Reviews

As The Crow Flies by Craig Johnson

angie82's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

roseleaf24's review against another edition

4.0

This was one of my favorites of the series thus far. It's not a cozy, but it's not as dark as a few of them have been. As his daughter's wedding approaches, Walt's love for her shows clearly, even as he's praying a case that isn't actually his.

zmull's review against another edition

3.0

Johnson tries something different with each of the novels in his Longmire series. This one moves the action across state lines into Montana and takes place entirely on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Some folks have dinged Johnson for his cultural appropriation of Native people - and that's a argument worth looking at - but more of an issue in As The Crow Flies is his awful women characters. Nearly all major female characters in these novels are variations on the same sass-talking, ball-busting archetype. They aren't characters with inner lives. They're just projections of Johnson's female ideal. The worst of these, the supremely irritating Vic, is absent for most of this novel, replaced by a reboot version, Lolo Long, who is essentially Vic without the qualifications or the lust for our 70 year old hero. Long could be an interesting character. Johnson implies she is suffering from PTSD and is estranged from her family. But, mostly she exists on the page to sling bon mots and screw things up for Walt to fix. It's a problem. Compounded when another variation on the woman-as-force-of-nature character, Walt's daughter Cady, shows up and doubles the sass.

It's a bummer too, because Walt's adventures on the rez are engaging. The book is actually pretty good, if you can tune out the cowboy version of the manic pixie dream girls that thread throughout the story. Johnson's ending on this one is kinda weak. There are more threads than usual that don't really go anywhere. Still, I really enjoy this series and I'm happy that have plenty more novels yet to read.

greaydean's review against another edition

4.0

Another excellent mystery.

longhornrach's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

aut's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

3.0

bristlecone's review against another edition

3.0

Another fun Longmire book. A quick and easy read, and a recovery from Hell is Empty.

krobart's review against another edition

3.0

As well as the cast of recurring characters you expect from a Johnson novel and some interesting new ones, As the Crow Flies continues the hint of Indian mysticism that has appeared here and there in the series, including a peyote ceremony and a conversation with the deceased Virgil White Buffalo (who I miss). Its taste of Cheyenne culture gives it an added dimension.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/as-the-crow-flies/

wearsteel's review against another edition

4.0

The story didn’t quite catch but was still as paced & entertaining as ever.

lcoverosey's review against another edition

4.0

The killer is often closer than you think. Longmire's family life under story is poignant.