Customer Reviews

The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire Mysteries)

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In Wyoming where the endless beauty of nature gives you the chance to let your spirit flow freely, things take time - and that is good.

Craig Johnson uses that time to paint a wonderful picture of the setting and to introduce us to a cast of characters any reader would dream of. Although they say it's a mystery - and they're right - there is also so much more. It's a tale about the people, their stories and the magical countryside.

True, other writers have written about this part of the world, but when Craig Johnson paints the story, you can feel the wind blow and even hear the snowflakes fall. Every detail that is mentioned helps you sense the atmosphere and lets you create your own picture in your head without ever being overdone.

It is not one of those fast who-dun-it mysteries that keep you chasing after the clues. But that doesn't mean you'll lose your patience - the storyline is much too good for that.

Sherif Walt Longmire of Absaroka County, together with his friend Henry Standing Bear and Deputy Victoria Moretti must solve the murder of Cody Pritchard, one of four high school boys who, a couple of years earlier had been convicted of brutally raping Melissa, a young Cheyenne girl. Walt never got over the horrible crime, but now it may be only him left standing between the other three boys and the bullets.

It's fiction at its best and it also happens to be a tremendously well written mystery you wouldn't want to end. And when it does you're probably going to start all over right away. A strong tale with great characters you won't forget.

Discovering a wonderful new author is a special treat for readers, and Craig Johnson's 'The Cold Dish' is especially delicious. Set in a fictional small town in northern Wyoming and featuring grieving, 50-something widower Sheriff Walt Longmire, the book is a beautifully crafted mystery that will hold your attention from the first page. A marvelous supporting cast of eccentric locals including Longmire's best friend, Henry Standing Bear, both assist and hinder the Sheriff as he makes his way through a maze of suspects to solve a grisy series of murders. By the last chapter of this terrific first novel, the reader will feel that he, too, knows the starkly beautiful country at the foot of the Big Horn mountains. A guaranteed great read!

Being in the book business, I'm always on the lookout for the next big thing, the kind of author with so much talent and drive that anyone who buys one of their works will be back the next day to buy the rest. I've seen writers like Lee Child and Michael Connelly go from buzz to best seller, and I love that brief window of opportunity when I can hand sell a relatively unknown author I know will knock people out.

Craig Johnson is a new voice that his publisher Penguin believes can become the next Hillerman. Both Craig and Penguin have sent our bookshop posters, postcards and various promotional items (word to the wise - chocolate and money work best) in order to bring him to the attention of our customers. Johnson's protagonist is Walt Longmire, an aging, small town sheriff in Wyoming. (The aging thing is always a poignant touch, but it can get awkward when it's the starting point in a continuing series - those Vietnam vets aren't going to be able to keep punching people out for very much longer.) Walt's rather pedestrian duties are suddenly enlivened by the death of a young man who had been involved in the gang rape of a Native American girl. When a second guilty party is also killed it becomes apparent that the first death was no accident, and unless the crimes are solved the town could explode.

Longmire is a likeable, gruff and very decent character, a man just emerging from mourning the death of his long time wife, and the reader is drawn effortlessly into his world. Johnson skillfully immerses the reader in the rhythms and mores of the West, smoothly integrating history and folklore into the evocative landscape. Like Hillerman, he captures the dangerous beauty of the area as well as the equally dangerous tensions between the Native Americans and the rest of the community.

I found the middle of the book less compelling, however. Small town policing can get pretty tedious at times, and it's challenging to present that in a way that's true to life yet maintains the pace of the book, a challenge that Johnson's not always up to. I also found some of the characters like the-pithy-member-of-a-minority-best-friend and the-beautiful-rich-woman-known-in-childhood-from-the-other-side-of-the-class-divide to be a little stock.

But the sting is in the tail, as they say, and for me Johnson's ending more than redeemed any reservations I may have had, and in fact turned some of them on their head. He delivers the kind of kick ass, gut wrenching, truly surprising resolution that not too many writers can pull off these days, and it immediately made me yearn for Death Without Company, the next book in the series. Craig Johnson may not be the next big thing, but he'll definitely do until it comes along.

