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An Obvious Fact by Craig Johnson

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On August 24, 2016

In Craig Johnson, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

An Obvious FactAn Obvious Fact

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #12

eARC, 320 pg.
Viking, 2016

Read: July 29 – 30, 2016

4 Stars

Craig Johnson is so consistent with these books that he makes it really hard to write about them. I’ve struggled with this one for weeks — how can I say something I haven’t before? I’m not sure I can, but I guess I can start with what makes this one different from the rest.

For starters, Henry’s borrowed Walt’s set of Sherlock Holmes (without his knowledge or consent, but who cares) and spends the novel quoting Holmes at inopportune times to his buddy. I laughed every time. Walt didn’t find it that amusing — and paid him back by talking about what a silly and reckless endeavor riding motorcycles is — much less racing/jumping/etc. He had plenty of opportunity to make these kind of remarks as the two of them were in Hulett, WY for the world’s largest motorcycle rally, where Henry is attempting to recapture a victory of his younger days.

Walt’s been brought in to help with the investigation of a motorcycle crash, the small local police force is stretched beyond itself due to the rally and really can’t take it on. It seems pretty cut and dry on the surface — just a bad break and a bit of careless driving. But every time Walt looks at another piece of evidence, he finds more reasons to doubt the obvious facts.

We learn a lot about Henry in this book — but he’s not really in it all that much (at least less than he’s been in others, lately). And while he’s not really at odds with Walt, you really can’t say that he’s on his old friend’s side throughout (nor is he really acting all that rationally).

Vic comes back to Wyoming, and injects her flair into the investigation and Walt’s life. She also continues to be the embodiment of many men’s dreams between her looks, brains, language, driving and shooting. I’m not going to say if she’s my Platonic ideal, I will say that for a totally unrealistic character, she’s a whole lotta fun.

The Whodunit was pretty easy, the Whydunit was trickier (and the Accessories to the Who were more difficult, but not hard). But, hey, we don’t read these books for the puzzle — we do it to watch Walt figure things out and to spend time with our friends from the Equality State (and the nations within it). In the end, this is just what you expect out of a Walt Longmire novel — some laughs, a nice little puzzle, a little fisticuffs, maybe a little gunplay (not necessarily a shoot-out). Well-paced, well-told, all in a day’s work for Johnson.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Viking via First to Read in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.

—–

4 Stars

The Highwayman by Craig Johnson

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On June 9, 2016

In Authors, Craig Johnson, F-J, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

The Highwayman The Highwayman

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #11.5

Hardcover, 190 pg.
Viking, 2016

Read: June 7 -8, 2016

We’re taught to work independently, but nothing strikes you quite like a 10-78 [Officer Needs Assistance], the urgency to reach a fellow officer in need. It’s instinctual to individuals who are trained to respond and risk their lives for each other and complete strangers.”

Having been in Wyoming Law Enforcement for so long, he knows pretty much every officer in the state. One such person is Rosey Wayman, a Highway patrolman who’s having some problems. She’s taken a new assignment, a jurisdiction once patrolled by a (literally) legendary officer. Since then, well, strange things have been happening. Walt and Henry (as a favor to her and her C.O.) have dropped by to act as sort of independent witnesses — basically to determine if her imagination is getting the best of her, or if there are strange things underfoot.

One of the best parts of this series is the way that Johnson writes about things that can’t be readily and easily explained (generally) without spelling things out for the reader. Yes, a character may be having a psychological problem, a physical problem, or there might be a spiritual dimension to what they experience — maybe all of the above — but what Johnson won’t do is tell you what happened. Henry, Walt, Ruby, Lucian or any number of others just might express their thoughts/opinions/beliefs, but the author won’t.

Which means that when Johnson tells a ghost story? You’re in for a good one. One where you have no idea if the ghost in question is a manifestation of someone’s (or multiple someones’) subconscious.

I will admit I was confused when I saw this was advertised as a novella. The last Longmire novel, Dry Bones was 306 pages long, and this was listed at 200 (190 is my count). How did that qualify as a novella (which is a fairly slippery term, anyway)? And then I picked up a copy. This one measured at 5.3″ x 7.4″ (Dry Bones was 6.2″ x 9.2″). Which explained everything. Reading it made it clear that it wasn’t a novel — one story, no personal drama, no ongoing story/character arcs — just Walt, Henry and Rosey on a ghost hunt.

