639 reviews for:

The Cold Dish

Craig Johnson

3.94 AVERAGE

adventurous mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Enjoyed it. Love the TV show, and read the book due to that. Found it to be a true voice of living in CO/WY.

I don't normally read books like this (it's not fantasy, not sci-fi, not nonfiction about math or basketball...) but I was gifted a few of the books in this series as a shot in the dark. It's cool to get books from other people, because even though this isn't a "right up my alley" type of book, it still finds a middle ground between me and the person who gifted it to me. And that's super.

I liked texting the gift giver in the middle of the book, giving progress updates, and asking questions about the TV show. And I think they enjoyed hearing my experience, and knowing that the gift was a success.

Because this book was good! I liked it! It started off a little slow: there is a whole cast of new characters with a pretty solid backstory on each, and it took time to set them all up. It was still interesting, especially with the short flashback scenes dealing with the sexual assault case. Then, about halfway through, the case we're following clearly pivots towards a murder (not like we didn't already know it was a murder, but now Walt knows too), and the story goes full on murder-mystery. There are lots of twists and turns, a satisfying ending, and everything points towards me enjoying the other books in this series.

Ever wonder what would happen if Cormac McCarthy were to write a mystery novel set in rural Wyoming?

Wonder no more.

Honestly, I liked this book a lot more than I thought it would. Despite its stark and unforgiving setting, the characters were richly drawn, fully alive, and wonderfully entertaining.

This book has a ton of heart mixed in with some incredibly beautiful storytelling and an intriguing mystery to boot. TO COWBOY BOOT THAT IS

...Nope, that wasn’t even half-funny. Sorry about that. Read this book. You’ll be glad you did.
adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
adventurous mysterious slow-paced
adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

nickadams's review

4.25
funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sarahkmock1's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 42%

It was bad. 

I really enjoyed this book. The ending was a surprise, and the action kept me engaged. I did feel like the author left a few too many gaps in his narrative, not as far as the mystery goes, but just in general descriptions and action. I was left feeling like I was missing something on me than one occasion. I think dine if that would have been easier if I were familiar with the show, which my husband lives. As much as I enjoyed this book, though, the series doesn't seem quite up my alley for some reason.