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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Third in the Walt Longmire mystery series about a cowboy sheriff and his friends and coworkers. Only this one takes place on a visit to see his daughter in Philadelphia.
My Take
Whew. This was another good one! Seriously, do not miss this installment. There is so much happening in this wonderfully homey story!
For all that it takes place off Walt's usual stomping grounds, he's still a cop and understands their ways. And it's a pleasant switch from the usual territoriality of cops who don't want some outsider on their turf.
Walt and Henry meet Vic's family and come to understand what makes her who she is. It's certainly fascinating to watch the family in action. Tremendous events revolving around Cady during and, even better, after.
There are lies on both sides of the legal fence here, and some are better than others. Lots of very clever maneuvers---and I'll bet the Philly PD welcome Walt back any time. I'm sure the hospital could use more of Henry's help. It is pretty funny how matter-of-fact Henry is over using his medicine inside the hospital with a whole lotta fascinated medical personnel watching from the sidelines. I'm not sure if they were awestruck or dumbfounded, LOL.
The Story
Henry's been invited to give a lecture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. A great opportunity for Walt to visit his daughter, in spite of the DA's plans to run for sheriff!
It gets exciting enough that Vic flies back to help.
The Characters
Walt Longmire is the sheriff in Absaroka County in Wyoming with a daughter practicing law in Philadelphia. He inherited Dog from Lucian. Henry Standing Bear is Walt's best friend, who runs the Red Pony, and is a great chef. Lola is his 1959 T-bird convertible.
Cady is the daughter Walt is so proud of, and she works at Schomberg, Calder, Dallin, and Rhind. Patti is her so-helpful assistant. Joanne Fitzpatrick is an associate of Cady's. William White Eyes---a White Indian incarcerated for cooking drugs---is a pro bono case Cady was handling. A.k.a., William Carlisle, who has a very comprehensive history of the Notame-ohmeseheestse.
Devon Conliffe is also an attorney and Cady's boyfriend, a possible fiance per the records; not according to him. His father is a judge. ADA Vince "Oz" Osgood is a friend of his with some shared bad habits.
Victoria Moretti is the brilliant, divorced, young undersheriff from Philadelphia whom Walt wants to take over for him when he does retire. She's partnered up with the new guy: Santiago "Sancho" Saizabitoria, a Basque. Jim Ferguson is a part-time deputy. Chuck Frymyer is this story's new-hire.
Lena Moretti is Vic's mom (I can't tell if she's estranged or divorced from Victor…). Uncle Alphonse has a pizzeria that will make you hungry. Victor Moretti, Vic's dad, is a chief inspector and sings opera on the side. Tony and Michael Moretti are street cops; Tony has bad news for Walt.
Detectives Asa Katz and Gowder investigate the deaths in Philadelphia and enlist Walt's help. Even if he is a suspect.
Jimmy Tomko runs the shooting range where the lawyers go to practice. Ian O'Neill runs O'Neill's, a pub Cady frequents. Dr. Rissman is in charge of Cady's case.
Toy Diaz is a local drug kingpin. Shankar DuVall and Billy Carlisle are drug runners with an uneven deal.
The usual cast of characters have cameos as most of the action is in Philadelphia.
Omar Rhoades is "the big dog of international outfitters" and a friend of Walt's. Myra is his estranged wife recently returned to play shoot 'em up.
The Cover
The cover makes me think of a pastel, only, instead of the usual landscape of mountains or plains, it's a bad part of town at night with a cautious Walt in cowboy hat, jacket, and rifle about to step down a lurid backstreet alley of greens, oranges, lights, abandoned vehicles, and puddles.
The title is an interesting contradiction and true enough, for Kindness Goes Unpunished when unexpected aid steps up.
My Take
Whew. This was another good one! Seriously, do not miss this installment. There is so much happening in this wonderfully homey story!
For all that it takes place off Walt's usual stomping grounds, he's still a cop and understands their ways. And it's a pleasant switch from the usual territoriality of cops who don't want some outsider on their turf.
Walt and Henry meet Vic's family and come to understand what makes her who she is. It's certainly fascinating to watch the family in action. Tremendous events revolving around Cady during and, even better, after.