Lean prose, great characters, a setting that means more than just the place where the action takes place (and is described thusly) — everything you want in a Longmire story.

One other thing that I have to mention — the elderly Arapaho sha-woman that Henry introduces Walt to is a real hoot. Her teasing/harassment of Walt was a needed dash of fun in this book, I can only hope that Johnson finds an excuse to use her again.

If this was a novel, it’d be 3-3 ½ stars, but since it’s supposed to be a novella, I’ll give it a 4. Just what the doctor ordered to tide you over until the next full book.

—–

4 Stars

Dry Bones by Craig Johnson

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On December 7, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, F-J, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

Dry BonesDry Bones

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #11
Hardcover, 306 pg.
Viking, 2015

Read: December 5, 2015
So, possibly the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever discovered is found in Wyoming (which is apparently a pretty good place to find them, who knew?), and there’s a battle brewing over who it (and the very large price tag that’ll surely be attached to it) belongs to. There’s enough drama there, but you don’t pick up a Walt Longmire novel for paleontological wrangling, you need a dead body or two. Thankfully, one shows up not too far away, and Walt’s old friend, Omar finds it.

Johnson’s pretty good at keeping several plates spinning, but this time he seems to have outdone himself — we’ve got a controversy over who gets custody over the T. Rex, with three different parties; a runaway; dealing with FBI and a Deputy U. S. Attorney looking to make a name for himself; Double Tough’s recovery from A Serpent’s Tooth; Vic’s continuing recovery from the same book; a visit from Cady and her daughter; oh, yeah, and the murder. About halfway through I actually stopped and wrote them all down, and asked myself “how’s he pulling this off?” I’m honestly not sure, but he did.

Which does mean he pulled it off flawlessly. It didn’t take too long to figure out where the Deputy Attorney story was going — aside from the running source of comedy. But honestly, I think we needed a couple more scenes to make it worthwhile. We got to see Lolo again — which was nice, but she didn’t get enough to do. Still, just glad to see she’s still in this world. I do think the skeleton controversy vanished a bit (understandably) in the middle, when I think it could’ve kept going.

But overall, this was a fun, quick ride, with Johnson (and Longmire) firing on all cylinders, and I can’t wait for the next one to see how the events of this book impact our friends going forward.

Oh no! I’m all caught up (other than the short story collection) with the Longmire books — whatever shall I do? Actually that’s a really good question, I’m going to miss my monthly visits to Absaroka County.

—–

4 Stars

Any Other Name by Craig Johnson

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On November 18, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, F-J, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

Any Other NameAny Other Name

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #10

Hardcover, 317 pg.

Viking, 2014

Read: November 14 – 16, 2015

“I want to warn you that if you put Walter on this you’re going to find out what it’s all about, one way or the other.” Another pause, and I could imagine the face that was peering down at her, a visage to which I was accustomed. “You’re sure you want that? Because he’s like a gun; once you point him and pull the trigger, it’s too late to change your mind.”

There’s the problem, isn’t it? Walt won’t stop for anything once he starts. A perennial conflict in the Longmire series is Walt’s devotion to his friends/Cady and his duty as a sheriff (often more felt than real), part of its recurrence is because it always works as a plot device (as tired as it may feel — which is part of the whole thing, it’s just as tired for Cady as it is for the reader). Part of that is because I expect that it’s a strong reflection of reality (unlike, say the beating that Walt takes in this one and then the near super-human feats he accomplishes shortly thereafter).

Detective Gerald Holman shot himself — and did so in a fairly unusual manner. That aside, it’s a pretty cut-and-dried suicide. But his widow doesn’t buy it. Which isn’t that unusual, but because she doesn’t buy it, their old friend Lucian Connally doesn’t buy it — he’s just not that kind of guy. So Lucian drags Walt to the next county and gets him to investigate it — the sheriff there doesn’t see the need, but isn’t going to stop him. Lucian gives the widow the warning up above, and she agrees to it, as does Walt — even with the birth of his grandchild just days away in Philadelphia.

Along the way, Vic and Henry show up — as does a very unlikely friend of Walt’s from a couple of books back. Vic’s recovered physically from A Serpent’s Tooth, but the rest of her has a bit to go. Henry’s just Henry — and I’m pretty sure that’s all he’ll ever be. Walt befriends/drafts a local police officer, who also comes through for him in a pretty big way. Actually, meeting Officer Corbin Dougherty was one of my favorite parts of the book:

… he looked vaguely familiar….

