Another Man's Moccasins: A Walt Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Craig Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 2008 | Series: Walt Longmire Mysteries

Walt Longmire unravels a mystery that connects two murders across forty years

When the body of a young Vietnamese woman is found alongside the interstate in Absaroka County, Wyoming, Sherriff Walt Longmire is determined to discover the identity of the victim and is forced to confront the horrible similarities of this murder to that of his first homicide investigation as a marine in Vietnam.

To complicate matters, Virgil White Buffalo, a homeless Crow Indian, is found living in a nearby culvert and in possession of the young woman?s purse. There are only two problems with what appears to be an open-and-shut case. One, the sheriff doesn?t think Virgil White Buffalo?a Vietnam vet with a troubling past?is a murderer. And two, the photo that is found in the woman?s purse looks hauntingly familiar to Walt.

In the fourth book in Craig Johnson?s awardwinning Walt Longmire series, the tough yet tender sheriff solves two murders tied in blood but separated by nearly forty years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. At the start of Johnson's stellar fourth mystery to feature Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire (after 2007's Kindness Goes Unpunished), Walt responds to a call that leads to the discovery of the body of a young Vietnamese woman, Ho Thi Paquet, along an Absaroka County highway. Squatting nearby with Paquet's purse is a massive Crow Indian later identified as Virgil White Buffalo. When Walt finds a photograph of himself and a Vietnamese barmaid taken in 1968 among the victim's belongings, Walt realizes that the murder isn't as clear-cut as it appears. With the help of his longtime friend, Cheyenne Indian Henry Standing Bear, Walt retraces Paquet's steps and uncovers disturbing links to a California human trafficking ring as well as to his own past as a military inspector in Vietnam. Vivid war flashbacks give a glimpse of a younger but no less determined Walt. Full of crackling dialogue, this absorbing tale demonstrates that Longmire is still the sheriff in town. 4-city author tour. (June)
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From Booklist

In Kindness Goes Unpunished (2007), Absaroka County, Wyoming, Sheriff Walt Longmire took a road trip to Philadelphia. In a sense, he’s on the road this time, too, but his traveling takes place inside his head, after the discovery of the body of a young Vietnamese woman prompts memories of Walt’s first homicide investigation as a marine in Vietnam. It isn’t just the victim’s origins that send Walt down a nightmare-cluttered memory lane; found with her belongings is a picture of another Vietnamese woman, who looks strikingly like someone Walt knew very well more than 40 years earlier. Juxtaposing the current investigation against flashbacks to Vietnam, Johnson is able to reveal several new layers to the fascinating character of the aging, kindly, homespun sheriff and his best friend, Henry Standing Bear, who served with him in Vietnam. This series has distinguished itself so far with its rich portrayal of human relationships and daily life in small-town Wyoming. Those characteristics are well in evidence here, but the addition of the vivid and powerful Vietnam scenes provides a welcome jolt of frisson. --Bill Ott

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (May 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670018619
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018611
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #651,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Craig Johnson has received both critical and popular praise for his novels The Cold Dish, Death Without Company, Kindness Goes Unpunished, Another Man's Moccasins and The Dark Horse. All five novels have been made selections by the Independent Booksellers Association, and The Cold Dish was a DILYS Award Finalist and was translated into French in 2009 as Little Bird and was just named one of the top ten mysteries of the year by Lire magazine and won the Prix du Roman Noir as the best mystery novel translated into French for 2010.

Death Without Company was selected by Booklist as one of the top-ten mysteries of 2006, won the Wyoming Historical Society's fiction book of the year. The short story, Old Indian Trick, won the Tony Hillerman Mystery Short Story Award and appeared in Cowboys & Indians Magazine.

Kindness Goes Unpunished, the third in the Walt Longmire series, was number 38 on the American Bookseller's Association's hardcover best seller list.

Another Man's Moccasins, was the recipient of Western Writer's of America's Spur Award as Novel of the Year and the Mountains and Plains Book of the Year.

The Dark Horse, the fifth in the series has garnered starred reviews by all four prepublication review services, one of the only novels to receive that honor and was named by Publisher's Weekly as one of the top one hundred books of the year.

Craig lives with his wife Judy on their ranch in Ucross, Wyoming, population 25.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent police procedural, July 25, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Another Man's Moccasins: A Walt Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The caller informs 911 that a female body lies alongside the highway in Absaroka County, Wyoming. Sheriff Walt Longmire goes to investigate. There he finds the corpse of Vietnamese woman Ho Thi Paquet; nearby sitting on the ground holding the victim's purse as if it is sacred is Native American Virgil White Buffalo. However Walt is stunned when he goes through Ho's personal possessions to find a photograph of him when he served as a military inspector in Nam with a Vietnamese barmaid circa 1968.

Walt concludes that the obvious in which Virgil killed Ho is not what happened. He and his friend Native American Henry Standing Bear investigate by trying to follow Ho's recent journey, They are shocked when the paths the young woman took lead back to a West Coast slave trafficking ring and the sheriff's Vietnam duty.

This is the fourth Longmire police procedural (see DEATH WITHOUT COMPANY, COLD DISH and KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED), but this reviewer's first; based on this superb tale this reviewer will have to go back to read them. The whodunit is fun to follow, but the look back to Walt's war time makes for a superior read as the present connects to four decades ago. Sub-genre fans will appreciate this engaging, engrossing thriller that ties late 1960s Viet Nam and 2008 Wyoming effortlessly together.

Harriet Klausner

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The very best yet, June 18, 2008

By 

Deidre S. Fain "avid reader" (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Another Man's Moccasins: A Walt Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Having been a Craig Johnson fan since The Cold Dish, seeing the growth of this amazing author is a thrill in itself. With Another Man's Moccasins, he has taken a giant leap into serious literature (but with, of course, his characteristic humor ever-present). After the body of a young girl is found dumped by the side of the highway, Sheriff Longmire also discovers a huge, and hugely troubled Indian living in a culvert near the girl's body. These two threads take Walt and Henry Standing Bear back to their memories of Vietnam in fascinating ways as they seek to discover the girl's murderer and the story behind the disturbed Indian. The cast is all there: Vic, Ruby, Sancho, Lucian (in one of his most powerful scenes to date), Cady, and others. The writing is stellar as we've come to expect. What sets Another Man's Moccasins in a league of its own is that it is so profoundly gut-wrenching and powerful. The contrast between present day Absaroka County and Walt's memories of Vietnam disturb both Walt and the reader. And the story behind the Big Indian is a heart breaker more profound than one can imagine. How Craig Johnson created this extraordinary book is a mark of his incredible talent and growing maturity. I've loved every one of the three former books but Another Man's Moccasins towers above his earlier works. An absolute must read, and certainly not just for mystery readers. This book is powerful literature for anyone interested in issues of living with oneself, injustice, Vietnam, venality, or the human spirit as it tries to make its way in the world. Craig Johnson has outdone himself and we readers are the fortunate recipients.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars love him, January 14, 2009

By 

maryzeus "maryzzz" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Another Man's Moccasins: A Walt Longmire Mystery (Walt Longmire Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This guy is a great addition to anyone's list - believable, down to earth, curiousity enough to stay just outside of serious trouble. Have read all his books and he will stay at the top of my KEEP list.