and see what happens in the next.

 

This latest Longmire mystery has all the touches we've come to expect and to love. New characters like Betty One Moon make appearances, Betty being the type of person that even Dog backs away from, Dog having made the trip with Walt and Henry. We also get to revel in some of Johnson's trademark humor as Walt and Henry try to keep Jaya safe, no matter how much the anger-filled young girl tries to pretend they're not there.

 

Although I did enjoy Daughter of the Morning Star, I have to come clean about something. I know that Craig Johnson has a plan. He knows where he wants to take this series, and I will be with him every step of the way. My confession is this: I do miss the camaraderie of Walt and his crew.  Couldn't Walt have a short vacation from his quest where he can spend some quality time with Vic and Henry and Ruby and Cady and all the rest? Then we'll all be refreshed and ready for the next adventure.

All in all, Daughter of the Morning Star was enjoyable, but it felt a bit disjointed, and that some of the plot threads were loose and not woven completely into the story. But there's always next time, and I'll be ready and waiting with a big smile on my face, for that's what happens when a writer creates a cast that is so filled with life that it feels like Family.

Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780593297254

Viking © 2021

Hardcover, 336 pages

 

Police Procedural, #17 Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

Next to Last Stand by Craig Johnson

First Line: Years ago, on one particularly beautiful, high plains afternoon when I was a deputy with the Absaroka County Sheriff's Department, I propped my young daughter, Cady, on my hip and introduced her to Charley Lee Stillwater.

Sheriff Walt Longmire has had a rough time of it lately, and he's still recuperating from his experiences. Maybe that's why he finds himself visiting the Wyoming Home for Soldiers and Sailors and talking to the wheelchair posse of old veterans who sit and wave at traffic everyday. He even finds himself wondering how he'd decorate his own wheelchair when the time comes. 

Charley Lee Stillwater was a resident of the home and a character that Walt made sure to introduce Cady to when his daughter was small enough to carry around on his hip. When Charley dies of an apparent heart attack, the Absaroka County sheriff is called in to try to make sense of items found in the old man's room: a piece of a painting and a shoebox containing a million dollars. Will a good old-fashioned art heist be what Longmire needs to perk up and get back to normal?

~

This particular review is written by someone who's been a card-carrying Walt Longmire/Craig Johnson fan since the very first book, The Cold Dish. As crazy as I am about this series, even I will admit that, while they're all good, some books are stronger than others. When I began reading Next to Last Stand, I grew a little impatient, even a little worried. Vic spent most of her time whining about being bored and being a pain in the rear end. On the other hand, Walt kept having episodes where his mind would wander off to parts unknown and he'd stare off into space for long periods. Granted, my reaction to Vic comes from personal experience. I remember being bored only once in my life, and I tend to roll my eyes when anyone says that they are. Walt is another story. I'll let Vic ride shotgun with me any day, but I love Walt. I want him to be recovered from his experiences in the last two books. I want my Walt back! (Now look who's whining...)

The good news is that, once this investigation picks up speed, Vic and Walt are both back to the normal that all fans know and love. Yippee!

I happen to enjoy a good art heist, and that's what readers will find in Next to Last Stand. The even better news is that there's more to love in the book than finding a stolen painting and the identity of the thieves. There's the look into the cutthroat art world. There are the Wavers at the Wyoming Home for Soldiers and Sailors, characters all. There's the African proverb which states "When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground." (Could we change "man" to "person," please?) There's a topnotch chase scene. There's the only chicken coop on the National Register of Historic Places. And best of all-- whether showing us how to persuade a nude prisoner to don his clothes or helping a new employee learn the ropes, there's humor, there's intelligence, there's Walt. He's my kind of guy. It's good to have him back.

Next to Last Stand by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780525522539

Viking © 2020

Hardcover, 336 pages

 

Police Procedural, #16 Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson

First Line: It's hard to think of a place in Wyoming where the wind doesn't reign supreme; where the sovereignty of sound doesn't break through the parks of the Bighorns with a hoarse-throated howl.

