Category: F-J Page 22 of 27

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

The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

By HCNewton

On September 25, 2015

In A-F, Authors, F-J, Fiction, Fox and O'Hare, Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Scam

by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Series: Fox and O’Hare, #4
Hardcover, 286 pg.

Bantam, 2015

Read: September 24 – 24, 2015

“You can never have too many weapons,” Jake said.
“Does that mean you brought your rocket launcher?”
“It’s in the trunk of my car in case of a roadside emergency.”
“What kind of roadside emergency would require a rocket launcher?” she asked.
“You don’t want to find out and not have one hand,” Jake said. “It’s also why you should always have a paper clip in your pocket. You can do just about anything with a paper clip.”

I was prepared — even half-way expected — for this to underwhelm me. There wasn’t anything driving me to that expectation, maybe it was just my mood. Thankfully, this surpassed my expectations/fears — not for one second. This was another breezy, fun, adventure for Nick, Kate and the crew.

From page 1, The Scam was firing on all cylinders. The main mission was a lot of fun, with a believable target, just dangerous enough. The side missions were interesting and did a good job pushing the plot forward, not just being B stories.

There was even some tie-ins to previous cases — up to and including a recurring character that’s not part of the team.

Boyd is pretty much the most annoying character in the series, but this time, they struck the right one with him. He was insufferable as always, but he didn’t get on my nerves at all. Which means the book probably deserves a bonus 1/2 star rating just for that. The rest of the team was used only minimally — just little tastes of them all. I don’t think I’d want that all the time, but it worked here. Kate and Nick were…well, Kate and Nick. I think Kate was a bit more honest with herself about her motivations — both professional and personal — than we’re used to seeing her. Maybe the same could be said for Nick, too.

The ending (always the trickiest part of a con story) worked — Kate’s improvised weaponry was just great. Even if we didn’t get to see either the roadside emergency rocket launcher or pocket paper clip (which doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great line), sorry Chekhov.

There were a couple of things in the closing pages that floored me. I didn’t think Evanovich would do either of them, just doesn’t seem her style. I like the fact that she can surprise me (maybe it’s Goldberg’s influence — maybe not, but I like the guy, let’s give him the credit). Anyway, there were things in these pages I never expected that I’d get out of Fox and O’Hare. Bravo.

Book five needs to arrive soon. I realize my saying so isn’t going to make it happen. But just in case I’m wrong about that, I should get it on the record.

—–

4 Stars

The Drafter by Kim Harrison

By HCNewton

On September 22, 2015

In F-J, Fiction, Kim Harrison, Science Fiction, The Peri Reed Chronicles

The Drafter

by Kim Harrison
Series: The Peri Reed Chronicles, #1
Hardcover, 422 pg.

Gallery Books, 2015

Read: September 17 – 21, 2015

Okay, I haven’t read the second or third Madison Avery book, and I haven’t found the time to read the last Rachel Morgan book (don’t ask, I can’t explain it either), so I might have to revise this a bit later — but I’m betting I won’t — this is the best book Kim Harrison has written to date. Hands down.

So Peri Reed is a Drafter. A covert agent for the U. S. Government in the near future (future enough that there’s all sorts of gear and tech that we have to imagine, near enough that we can relate). She (and 1 in 100,000 or so others) have this handy ability, when things go wrong, she can rewind time a bit and try it again. This is especially handy when mortally wounded. The downside? Doing that erases part of her memory — weeks’ or even months’ worth of it at a time. So each Drafter works with an Anchor. An expert in the Drafter’s personal history to help them put the pieces back together in a manner the Drafter can understand and move forward from.

Things are going well enough, when in the midst of her normal duties Peri finds some evidence that she’s been doing things she shouldn’t be, that she’s a renegade, a corrupt agent. This doesn’t sit easy with her, so she starts to investigate what’s really going on — and as long as she can remember what she’s doing and why, what she finds may shake up more than just her life.

It is almost impossible to track the plotlines of this book — you can experience it, but retell it? No — not without copious notes. One fellow blogger is demanding diagrams just to keep track of everything. And he’s not wrong. Peri keeps getting her memory re-written — memories that the reader is aware of, and others. There’s a mare’s nest of factions, agents, double agents, and possible triple agents; crosses, double crosses, triple and — I lost count of how many crosses a couple of characters were involved in. Plus time resetting itself. Mix in years of backstory that Harrison doles out in drips and drops. The result is that the reader is as disoriented as Peri — when she’s tripped up, we generally are. When she’s surprised by X doing something, we’re not sure what’s going on in X’s mind, either.

It’s hard to render an opinion on most of the characters. Because what we think we know about them may be Peri’s perception, may be reality, may be a cover, or . . . you get the idea? Peri at one point assures one woman that she remembers she likes her — doesn’t know anything about her, but remembers emotions. Which is pretty much all we have to go with as well. There’s a couple of people I know I like — a couple I know I don’t (even if some of them are supposed to be “good” guys) — but as far as how well drawn the characters are, it’s tough to say. Even Peri’s such a work in progress, it’s hard to get a good handle on her as a character.

