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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Very enjoyable start to the series ~ but, wait! ~ too much snow. lol
Liked it a lot. Will be reading the rest of the Longmire series.
I am delighted to find this guy. Never heard of him before and it is always such a great feeling to discover a new author (no matter how long he has been around). Loved the landscape, the characters and the plot.
medium-paced
Walt Longmire has been in a rut for years, knows it and could care less. His wife died about four years ago and his time as sheriff of a hard-core Wyoming county, where only the tough only hope to survive, is winding down.
Then a young man is shot long-range, a kill only a sharpshooter could hope to accomplish. Maybe it's a coincidence he was the worst of the bunch in a quartet that raped a mentally incapacitated Indian girl. Although the four were convicted, they got the lightest sentence possible. They're all out now. Perhaps the other three are in danger.
This is the set up for THE COLD DISH, the novel that began the extremely well-done series by Wyoming resident Craig Johnson. As the investigation unfolds, the people nearest to Longmire are revealed -- his Vietnam buddy, Henry Stands Bear, and his deputy, Vic Moretti, who came to Wyoming from Philadelphia with her husband, are foremost but not the only standouts. Henry is the best friend everyone wants, especially when caught in a blizzard with two wounded people. Vic has a foul mouth, shaky marriage and lab rat buddies across the country.
Then there are Vonnie, a local girl who became a world-renowned artist and who many want the sheriff to hook up with; Ruby, a Wyoming version of Selma Diamond's character on Night Court; Lucian, the retired sheriff who still has Walt's number; Lonnie and Melissa Little Bird, the father and daughter who didn't see justice done at the trial of her tormentors; and local big hunter Omar, who might make Ranger and Joe Pike blink. Maybe.
Johnson does an outstanding job of keeping all these characters straight while moving the story along. He weaves a tale that connects the investigation with the lives of his wounded, extremely hardy characters so that the solution of whodunnit makes perfect, sorrowful sense.
Johnson also does something that some mystery purists might not like but which works within the context of the story. Without giving everything away, let's just say it has to do with a rifle that saw action at the Little Big Horn, a rifle that carries its past with it.
Although it would have been interesting to see Longmire contend with what's on his plate without this development, the entire setup is so well realized and so well developed that this should not be anyone's last read in the series.
Then a young man is shot long-range, a kill only a sharpshooter could hope to accomplish. Maybe it's a coincidence he was the worst of the bunch in a quartet that raped a mentally incapacitated Indian girl. Although the four were convicted, they got the lightest sentence possible. They're all out now. Perhaps the other three are in danger.
This is the set up for THE COLD DISH, the novel that began the extremely well-done series by Wyoming resident Craig Johnson. As the investigation unfolds, the people nearest to Longmire are revealed -- his Vietnam buddy, Henry Stands Bear, and his deputy, Vic Moretti, who came to Wyoming from Philadelphia with her husband, are foremost but not the only standouts. Henry is the best friend everyone wants, especially when caught in a blizzard with two wounded people. Vic has a foul mouth, shaky marriage and lab rat buddies across the country.
Then there are Vonnie, a local girl who became a world-renowned artist and who many want the sheriff to hook up with; Ruby, a Wyoming version of Selma Diamond's character on Night Court; Lucian, the retired sheriff who still has Walt's number; Lonnie and Melissa Little Bird, the father and daughter who didn't see justice done at the trial of her tormentors; and local big hunter Omar, who might make Ranger and Joe Pike blink. Maybe.
Johnson does an outstanding job of keeping all these characters straight while moving the story along. He weaves a tale that connects the investigation with the lives of his wounded, extremely hardy characters so that the solution of whodunnit makes perfect, sorrowful sense.
Johnson also does something that some mystery purists might not like but which works within the context of the story. Without giving everything away, let's just say it has to do with a rifle that saw action at the Little Big Horn, a rifle that carries its past with it.
Although it would have been interesting to see Longmire contend with what's on his plate without this development, the entire setup is so well realized and so well developed that this should not be anyone's last read in the series.
This was a good mystery with fun characters. I was completely surprised by the ending.
I'm a huge fan of the "Longmire" TV series and finally took the time to dive into the first book of the Johnson's lengthy series. I was afraid of a big change in the transition from the characters in the book to the ones in the show. There were a couple good sized ones, but mostly, it is true from the book to the show.
The story threw me a few times, but maybe that's just the writing style -- it might take another book to get used to it. But it is a very good introduction into the series.
The story threw me a few times, but maybe that's just the writing style -- it might take another book to get used to it. But it is a very good introduction into the series.
Maybe this is not my genre but had to really plug through this to get it finished. If you like cowboys, Indians and murderer then this is your book. I found the main character depressing and no one to help him get out of the doldrums.
Great series starter. Looks like I have another one to read. I just figured it out way too early or it would have been a 5.
Longmire is going to be an interesting character. Vic and Henry excellent sidekicks. Looking forward to the second one.
I like it enough that I’m now interested in the tv series. For those who know, does the series spoil the books?
Longmire is going to be an interesting character. Vic and Henry excellent sidekicks. Looking forward to the second one.
I like it enough that I’m now interested in the tv series. For those who know, does the series spoil the books?
Most of the book was slow moving and boring. While every thriller does not need to be fast paced, the setting and the characters did not pull me into the story.