“You date my daughter?”

“I did.” He blushed up to his blond crew cut. “The first time I came to pick her up you tossed me a shotgun shell.”

“I did?”

“Yeah, you said they went a lot faster after eleven o’clock.”

I nodded. “I used to think I was a tough guy.”

I liked this exchange for a few reasons: 1. It’s amusing, 2. It reminds me of one of the best exchanges between Raylan Givens and Wynn Duffy on Justified, 3. It illustrates the difference between Walt and Raylan. I don’t know if Raylan will ever get to the point where he could say that last line and mean it, but you know Walt did (and is probably embarrassed that he ever said it in the first place — Raylan may have rued uttering that to Wynn because of the fallout, but he sure wasn’t embarrassed).

The kinds of criminal activity that Walt turns up during his investigation of the suicide and Holman’s last cases that probably led him to it makes a guy miss Absaroka County and its apocalyptic cults, generations-long feuds, drug smuggling, serial killers and whatnot. But throughout it all, you know that Walt and his posse will bring justice to those who drove Holman over the edge.

To be honest, the ending of this one felt rushed — Walt had a hard deadline to meet, and so he had to rush things a bit on his end — and it felt like Johnson did, too. There was no cheating on the final reveal of his investigation — Johnson’s too careful for that, and he’s not one for red herrings, so you know the detail that leads Walt to the conclusion was important when you saw it the second time. But, I didn’t think it was well explained, the clues fit, but I didn’t see the motive working — at least not as given. It didn’t ruin the experience for me, but it took a little shine off of it.

—–

3 Stars

A Serpent’s Tooth by Craig Johnson

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On October 20, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, F-J, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

A Serpent's ToothA Serpent’s Tooth

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #9

Paperback, 335 pg.
Penguin Books, 2014
Read: October 17 – 19, 2015

So it seems that Craig Johnson had some things about religion that he wanted to get off of his chest. It almost felt like that came first, and the story came second — maybe not, maybe he just took the opportunity that the story gave him, what do I know? Raised by a Methodist mother and an atheistic/agnostic/irreligious father, Walt and Martha repeated that pattern once he came home and married (although it appears Walt attended services fairly frequently with her), after her death, he’s left the Church behind. As he told Henry, he’s spent more time in Indian religious ceremonies than Christian since Martha.

So, he’s in a jaded state of mind when he encounters a LDS splinter group — add in Vic’s lapsed Catholicism, and the Absaroka County Sheriff’s Department spends a lot of time almost offending a few World Religions. It helps (both the insulting, and insulating Walt/Johnson from giving actual offense) that this particular splinter group is a little more unhinged than normal.

On the one hand, there are comic elements involving the cult — a senior citizen of indeterminate age claiming to be a historic figure over 200 years old, a yet-older nude sunbather who builds spaceships in his backyard. There are also heart-tugging elements, the teenager who’s never seen a television or movie before (and becomes obsessed), him and other teens being cast out of their homes/families and left to wander, the little girl with a developmental disability abandoned on the roadside for entire days to sell baked goods. But, at least for Walt, more importantly there suspicious elements surrounding a Texas-based cult that moved to South Dakota and now seems to be expanding in a handful of Western and Mid-Western states — and the missing mother of the movie junkie. And guns, lots of new, expensive guns.

In addition, we get a lot of good time with the citizenry of Absaroka County (not as much time in the diner as usual), learn a little bit more about the youth of Walt and Henry, see things move along for Walt and Vic, and see a major shakeup for the Sheriff’s Department. Throw all this together, and you get a solid, satisfying read.

Absolutely nothing here did anything to remove the worries Walt has for Cady thanks to Virgil’s warning/prophecy/vision from Hell is Empty. Hoping that gets resolved soon, if only so Johnson stops teasing.

Not Johnson’s best, but there’s nothing to complain about here, and plenty to enjoy.

—–

3 Stars

As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson

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On September 29, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, F-J, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

As the Crow FliesAs the Crow Flies

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #8
Hardcover, 308 pg.
Viking Adult, 2012
Read: September 26, 2012

…trying to remember when I’d last prayed for anything. My mind went back to the spring before last, and a time in Philadelphia when I’d sat in a hospital at my daughter’s side. I’d prayed then-like a theological car salesman, I’d made deals, counterdeals, and threatened the very heavens themselves if they didn’t release my daughter from the swollen solitary confinement to which a terrible accident had sentenced her.