There are lies on both sides of the legal fence here, and some are better than others. Lots of very clever maneuvers---and I'll bet the Philly PD welcome Walt back any time. I'm sure the hospital could use more of Henry's help. It is pretty funny how matter-of-fact Henry is over using his medicine inside the hospital with a whole lotta fascinated medical personnel watching from the sidelines. I'm not sure if they were awestruck or dumbfounded, LOL.
Too funny:Johnson knows how to bring Walt down to size. All it takes is storytime.
"Vic the father, Vic the son, and Vic the Holy Terror."
I'll leave you to guess who the last one is...
Then there's mom's comment about:One of the things I like about this series is Johnson's casual back-and-forth with Walt and Henry's friendship. The two are aware that Walt is a white man and that Henry is Native American. They will use it to confound someone, but on the whole, they don't care. It's a great way to learn something about the Native American culture without having it thrust down one's throat.
"Unlike with girls, you only have to worry about one prick."
The Story
Henry's been invited to give a lecture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. A great opportunity for Walt to visit his daughter, in spite of the DA's plans to run for sheriff!
It gets exciting enough that Vic flies back to help.
The Characters
Walt Longmire is the sheriff in Absaroka County in Wyoming with a daughter practicing law in Philadelphia. He inherited Dog from Lucian. Henry Standing Bear is Walt's best friend, who runs the Red Pony, and is a great chef. Lola is his 1959 T-bird convertible.
Cady is the daughter Walt is so proud of, and she works at Schomberg, Calder, Dallin, and Rhind. Patti is her so-helpful assistant. Joanne Fitzpatrick is an associate of Cady's. William White Eyes---a White Indian incarcerated for cooking drugs---is a pro bono case Cady was handling. A.k.a., William Carlisle, who has a very comprehensive history of the Notame-ohmeseheestse.
Devon Conliffe is also an attorney and Cady's boyfriend, a possible fiance per the records; not according to him. His father is a judge. ADA Vince "Oz" Osgood is a friend of his with some shared bad habits.
Victoria Moretti is the brilliant, divorced, young undersheriff from Philadelphia whom Walt wants to take over for him when he does retire. She's partnered up with the new guy: Santiago "Sancho" Saizabitoria, a Basque. Jim Ferguson is a part-time deputy. Chuck Frymyer is this story's new-hire.
Lena Moretti is Vic's mom (I can't tell if she's estranged or divorced from Victor…). Uncle Alphonse has a pizzeria that will make you hungry. Victor Moretti, Vic's dad, is a chief inspector and sings opera on the side. Tony and Michael Moretti are street cops; Tony has bad news for Walt.
Detectives Asa Katz and Gowder investigate the deaths in Philadelphia and enlist Walt's help. Even if he is a suspect.
Jimmy Tomko runs the shooting range where the lawyers go to practice. Ian O'Neill runs O'Neill's, a pub Cady frequents. Dr. Rissman is in charge of Cady's case.
Toy Diaz is a local drug kingpin. Shankar DuVall and Billy Carlisle are drug runners with an uneven deal.
The usual cast of characters have cameos as most of the action is in Philadelphia.
Omar Rhoades is "the big dog of international outfitters" and a friend of Walt's. Myra is his estranged wife recently returned to play shoot 'em up.
The Cover
The cover makes me think of a pastel, only, instead of the usual landscape of mountains or plains, it's a bad part of town at night with a cautious Walt in cowboy hat, jacket, and rifle about to step down a lurid backstreet alley of greens, oranges, lights, abandoned vehicles, and puddles.
The title is an interesting contradiction and true enough, for Kindness Goes Unpunished when unexpected aid steps up.
gdsunshine's review against another edition
3.0
Good writing (as usual)...can make me both teary and giggly. The plot seemed too long winded though...like I needed the characters to explain ad nauseum who did what why.
adastraperlibris's review
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
4.25
reliablepat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
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
4.0
Changes context to deal with a plausibility problem.
Well done.
I will carry on.
Well done.
I will carry on.
qu33nofbookz's review against another edition
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.
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
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
5.0
the third book in the Longmire series is just as excellent as the other two!