Walt Longmire is back in Wyoming, and he still has a long way to go to recuperate fully from what happened down in Mexico. What he doesn't need is a murder investigation, but that's exactly what he gets. The death of a sheepherder looks like suicide at first, but the dead man's connection to a powerful-- and occasionally violent-- local Basque ranching family leads the sheriff to believe he's investigating a murder.

As he searches for information, Walt keeps coming across signs that make him wonder if the spirit of Virgil White Buffalo is trying to lend him some assistance. Normally Virgil only reaches out when a child is in danger, so the stakes are raised when a young boy with ties to the Basque ranchers arrives in town.

To complicate matters even further, a lone wolf has been haunting the Bighorn Mountains, and the locals want the animal dead, the sooner the better before it has a chance to start killing livestock. Walt has his hands full, and he really should be taking it easy...

Whenever there's a new Walt Longmire mystery, it's a cause for celebration even though some of the books in the series may not be exactly what I wanted. That's the power of Craig Johnson's storytelling ability and the lure of the wonderful characters he has created. Each book is a treasure even though some seem to miss the mark. (Oh, to be inside a writer's mind and be privy to the entire story he intends to tell us!) Land of Wolves is an example of one of these books "that's really good, but..." and I think I know why.

After the gut-wrenching time Walt had down in Mexico, he and all his fans were looking forward to being back in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming and spending a lot of time laughing with Vic and Henry and all the rest of the cast. But Walt is hurting, and he has good cause to contemplate his mortality. Is it time for him to turn in his badge, do some fishing, and spend a lot of time with his daughter and granddaughter? It's a decision he feels he has to make, and with the end of his career possibly being in sight, Land of Wolves is more an elegy than a happy homecoming.

The mystery in Land of Wolves is first-rate, and it really kept me trying to figure out what was really going on. There's also humor throughout the book what with office pools and Ruby trying to teach an old dog new tricks, but it all seems to fall a bit flat. Even Vic's trademark humor lacks sparkle, and Henry Standing Bear is seldom there. That shows you how much Walt's decision about his future is weighing on his mind.

But you know what? Even a trip to Absaroka County that turns out to be depressing is much, much better than no trip at all. I'm learning about these beloved characters in all their different moods-- and I'm hoping that the next time we see Walt, there will be a smile on his face.

Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780525522508

Viking © 2019

Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #18 Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.


 

Depth of Winter by Craig Johnson

First Line: I turned my water glass in the slick circle of condensation on the smooth red lacquer of the table between us and studied the man across from me.

At the end of The Western Star, we learned that Sheriff Walt Longmire's daughter, Cady, had been kidnapped by the head of one of the most vicious drug cartels in Mexico. Now in Depth of Winter, he must head south to save her before she's auctioned off to his worst enemies. He's traveling light and traveling fast. The American government is of limited help and the Mexican one even less, so it's one man against an army in the brutal 110° heat of the Mexican desert.

If you're a Longmire fan who's not happy unless Walt is firmly ensconced amongst his friends and they all have an equal part in the action, you won't like with Depth of Winter. This is a one-man show, and characters like Henry and Vic play very limited roles (although I did love Henry's). Me? I'm the type of Longmire fan who'd follow Walt willingly into any one of my own circles of hell (which include rooms of long-haired cats and/or screaming babies), let alone his. I trust Walt to get me out alive and show me a good time while he's doing it.

One of the reasons why I was looking forward to this book was the fact that I'm used to Walt chasing bad guys in the depth of winter on his home turf, with howling winds, blizzard conditions, and snow up to his eyebrows. In Depth of Winter, he's facing an entirely different beast: winter in the desert of northern Mexico, and I wanted to see how he'd deal with blinding sunlight, blazing heat, and not a drop of water around. Walt is a Man On A Mission, so he deals with it as only he can.

Since he's got Henry and Vic handling things for him elsewhere, he manages to scrape together a motley crew to help him down in Mexico, and the rescue of Cady is one wild ride that only someone like Craig Johnson can put together. Walt is a man who goes out of his way not to kill people, but folks down in Mexico keep telling him, "Kindness to a killer builds coffins." After a grueling trek through the desert and coming face to face with "that kernel of madness" he keeps buried deep inside, the finale of Depth of Winter is explosive-- and satisfying.