After the high of Hell is Empty, it makes sense that this would be a little bit of a step down. And it was — at least as far as intensity, depth, and so on. It was just as entertaining, just as engaging…just not as ambitious.

Walt and Henry are out doing some last minute arranging for Cady’s pending nuptials when they witness a woman falling/jumping/being pushed to her death in a very scenic location on the Reservation. Which leads, naturally to Walt getting involved in the investigation — this time, he’s also shepherding an inexperienced Rez Police Chief (Lola Long) through dealing with police procedure, community relations and dealing with Federal bureaucracies. Lola reminds Walt (and most readers, I’d wager) of Vic — who is conveniently out of state for most of this book — and he does what he can to steer Lola away from some of her more destructive habits into something that’ll make a good police officer.

There’s a lot of ugliness involved in this investigation — there’s abuse, PTSD and other fallouts of military service, drug dealing, welfare fraud, and so on. Not to mention history — family history, personal history, familial squabbles (intra- and inter-).

One of the highlights for me is the hate-hate relationship we see between Walt and Henry’s ancient truck, Rezdawg. I seriously now want a short story – if not a series of them – featuring the adventures of Rezdawg confounding and infuriating Walt. I promise to buy every single one of them, if Mr. Johnson would only write them.

Walt as mentor to Chief Long was good, too. Demanding, yet understanding. Lola responded well to him, too — once she let herself. I hope we see her from time to time in the future. Same goes for all the non-murderers on the Rez that we ran into in these pages.

Naturally, the emotional beats around Cady and her wedding, whether she’s in the scene or if this just Walt thinking about what her marriage means for his role in her life, her future, and so on — just perfect. The book is about the murder of this woman, who did it and why — but Cady’s wedding is in the background of it all.

As the Crow Flies features a good mix of humor and mystery — a pleasant change after Hell is Empty. There’s no real danger to any of our friends from Wyoming, just good procedure, banter, and character moments — the stuff that keeps mystery series readers coming back. This one did it’s job.

—–

3.5 Stars

Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson

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On August 25, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, F-J, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

Hell is EmptyHell is Empty

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #7

Hardcover, 312 pg.

Viking, 2011

Read: August 21, 2015

Where Junkyard Dogs started off with a chuckle inducing bang, this one starts slower, and makes it clear early on that creepy and foreboding are going to be the order of the day.

We join Walt and Deputy Santiago ‘Sancho’ Saizarbitoria as they’re transporting three felons to meet up with a prison transport and a FBI team. Two of them are pretty hardened guys, guys who scare people like me — but the third? He’s the kind who scares people like them. He goes by the name Shade, and right away, he fixates on Walt in a pretty unhealthy way. And you know that the rest of the novel is going to be about this.

Turns out, Shade is going to help the FBI locate his first victim’s remains, they’re somewhere around where the meet up is to happen. Naturally, the remains are in Absaroka County, so Walt and Sancho get to spend more time with Shade and the FBI. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s going to happen — Shade’s going to escape, he’s going to kill many law enforcement officials, and Walt’s going to have to save the day. Johnson telegraphs this (there’s no way to avoid it), and even though you know it’s inevitable, you still watch it through half-opened eyes.

Oh, naturally, there’s a record-setting winter storm about to hit, too. Can’t forget that.

As standard, boiler-plate as much of this sounds, Johnson makes it work. It’s taught, it’s gripping, with just the right mix of tension, determination, and humor. It will keep you turning the pages, needing to know what’s coming next. Even as most readers are going to have the whole thing pretty-well mapped out in their heads from the beginning — it’s how Johnson executes this so well is a testimony to his skill and the reason that you’ll keep turning those pages as fast as you can.

Vic and Henry are almost absent through this book — and Cady’s appearance is token at best. But Johnson uses their brief appearances to their most. This novel is about Walt’s struggle against Shade and against nature — both seem to be focused on killing him.