Nevertheless, this is a book I highly recommend. It starts slow — very slow (I seem to be saying that a lot lately, I’m not sure when I became so impatient), but once all the dominoes are set (somewhere around the 100 page mark), Harrison starts the falling, and wow. It’ll suck you in, it’ll get you wrapped up in the web of deceit and efforts to unravel the deceit. More than anything, it’ll leave you wanting more.

—–

5 Stars

Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson

By HCNewton

On August 25, 2015

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

Hell 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

Veiled by Benedict Jacka

By HCNewton

On August 18, 2015

In Alex Verus, Benedict Jacka, F-J, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Veiled

by Benedict Jacka
Series: Alex Verus, #6

Mass Market Paperback, 295 pg.

Ace, 2015

Read: August 11 – 13, 2015

This was not at all what I expected going in to this (granted, I only read the first couple of lines of the Publisher’s Description) — sure, I knew Alex’s mouth would get him in trouble, he’d have to outwit someone more powerful than him, Luna would be underused — despite Alex depending on his friends to pull him out of trouble.

What I didn’t expect was Alex Verus vs. Bureaucracy, not the catchiest of titles, but pretty accurate. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like the Star Wars prequels with all the bureaucracy, trade negotiations, etc. Jacka keeps things tense, keeps things interesting, even as what Alex is battling is really just Office Politics (along with other kinds of politics).

Alex tries to take one more step towards credibility, of shedding his Dark mage past (not that almost anyone will let him), to a position where he can do some good, and hopefully have allies when Richard steps out into the limelight. Long-term, strategic thinking — I like it when UF heroes act like that. It’s brains, not brawn, that carry the day here.

This isn’t to suggest, that this is a dry — or combat-free — book. Alex gets down and dirty, as usual — against some pretty tough characters. But, I’m not convinced that the worst people that Alex and his friends went up against were the ones wearing the Black Hats. Not that they were angels, but, man, there were some nasty people in these pages.

There are some really interesting developments with Luna’s training and development. Alex makes a couple of useful allies — including a combat mage who is quite possibly the most entertaining character in the series thus far. And because that’s never enough for him — Alex picks up one new enemy and deepens tensions with another.

And Richard? Well, something tells me that specter’s going to be looming for a bit longer. But then again, I thought we were going to get a few more Kitty Norville books and that we’d see Richard in action here — so what do I know?

I seem to be mostly rambling here, so I’m just going to say: Alex Verus is a character you should get to know, in a series that should be on your TBR list. I wouldn’t start with this one, I really think Fated is where you want to climb aboard.

—–

4 Stars

Review Catch-Up: Hidden by Benedict Jacka; The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On August 10, 2015

In Alex Verus, Authors, Benedict Jacka, F-J, Fiction, K-O, Seanan McGuire, Toby Daye, Urban Fantasy

These have been nagging at me for eleven months now. No, I have no explanation for why it took me so long, but I’m glad I took a lot of notes on both. I’m going to get this posted before I start the next Jacka novel (which should be happening today). While I’m at it, the next Toby Day is a couple of weeks away.

Anyway, overdue mini-looks at a couple of the best Urban Fantasies I read in 2014:

Hidden

by Benedict Jacka
Series: Alex Verus, #5

Mass Market Paperback, 293 pg.
Ace, 2014
Read: September 26 – 30, 2014
. . . man, I have really missed Alex. Everyone’s favorite diviner has really come a long way, lately — shedding the near lone-wolf thing, and is now looking after a passel of magic rookies. Whether they want him to or not.

Anne Walker is definitely in the “or not” category. She’s done all she can to stay away from Alex — but she probably didn’t mean to include being kidnapped as one of those ways. Alex goes to some pretty dark places to help someone who doesn’t want it.

At the same time, Alex (via the Council) is feeling some pressure for the events of the last book. They’re also pressuring him to do some official work for them. Plus the rumors are getting more and more intense that his mentor, Richard, is back. If that’s true, no one is going to be happy. Naturally, everyone thinks that Alex knows what Richard is up to. And every time he says he doesn’t, he convinces them that he does.

So yeah, Alex has his hands full.

I think it was Chekhov who said that if a magic user grabs a focus in the opening chapters, that by the end of the book . . . Anyway, that was a nice use of it.

Not that Alex has had an easy life over the last couple books (or we wouldn’t be reading them) but the one big take away from Hidden is that it’s going to get a lot worse for our friend (I swear I hadn’t read that note when I wrote about Veiled over the weekend). There are other take aways, mostly happier, but I’ll leave that to you to find.

A wholly satisfying read. Get to know Alex Verus.

4 Stars

The Winter Long

by Seanan McGuire
Series: Toby Daye, #8

Mass Market Paperback, 358 pg.
DAW, 2014
Read: September 13 – 16, 2014

I don’t like parties. Someone always tries to assassinate someone I actually like, and there are never enough of those little stuffed mushroom caps.

A book starts off with a line like that? You’re going to have fun.