Once again, I find myself in a familiar place-- all caught up with the series and waiting for a new adventure with Walt. Some authors just don't write fast enough, you know?    

Depth of Winter by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780525522478

Viking © 2018

Hardcover, 304 pages

Police Procedural, #15 Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.


 

The Western Star by Craig Johnson

First Line: I pressed in on the knurled end of my Colt 1911A1 with my thumb at the same time rotating the barrel bushing a quarter turn clockwise to free the plug and recoil assembly, my hands working from rote.

Sheriff Walt Longmire is in Cheyenne, Wyoming ostensibly for his weapons recertification, but the real reason why he's there is for the upcoming parole board hearing for a man Walt put in prison many years ago. When he goes out for a beer, a younger sheriff asks him about a picture hanging on the wall. A photograph of twenty-four veteran sheriffs and brand-new deputy Walt Longmire, all armed and standing in front of a Challenger steam locomotive.

That photograph-- and that parole board hearing-- are the catalysts for Walt's past and present to collide head-on. This is a trip that has only one stop: Revenge.

Before I wax poetic about the latest mystery from my favorite writer, I want to warn you about two things. One, if you hate cliffhangers, you're going to hate the fact that The Western Star has one that's going to make your jaw drop. Even I wanted to shake my fist in Johnson's face just a little bit. Fortunately, I tend to be even-tempered about dangling storylines. 

What's the second thing I want to warn you about? If you happen to be readers who judge each Longmire novel on how often your favorite characters appear, you may-- or may not-- be happy with The Western Star. This book is 95% Walt and Lucian and 5% Cady, Henry, and Vic. Me? I go where the writer takes me and see how I feel about it when that last page is turned.

His previous novel, An Obvious Fact, had large stretches of humor that kept me laughing, but The Western Star is quite somber. This fits the tone of both storylines. Yes, there are two storylines in this book, and readers travel between fresh-from-Vietnam, brand-new deputy Walt Longmire on the train with Lucian and all those other sheriffs and the Walt Longmire of the present day. Don't worry, it's not confusing; the chapters are clearly marked so we can all keep track of what year we're in. (Sometimes I need all the help I can get.)

Craig Johnson always seems to be able to surprise me. Yes, Walt is Walt, and a character tells him one of the things that makes him so special: [With all you've done], "you've preserved your humanity."  But there are the other surprises, like that cliffhanger, and my being blindsided by whodunit when Johnson gives us clues all along the way. And what about all those scenes where Walt is simply being Grandpa to Lola. Watching this big man feed his tiny granddaughter, talk to her, and just sit quietly with her asleep on his chest can melt your heart.

The Western Star is tricky and action-packed, and it does have homages to both Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express) and John Wayne (Big Jake), but one of the sobering thoughts brought up in its pages is one we long-time Longmire lovers don't want to think about. Walt is, though-- retirement. He's been putting away bad guys for a long, long time, he's tired, and when he holds Lola, the end of the trail is looking mighty fine. This next book is shaping up to be very interesting indeed, and I'm going to be among the first to grab a copy.  
 

The Western Star by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780525426950

Viking © 2017

Hardcover, 304 pages

Police Procedural, #13 Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.


 

An Obvious Fact by Craig Johnson

First Line: I tried to think how many times I'd kneeled down on asphalt to read the signs, but I knew this was the first time I'd done it in Hulett.

Sheriff Walt Longmire and his friend Henry Standing Bear have gotten a call from the sheriff in Hulett, Wyoming. Their help is needed on the case of a young man who's now in critical condition in the hospital. Was he run off the road? Why? Who did it? 

It just so happens that the largest motorcycle rally in the world is being held in Sturgis, South Dakota-- just a stone's throw from Hulett-- and with all those bikers in town, things rapidly start getting interesting for Walt and Henry. But it's not just the bikers giving those two grief. Competing gangs, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Hulett's very own MRAP (mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle), and Lola Wojciechowski-- THE Lola for all you Craig Johnson fans-- are just a few of the people and things making this an extremely complicated investigation. And to make Walt's day complete, Henry just will not stop quoting Sherlock Holmes. What's a sheriff to do but solve the case and get back to Absaroka County as fast as he can?