Sancho, who is really becoming my favorite non-Walt character in the series is around more than those other three combined; although after the introductory chapters he’s off-screen until the end as well. Before then, he not only makes amusing contributions to a very dark book, he’s an important part of the plot. After his recent near-death experience and career crisis, Sancho’s taken to trying to expand his horizons and catch up on the Liberal Arts education he skipped over. So he had those who did get that education to compile a reading list for him — a copy of which is included as an Appendix. It’s a good list and would be helpful for most people — and gives us a nice look into the personalities of those that compiled the list.

In the acknowledgments, Johnson talked about how difficult this novel was to write — and I can see why. But, as we have come to expect form him, when he set his mind to it, he pulled it off. A gripping tale of man against nature, man against man, man against himself, told with Johnson’s signature style and wit, with one foot in Dante and the other in Indian folklore. Not an easy task, but one well done.

—–

4 Stars

Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson

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On July 30, 2015

In Craig Johnson, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

Junkyard DogsJunkyard Dogs

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #6

Hardcover, 306 pg.

Viking Adult, 2010

Read: July 25, 2015This one opens with probably the funniest incidents in the series, I don’t want to spoil it, just trust me. Actually, there’s quite a few things in the opening chapters of this book to chuckle at or with.

But it wouldn’t be much of a mystery novel if it stayed that way. And so one chuckle-worthy happening is used by Walt to try to help one of his deputies. And then another string of comic events and characters ends with a corpse or two turning up. Which pretty much stops the laughter. It’s really a shame, I liked one of the people who died — and the family of one of the others. (Which isn’t to say that it’s not a shame when it happens to characters I don’t like)

The mystery was a little easier to solve than I really like, but these books aren’t really so much about the whodunit as they are about what happens with Walt and co. while they figure it out. On that front, this was pretty entertaining.

Seeds were planted for something involving Henry’s brother. Well, seeds have been planted already — I guess I should say that the previously planted seeds about Henry’s brother got a decent watering. However you want to look at it — something’s brewing on that front, and it’s not going to be pretty when it’s done. I hope the same isn’t the case with the impending nuptials.

As usual, with a book that takes in a part of the country like Absaroka County, WY, you have to worry about the number of murders and the risk posed to everyday residents of it. But at least they’ve got a lawman on their side who’ll make sure that those who disturb that corner of the woods pay for it. And not to sound too callous, but as long as these books keep being that entertaining, I can live with the hit to the census.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson

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On June 24, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

The Dark HorseThe Dark Horse

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #5

Hardcover, 318 pg.
Viking Adult, 2009

Read: June 22 – 23, 2015

. . . we walked into the middle of the rutted and powdery two-track that stretched to the horizon; the only other road curled off to the right and disappeared into the distance as well.

I thought about how we tilled and cultivated the land, planted trees on it, fenced it, built houses on it, and did everything we could to hold off the eternity of distance–anything to give the landscape some sort of human scale. No matter what we did to try and form the West, however, the West inevitably formed us instead.

One thing I particularly appreciate about the Longmire books is the effort that Johnson puts into making them distinct from each other — one of the hazards of mystery series is that books can blend in with each other, but that’s not the case (so far) with these. There are two distinct features to this book — 1. Narratively: Walt tries (and kind of succeeds) to go undercover to investigate a murder in a nearby county; 2. Mechanically: the narration keeps jumping back and forth from “the present,” where Walt’s been investigating for a couple of weeks, and then to the point a few weeks earlier where Walt starts to becoming involved in the investigation.

I guess it’s also noteworthy that there’s really no Indian spirituality to speak of — practically no Henry, for that matter (although he makes his presence felt when he’s around).

Anyway, a Sheriff of a neighboring county gets Walt to hold a prisoner for trial for him — a woman who confessed to murdering her louse of a husband. Repeatedly confessed, no less. Given the confession (and some other evidence), he can’t investigate things further — as much as he thinks it might be needed. Still, he knows ol’ Walt won’t worry about the politics or difficulties involved if he sniffs something rotten in Wyoming. Walt falls into the not-so-cleverly-lain trap and starts finding the problems with the confession. Which leads to him assuming the identity of an insurance investigator and doing a little investigating.

He’s almost comically bad at it, but he’s enough of a stranger that it doesn’t matter — he can just be Walt, talking history, drinking beer and nosing around. Add in some horses, some fisticuffs, a spunky kid and a little gunplay — and you’ve got yourself a solid mystery novel.

One of the episodes of the show Longmire was loosely based on this novel, but by “loosely” I mean there are horses, a fire, Walt, and a married couple. That’s pretty much it. So, those who’ve seen the episode can feel free to read the book without any fear of knowing whodunit (and vice versa).

