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jen_forbus 's review for:
The Cold Dish: A Longmire Mystery
by Craig Johnson
Walt Longmire is the sheriff of Absaroka County in Wyoming, a place where everyone knows your name and probably your business. Walt's been a widower for three...no four years now. His home is worse than a bachelor pad, his deputy Vic is forever giving him a hard time about being overweight, and there's mouse droppings on his cooking utensils.
Despite the fact that Walt's life seems to be in a shambles, the people of Absaroka County like Walt, especially his good friend and Cheyenne Indian Henry Standing Bear. As a matter of fact, there's a small conspiracy going on between Henry, Cady (Walt's adult daughter), and Ruby (Walt's strong-willed secretary) to coax Walt back into the swing of life.
But a murder throws a wrench in that plan. Cody Pritchard, Jacob and George Esper and Brian Keller were convicted a few years earlier of raping and assaulting a young Cheyenne Indian girl, Melissa, who suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The were convicted by served measly sentences. Many people in the community and on the Cheyenne Reservation were disgusted with the outcome of the trial, and the outcome haunts Walt. So, when Cody Pritchard winds up shot to death and shortly thereafter Jacob succumbs to the same fate, Walt has to figure out who of the multitude of suspects is behind the murders and protect both George and Brian from ending up like Cody and Jacob. The hardest part for Walt is the fact that Henry, Melissa's "uncle", is a prime suspect.
Had there been no plot to this story whatsoever, I probably would have been mesmerized all the same. The characters are some of the richest I've seen in a long time. By the time I reached the end of the novel, I wanted to go live in Absaroka County with them! Walt is just plain fun. There's no question why his constituents like him. He's kind and fair and aims to do the "right" thing. He's not perfect, and his altercation with Turk highlights that. Turk assaulted Jules, an old drunk man, while putting Jules in jail for peeing on him. Walt simply lost his control and assaulted Turk. While his actions are ironic, I had trouble feeling any sympathy for Turk. But Ruby was furious with Walt and even threatened to quit because she was disgusted with his behavior. And Walt was embarrassed for it. Me, I was cheering for him!
I love Walt, but I often have a special affinity for the supporting character in a duo-type story. I'm very fond of Henry in this book. He is an incredibly rich character. His sarcastic humor is phenomenal. I was almost in tears laughing at various parts in this novel, and they usually involved something Henry was saying. And Henry often ends up being the sarcastic voice of reason when Walt starts getting carried away.
All the characters in this novel are fascinating: Vic, Lucien, Omar, Jules, Ruby, George, Vonnie, Dena, Melissa and Lonnie Little Bird...yes, it is so. Johnson has a knack for breathing realism into his characters and bringing them to life for the reader. Their interactions with each other add a whole additional level of complexity to the novel. In and of themselves they would each be great characters but the relationships between them make them extraordinary characters.
But characterization isn't his only skill. Absaroka County is a tiny little place in Wyoming where very little out of the ordinary happens. This fact is reinforced when Vic is giving her crime updates to Walt at various times throughout the novel.
The element I enjoyed the most was the intertwining of the Cheyenne Indian culture. I've always been fascinated by mythologies. So, I thought Chapter 12 was beyond brilliant. It was moving and it carried a completely different tone than the rest of the novel. There was obvious and utter respect emanating from this chapter.
I was entranced for the entire chapter, more accurately the remainder of the book. This book made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think. I loved it. I just simply can't say enough wonderful things to do this book justice. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend you do so.
Despite the fact that Walt's life seems to be in a shambles, the people of Absaroka County like Walt, especially his good friend and Cheyenne Indian Henry Standing Bear. As a matter of fact, there's a small conspiracy going on between Henry, Cady (Walt's adult daughter), and Ruby (Walt's strong-willed secretary) to coax Walt back into the swing of life.
But a murder throws a wrench in that plan. Cody Pritchard, Jacob and George Esper and Brian Keller were convicted a few years earlier of raping and assaulting a young Cheyenne Indian girl, Melissa, who suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The were convicted by served measly sentences. Many people in the community and on the Cheyenne Reservation were disgusted with the outcome of the trial, and the outcome haunts Walt. So, when Cody Pritchard winds up shot to death and shortly thereafter Jacob succumbs to the same fate, Walt has to figure out who of the multitude of suspects is behind the murders and protect both George and Brian from ending up like Cody and Jacob. The hardest part for Walt is the fact that Henry, Melissa's "uncle", is a prime suspect.
Had there been no plot to this story whatsoever, I probably would have been mesmerized all the same. The characters are some of the richest I've seen in a long time. By the time I reached the end of the novel, I wanted to go live in Absaroka County with them! Walt is just plain fun. There's no question why his constituents like him. He's kind and fair and aims to do the "right" thing. He's not perfect, and his altercation with Turk highlights that. Turk assaulted Jules, an old drunk man, while putting Jules in jail for peeing on him. Walt simply lost his control and assaulted Turk. While his actions are ironic, I had trouble feeling any sympathy for Turk. But Ruby was furious with Walt and even threatened to quit because she was disgusted with his behavior. And Walt was embarrassed for it. Me, I was cheering for him!
I love Walt, but I often have a special affinity for the supporting character in a duo-type story. I'm very fond of Henry in this book. He is an incredibly rich character. His sarcastic humor is phenomenal. I was almost in tears laughing at various parts in this novel, and they usually involved something Henry was saying. And Henry often ends up being the sarcastic voice of reason when Walt starts getting carried away.
All the characters in this novel are fascinating: Vic, Lucien, Omar, Jules, Ruby, George, Vonnie, Dena, Melissa and Lonnie Little Bird...yes, it is so. Johnson has a knack for breathing realism into his characters and bringing them to life for the reader. Their interactions with each other add a whole additional level of complexity to the novel. In and of themselves they would each be great characters but the relationships between them make them extraordinary characters.
But characterization isn't his only skill. Absaroka County is a tiny little place in Wyoming where very little out of the ordinary happens. This fact is reinforced when Vic is giving her crime updates to Walt at various times throughout the novel.
The element I enjoyed the most was the intertwining of the Cheyenne Indian culture. I've always been fascinated by mythologies. So, I thought Chapter 12 was beyond brilliant. It was moving and it carried a completely different tone than the rest of the novel. There was obvious and utter respect emanating from this chapter.
I was entranced for the entire chapter, more accurately the remainder of the book. This book made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think. I loved it. I just simply can't say enough wonderful things to do this book justice. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend you do so.