Reviews

Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson

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zmull's review against another edition

3.0

Series novels like this one need a strong cast to overcome weaknesses of the plot. And there are going to be weaknesses in the plot if you're cranking out a mystery novel a year. Craig Johnson's third Walt Longmire novel has some plot problems (specifically: a tacked on Wyoming prologue for padding, a goofy scavenger hunt reveal structure, Walt literally running into one of the badguys by coincidence in yet another bit of padding, a Marty Sue-type love scene that is pretty embarrassing, and villains so detached from the narrative they might as well have been called Villain #1 and Villain #2.), but those things are usually softened by the familiarity of the cast. So, Johnson has a problem. Kindness Goes Unpunished is set in Philadelphia, far from the series' usual Wyoming locale. Henry Standing Bear travels with Walt, which is a good sign, but otherwise it's Walt and a new set of locals. It doesn't work well. Eventually another of the Wyoming cast, Vic, the series' most irritating character arrives, but that only lessens the books charm, if anything. Johnson's a writer of talent. He's funny and knows how to write the hell out of two-hander scene, but this one isn't up to standard.

greaydean's review against another edition

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4.0

Changes context to deal with a plausibility problem.
Well done.
I will carry on.

qu33nofbookz's review against another edition

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4.0

This book stepped up the sense of humor without losing the mystery, thrill and western feel of the series even though it takes place in the city. I also learned something about Philadelphia too which was nice without seeming to read like a travel book.

Walt and Dog accompany Henry to Philadelphia for a photo exhibit on old photographs and to visit with his daughter. When he arrives he meets the mother of his deputy and his daughter bushes off their dinner date. That night she is attacked and severely injured. With the help of his deputy's family who are all cops Walt starts looking into what happened to his daughter. Between being with his daughter at the hospital and running around the city trying to solve his daughters case as the body count begins to grow the mystery begins to look like a conspiracy.

The characters are interesting and not annoying and many are relateable. There is humor as well as sadness in this book, with some wit too. The details are great without being overdone as to skip over them and you can see a picture in your head of the scenes. The dialogue related what you needed to know and the author has an every day voice and doesn't sound like he swallowed a thesaurus or dictionary which I loved. The pace was quick and easy without missing or leaving anything out or dragging on.

jecamp86's review against another edition

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4.0

I thought this story was good and definitely had heart (and a somewhat embarrassing moment) but I wasn’t a big fan of the setting. I think there’s something special about the usual setting.

woody1881's review against another edition

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5.0

the third book in the Longmire series is just as excellent as the other two!

mschrock8's review against another edition

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3.0

I am enjoying this series, and it's more personal after hearing the author speak this summer.

A change of setting to visit his daughter Cady in Philadelphia.

Borrowed on Hoopla through JCPL.

Listening length eight hr 43 min