There’s a little movement on the character development front — people recovering from wounds, some other recurring characters moving in the background, and some development on various romantic fronts, too. The serialized component isn’t a major factor in this series, but it’s there — mostly downplayed this time, but still, present. Oh, the election that’s been lurking in the background for forever? Taken care of so quickly, your head’ll spin — what the results mean for things going forward, time will tell. I think I like that approach to it — just blink and you’ll miss it.

Yet again, Johnson delivers a great read — and Sheriff Longmire and Absaroka County prove they can be just as interesting as Det. Bosch and L.A., Spenser and Boston, or Det. Hatcher and NYC.

—–

3.5 Stars

Another Man’s Moccasins by Craig Johnson

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On May 13, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

Another Man’s MoccasinsAnother Man’s Moccasins

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #4

Hardcover, 290 pg.
Viking Adult, 2008
Read: May 11 – 12, 2015

“Do you think I’m a racist?”
[Ruby] smiled and then covered it with a hand. “You?”
“Me.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets.
She tipped her head up and considered me, and I felt like I should be wearing a lead vest. “You mean because of your experiences in the war?”
“Yep.”
“No.”
It was a strong response, and one that didn’t leave a lot of room for further discussion. I glanced at her unyielding eyes and shrugged, turning to look back as Virgil’s arm moved and he looked at the two of us. “Just wondering.”
“You do have one prejudice though.” I looked back at her again from under the brim of my hat. “You don’t care about the living as much as you do the dead.”

There’s a lot to that observation. It’s what makes Walt Longmire, like Harry Bosch, such a good investigator — and a character that readers want to spend more and more time with. They have friends, family — even loved ones. But the dead — murder victims or those they’ve lost over their lives — those seem to carry the weight of their attention and care. Could make an iffy friend, a frustrating spouse — but (as Arthur Fancy once said of a certain Polish detective) “If a member of my family was murdered, I’d want [him] to catch the case.”

The dead in this particular book take two forms — first and foremost is the young Vietnamese girl dumped off the side of the road and almost baled with hay. It’s the kind of thing that Walt — and similar lawmen dread — “There you stand by some numbered roadway with a victim, no ID, no crime scene, no suspects, nothing.” This woman’s ancestry does help her stick out in Absaroka County, and it doesn’t take Walt too long before he’s able to find a thread to pull. But he has no idea what’s on the other end of that thread, and it takes a lot of work to find it.

Walt Longmire books aren’t just about what’s going on in Absaroka County, Wyoming — at least not in the physical realm. There’s something going on in the spiritual, spectral, or some other realm — typically tied in with Cheyenne thought. This time there are spirits of a different kind, the ghosts that haunt each of us — the ones we bring along with us all the time. In particular, the ghosts of Walt’s past, specifically his time in Vietnam as a Marine Investigator. The narrative cuts back and forth between the present day investigation and one that young Walt Longmire is involved with as a Marine Inspector in Vietnam in the days immediately preceding the Tet Offensive. The Marine we meet isn’t the Sheriff we know — he doesn’t have the experience or authority — but the essence of the man is there, he just needs a little refining.

Additionally, Walt, Cady and Vic are dealing with the various forms of fallout from Kindness Goes Unpunished, with various levels of success. It’s not that Walt necessarily cares more for the dead — recent or decades old — it’s just that their needs seem far more immediate, and probably more importantly, Walt knows what to do to help them. With the living? He has far less idea what he should do.

You take those three plotlines, mix them together with a giant homeless Crow Indian and you’ve got yourself one compelling read.

This had a slightly different feel than Kindness Goes Unpunished — which is good, I don’t want to read the same novel over and over. Where Kindness was light and fun (when not harrowing and deadly), this was sober, thoughtful. Walt’s not sure what to do on various fronts of his personal life, he’s remembering a lot of things he could’ve done better in Vietnam and trying not to make mistakes with the case in front of him.

This is the fourth installment in this series, and you know pretty much what you’re going to get at this point when you pick one up. Which is exactly what this delivers. A straight-forward, thoughtful mystery novel with a protagonist who matches that description. A good choice for fans of Connelly, Crais, or Parker that don’t mind urban sprawl being replaced by ghost towns.

—–

3.5 Stars

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