What do Herman Melville, Cervantes, Zane Grey, Raymond Chandler and Cheyenne Chief Wooden Leg have in common? They would have loved this book.

With characters and a story that stay with you long after you put it down, this is an exceptional story told by an exceptional storyteller. A murder mystery unlike any I have ever read, The Cold Dish is as thought provoking as it is readable, as rich and beautiful as the Wyoming sky under which it is set.

In expertly weaving together threads of tragedy and revenge with the redeeming power of humor, integrity, and friendship, Mr. Johnson is an authentic voice. His gift for bringing to life the emptiness, majesty and struggle of the Western landscape and the people it forges has created characters and a friendship between Walt and Henry Standing Bear that will stay with you for a long time.

Complex issues of history, race, murder, and love against the backdrop of sagebrush and Western skies. Characters so real you wish you could talk to them. The Cold Dish is a powerful addition to the literary canon dealing with that hard but beautiful part of America we simply call the West.

Point blank: Mr. Johnson spins a great yarn. This is one book you will read again and again. Guaranteed.

I grew up on an Indian reservation. I have read many books that have attempted to show the true relationship between the White Man and Indian. None have ever hit so close to home as the "Cold Dish" I recommmed this book to all my Native brothers and sisters. It will fill your heart with pride, your gut with laughter and your eyes with tears. All this in a few pages, over and over again.

I absolutely adored this book! As a mystery fan, I am always excited to find a new writer to add to my list of favorite "who-done-it" authors. Mr. Johnson's plot is well-crafted, intriguing, and responsible for the tremendous back-ache I received after not budging from the sofa until I finished this book. As a Wyoming resident, I am delighted at Mr. Johnson's ability to capture the quirkiness of the people who live in this amazing state. I hope another book from Craig Johnson will follow quickly, since I'm dying to find out more about Sheriff Longmire, Henry Standing Bear, and the others in Absaroka County, Wyoming.

I was fortunate enough to read this gem, of a book, and found it to be very difficult to put down (ask my kids!). The visual imagery in it paints the Wyoming town and landscape as only a great story teller can capture. Although, it is a mystery and a 'who done it' to the end, the characters will make you laugh out loud. Craig has truly captured the art of story-telling in this book, and I look forward to more books to follow

This book has delightful descriptions of Wyoming and the Big Horns. And add to that characters that captured my interest from the first page to the last. I felt like I was catching up with some old friends and making new friends. I am now reading Craig's new book and look forward to his third and fourth!

This is such a good read!

I just read this book and loved it. I have never been to Absaroka County, but after reading this book I feel like my first visit there would seem like a return trip, and a welcome one. Sheriff Longmire is a beautifully drawn character. He is a strong yet flawed man, who, now widowed, is just trying to do his job, stay connected to his daughter, and have a few drinks and good conversation with his best friend, when a murder forces him to revisit an old case that has never quite left his mind. His search to find the murderer is a compelling story that both unravels a mystery and reflects Longmire's inner struggles as he seeks to regain control of his life and maybe find a little justice along the way. The book has something for everyone: whether you love mysteries or generally steer clear of them; live in Wyoming or have never set foot west of the Mississippi; crave character development or merely want to be entertained. I highly recommend it.

I'm not generally a fan of mysteries, and to call this a mystery is something of an injustice, but this is truly a terrific read. The characters are brought to life in such a beautifully genuine way that you actually CARE about these people, and that gives it relevance. You want to know what's going to happen next not simply because you think you can figure out "who done it" but because these characters become important to you. Perhaps one of the most striking things about the book is that it provides a view of what life is like in much of the Rocky Mountain region that isn't entirely what is expected. Both majestic and gritty at the same time the imagery is crystal clear and one of the things we learn is that justice is sometimes not the heroic ideal we would hope it to be. This was one of those books that you hate to finish, because you hope you can keep on reading it. Highly recommended!