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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book more than I expected and really appreciated the humor. The character development was good, the location was great too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Suicide
Minor: Alcohol
Main character was likable, but plot was boring. Also found dialogue confusing at times - hard to tell who was speaking.
What a fantastic first read of 2023! The Cold Dish is one of the most immersive mysteries I've ever read. Craig Johnson's writing is so descriptive as if it aspires to photo-realism. Normally that might cause me to zone out at times and even lose interest, after all, I showed up for an exciting mystery, not a "day-in-the-life-of a Wyoming sheriff" literary novel. Thankfully Walt Longmire is an intelligent, lovable, humorous, and engaging character and narrator. After a while, it wasn't too important to me that Walt make headway on the case, because I was having too good a time living in his head.
I thoroughly enjoyed the elements of Cheyenne Nation mysticism and Walt's pal Henry Standing Bear. I loved the supporting cast of the sheriff's office staff, particularly the foul-mouthed Val. The setting of Absaroka County, Wyoming was a great place to visit too.
As a long-time fan of Robert B. Parker's Spenser, I noticed how much Walt resembles Spenser in his sense of humor, literary knowledge, military background, toughness, and all-around sensitivity toward the plights of people. (The only aspect missing is Spenser's cooking. Walt needs others to cook for him!) Walt in some ways is a fusion of Spenser and Jesse Stone in that his base of operations is the Sheriff's office where there is a built in "family" of agitators and allies. The issues of local power and politics also reminded me of Jesse.
I'll definitely be continuing with this series!
I thoroughly enjoyed the elements of Cheyenne Nation mysticism and Walt's pal Henry Standing Bear. I loved the supporting cast of the sheriff's office staff, particularly the foul-mouthed Val. The setting of Absaroka County, Wyoming was a great place to visit too.
As a long-time fan of Robert B. Parker's Spenser, I noticed how much Walt resembles Spenser in his sense of humor, literary knowledge, military background, toughness, and all-around sensitivity toward the plights of people. (The only aspect missing is Spenser's cooking. Walt needs others to cook for him!) Walt in some ways is a fusion of Spenser and Jesse Stone in that his base of operations is the Sheriff's office where there is a built in "family" of agitators and allies. The issues of local power and politics also reminded me of Jesse.
I'll definitely be continuing with this series!
4 stars - It was great. I loved it.
Excellent atmospheric mystery set in a small Wyoming town that includes Native American subject matter. What made this one shine for me was the dialogue, which was hilarious if you enjoy sarcasm, and the characters. The author did a wonderful job of creating memorable characters that are easy to visualize and will be missed when the book is over. Listened to the audio version of this one, which I would easily recommend as it is narrated by one of my favorites, George Guidall.
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Favorite Quote: Rarely do you get those glimmers of unadulterated love and, if you're smart, you pack them away for darker days.
First Sentence: Bob Barnes says they got a dead body out on BLM land.
Excellent atmospheric mystery set in a small Wyoming town that includes Native American subject matter. What made this one shine for me was the dialogue, which was hilarious if you enjoy sarcasm, and the characters. The author did a wonderful job of creating memorable characters that are easy to visualize and will be missed when the book is over. Listened to the audio version of this one, which I would easily recommend as it is narrated by one of my favorites, George Guidall.
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Favorite Quote: Rarely do you get those glimmers of unadulterated love and, if you're smart, you pack them away for darker days.
First Sentence: Bob Barnes says they got a dead body out on BLM land.
Audible version: I have another couple of characters to add to my list of favorites. Walt and Henry are like my literary teddy bears that I'm going to hug before I go to bed at night. They are sweet and funny and just flawed enough to be endearing. The Wyoming setting is just lovely, and George Guidall's narration is perfect!
The Cold Dish is a winner for a first book in a series. The book has a fantastic set of characters with some of the wittiest, intelligent dialogue I have read. Walt, Henry, Lucien, and Vic all contributed great lines. Walt is a super main character. It's always great to find a good series. The action and suspense builds in the book and the mystic Indian elements were a nice element similar in ways with William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series. The only detractor from a 5 star rating is the occasional times when it was not clear who was speaking in a scene. Well done and looking forward to book #2 in the series.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is based on the TV show Longmire. It's a good read. This story is the season one finale story. The book is better at the details than the show but I like both.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love reading books set in wherever I am traveling. We go to WY every summer and I have read CJ Box, Peter Heller’s Celine, One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow, but Craig Johnson might be my new favorite! I think I will read one book of his Longmire series every summer we are here in the future. Let me be clear, this book is so much better than the Netflix series, although to be fair I have only watched two episodes.
Craig Johnson’s writing is descriptive and wry, sometimes I had to go back and re-read a passage to get a second chuckle or vision out of it!
Walt Longmire is the sheriff in a small WY county with a great cast of characters. When a local man is found shot, Walt has to determine whether it was a hunting accident gone wrong or a murder to avenge the rape of a local girl a few years earlier. The only concern is, if it is a revenge killing, then there were three more involved in it, and they maybe in danger of getting picked off. But do you really want to protect the bad guys?
Craig Johnson’s writing is descriptive and wry, sometimes I had to go back and re-read a passage to get a second chuckle or vision out of it!
Walt Longmire is the sheriff in a small WY county with a great cast of characters. When a local man is found shot, Walt has to determine whether it was a hunting accident gone wrong or a murder to avenge the rape of a local girl a few years earlier. The only concern is, if it is a revenge killing, then there were three more involved in it, and they maybe in danger of getting picked off. But do you really want to protect the bad guys?