I absolutely love An Obvious Fact. Just looking at the cover puts a big smile on my face. Almost every single character we've grown to know and love makes an appearance here. Daughter Cady phones hers in, but it serves to make us wonder if Walt is finally going to break down and get himself a cell phone. Henry has plenty to do especially with Lola around, and Dog makes his presence known on more than one occasion. But the character that brings the most to this banquet table of a book is Vic Moretti. I refuse to tell you what all she gets up to, but--trust me-- it's marvelous!

This is another of Johnson's first-rate mysteries. Your kinder, gentler side does get involved occasionally because you just can't have a main character who's described by Vic as a "detective for the disenfranchised" without bringing those heartstrings into play, but the humor is what I loved the most. Be prepared to laugh. A lot. Not many writers can do dialogue like Craig Johnson.

I could go on for page after page about how good An Obvious Fact is, but I won't. What I will say is that-- if you haven't read any of these Walt Longmire mysteries-- get your hands on the very first one, The Cold Dish. Start reading. You'll be hooked and itching to get your hands on all the rest of the series. I read a lot of mysteries, from the coziest of cozies to the hard-boiled detectives. I have several favorite series that I keep up-to-date with. But truth be told, Craig Johnson's Longmire mysteries are at the very top of my list. I'm already chomping at the bit for the next installment.

Oh, I almost forgot. You know that dumpster in Scottsdale, Arizona that you mention in An Obvious Fact, Craig? I park right by it every time I visit my favorite bookstore. You do know how to make a woman laugh!      

An Obvious Fact by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780525426943
Viking © 2016
Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #12 Sheriff Walt Longmire mystery
Rating: A+
Source: the publisher 


 

The Highwayman by Craig Johnson

First Line: There is a canyon in the heart of Wyoming carved by a river called Wind and a narrow, opposing, two-lane highway that follows its every curve like a lover.

Wyoming highway patrolman Rosey Wayman is worried that she might be crazy. A recent transfer to the Wind River Canyon area, she's begun receiving "officer needs assistance calls."

What's the problem? The fact that the calls are from the legendary Arapaho patrolman Bobby Womack-- who's been dead for thirty years-- has both Rosey and her supervisor doubting her sanity.

Rosey's supervisor asks for help from Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire and his friend Henry Standing Bear. They both know and like Rosey, and they want answers. Time is running out on their investigation, but one way or the other The Highwayman is going to have his say.

I'm such a Craig Johnson fan that I don't care if what he writes is short like this novella or a full-length book, as long as the man keeps writing. As popular as he's become, I have to wonder how on earth he finds the time to write because he always seems to be on tour.  

Few people can write dialogue like Craig Johnson, and he proves it again here in The Highwayman. Walt and Henry talk to everyone they possibly can to figure out what's going on with Rosey. They uncover a mystery about a missing stash of 1888-O "Hot Lips" Morgan silver dollars. (No, I'm not going to tell you what that "Hot Lips" is all about!) And the deeper they dig, the more they learn about Bobby Womack, a dedicated patrolman who died in a fiery crash in the Wind River Canyon. Some of the things they learn just don't add up the way they should....

Have any of you read Johnson's last novella Spirit of Steamboat? I have, and I still remember those barn-burning action scenes that gave me paper cuts, I was turning the pages so fast. Well, you get more of that kind of action here in The Highwayman. The setting, the characters, the dialogue, the action, the story... you get everything that all we die-hard Craig Johnson fans have come to expect-- even a logical explanation for almost everything.

Trust me. If the only thing you know about Craig Johnson comes from watching the Longmire television series-- as excellent as that series is-- you really, really need to read the books. What better place to start than with The Highwayman? Once you've read this one, you're going to be going back for all the others. Craig Johnson is one of the very best writers in the business.
 

The Highwayman by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780735220898

Viking © 2016

Hardcover, 208 pages

Police Procedural/Novella, #14 Sheriff Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: A+

Source: The publisher