Looking For a Good Book

Walt Longmire, the tough-as-nails Sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming, is hard at work, but this timeout of his own territory. A cousin to Walt’s late wife reaches out to Walt for some help. The distant relative is a postal official in Colorado and one of his carriers, a woman who delivers in remote areas, has gone missing. Her vehicle has been found but no one has seen or heard from the woman. Loyal to worthy family, Walt goes undercover and discovers much more nefarious at play.

The missing mail carrier’s route took her within range of a cult compound. The charismatic leader of the cult, a former wannabe actor, is looking to protect his domain and the elderly folks who’ve taken up to following him, and Walt makes friends with someone close to the cult leader and who also has reason to dislike them.

Walt takes on the cult with his usual diplomacy (his sidearm).

This isn’t the best of the Longmire novels, but it’s fun, lets us see Walt in a new light (away from the friends he might usually rely on for help), and has plenty of action to keep us entertained on the beach or in a cabin somewhere (I don’t think Walt would appreciate being read on the beach).

I enjoy the character quite a bit and seeing this side of him (it’s still Walt, but there are some new qualities revealed about him here) was fun. There’s a stand-off scene that feels like it should be in a turn or the century western that is not nearly as tense as it is delightful (and shooting off the finger of the hostage was almost laugh out loud funny).

Sometimes Walt Longmire seems superhuman, and I’m not particularly found of these moments. There’s one of those here – where Walt, deaf, blind, and parched with thirst, manages to drag two bodies out of the desert. These moments don’t feel real. I could believe in Walt and what he does most of the time, but I’m taken out of the story when he becomes bigger, badder, and stronger than any other human.

Still, it’s Walt Longmire. I’ll happily read his adventures any day.

Looking for a good book? Return to Sender by Craig Johnson is the 21st book in the Walt Longmire series. He’s a classic hero in a modern world, which means he doesn’t always fit, but his ethics always have him trying to do what’s right.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Return to Sender

author: Craig Johnson

series: Walt Longmire #21

publisher: Viking

ISBN: 9780593830703

hardcover, 336 pages