Thankfully, one’s appreciation of a book doesn’t depend on how the protagonist acts. When I was on page 46, I wrote , “Granted, this is early, but Toby’s being stupid, foolishly so. She’s not paying attention to anything said during the fight she just had — actually, technically didn’t really have. Instead, she’s reacting to something that happened to a friend, and acting out of fear, prejudice and alarm. That disappoints me. Her saying, ‘that smile, brief as it had been, was all I could have asked for. A smiling Tybalt was a Tybalt who was still capable of stepping back and looking at the situation rationally. I loved him, but even I could find him frightening when he was fixated on vengeance.’ Man, choke me on the irony, McGuire.”

There’s just go much about this novel that I can’t describe without spoiling it. Let me limit myself to a couple of more notes: Toby lost a lot of blood on this one — I mean like The Bride in the Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves kind of a lot. It’s a good thing she has a healing factor to make Logan jealous. While she’s bleeding she’s having her world rocked.

McGuire takes a lot of what Toby’s “known” since we met her (all of which is what we’ve “known,” too) and turns it upside down and shakes the truth out. Every other book in the series has been affected by these revelations — in one fell swoop, she re-wrote previous 7 books — which is just so cool. It’s not that we’ve (we= readers and Toby) been wrong, our understanding is just . . . askew. There’s also some nice warm fuzzies in this book, which isn’t that typical for the series. McGuire’s outdone herself.
5 Stars

Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson

By HCNewton

On July 30, 2015

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

Junkyard 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

By HCNewton

On June 24, 2015

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

The 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

Review Catch Up: Rolling Thunder; Fun House; Free Fall by Chris Grabenstein

By HCNewton

On May 15, 2015

In Authors, Chris Grabenstein, F-J, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

It infuriates me that I haven’t written anything on these books — Ceepak and Boyle (and, probably, Grabenstein) deserve better. But…here’s something, at least.

The points I’ve had all along are still here — I like Grabenstein’s voice and tone. I like the subtle character growth. Ceepak is a super-hero. Danny, on the other hand, is the real star of this series (no matter what it’s called) — we’re watching him grow in to a real cop, into a man. Yes, he’s trying to model himself off Ceepak, but he’s the focus, he’s our entry into this world and Ceepak’s mission.

The biggest problem with this series is that I just can’t bring myself to listen to enough Bruce Springsteen to appreciate all the references. I’ve tried. Really I have.

Rolling Thunder

by Chris Grabenstein
Series:John Ceepak Mystery, #6

Hardcover, 304 pg.
Pegasus, 2010
Read: November 24 – 25, 2014

Not much worse than a prominent citizen dying on the initial run of the new Roller Coaster that was supposed to guarantee one of the best tourist seasons in recent years for Sea Haven. The resulting investigation is as filled with the typical twists and turns, heroics from Ceepak and good tries from Danny.

Not that Danny doesn’t get his chance to shine — and brightly, I should add.

I liked this one, not as much as I wanted to, but spending time with good friends in NJ is always a treat.

I’ll take a moment to say that I’m not crazy about the whole arc about Ceepak’s father. Initially, I liked it — but now? I don’t know — maybe they’re just spending too much time with it without resolving anything, but I’m done with it. There’s another arc kicked off here that works much better (particularly as it’s a subtle kick-off here, that grows into prominence).
3.5 Stars

Fun House

by Chris Grabenstein
Series:John Ceepak Mystery, #7

Hardcover, 336 pg.
Pegasus, 2012
Read: February 25, 2015

A competitive version of The Jersey Shore comes to Sea Haven, and with it comes chaos, attention, and gobs of money. Oh, and because this is Sea Haven — murder.

We’re treated to a nice bit of social satire/cultural commentary along with our usual Ceepak/Boyle antics. Sure, it’s at the admittedly easy targets of The Jersey Shore/”Reality TV” in general. Still, it was fun, like this little bit about the host of just before a commercial break:

…teases Chip, because they like to do that a lot on these shows: hint that something good is coming. In fact, they do more hinting and teasing than actual entertaining.

I’ve had the same thought (not as well-articulated) more than once and appreciated someone else saying the same thing.

I also liked that the book starts with drunk and disorderly charge and then an investigation into anabolic steroids. Not every book (especially those set in small towns) has to be about murder or serial killers, right?

Overall, one of the weaker entries — but the TV commentary and Danny’s personal story made up for it.
0 Stars

Free Fall

by Chris Grabenstein
Series:John Ceepak Mystery, #8

Hardcover, 352 pg.
Pegasus, 2013
Read: March 11 – 12, 2015

Sure, there are draw backs to having a mystery series in a smaller town – at some point the crime rate gets ridiculously high, for example. On the other hand, when at least one of your characters has known half of the victims/suspects/witnesses all their lives, you can save a lot of time getting to know them finding narrative hooks, emotional ties, etc. That helps a lot here.

There’s something to this murder — this victim that doesn’t seem like the typical Ceepak/Boyle case. Same with the motive, really. I really liked the characters, the murder, the way this pushed our protagonists in different ways. If this wasn’t the best mystery — the best book in the series, it’s the best in a long time. Hope it’s a sign of things to come.
4 Stars

Another Man’s Moccasins by Craig Johnson

By HCNewton

On May 13, 2015

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

Another 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.

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3.5 Stars