It has been two months since the events in the
harrowing Hell Is Empty and Sheriff Walt Longmire is once again on the
edge of disaster. This time it is because his daughter Cady is getting
married. She is getting married in few
days and now the spot they were supposed to have reserved on the nearby Indian
Reservation is no longer available.
Instead Henry Standing Bear and Walt are supposed to
make other arrangements. After getting a tip that a nearby location known as
“Painted Warrior” might be the perfect substitute place, Walt and Henry go over
there. Without a doubt it is a beautiful spot with high cliffs, a box canyon at
the base and definitely a stunning image in the rock face. Unfortunately, Walt
and Henry are just in time to see a woman fall to her death from the top.
As the days pass bringing the wedding closer and
closer Sheriff Walt Longmire spends nearly all of his time on the Cheyenne
Indian Reservation helping with an investigation into the young woman’s death. Along
the way he clashes with the new tribal police chief Lolo Long, attends a peyote
ceremony, nearly gets killed more than once, and does very little to help with
any wedding plans.
The eighth book in the series is another good one
though not nearly as good as Hell Is Empty. Many of the normal characters are not present and have been replaced by a tremendous number of new characters all living on or near the reservation. While the elements
of plot and scenic descriptions are all there the read never comes quite together to really grab the reader.
That may or may not be due to the large cast of new characters, the fact that the
book meanders all over the place, the fact that Sheriff Walt Longmire is nearly
never at home¸ or a host of other issues. The bottom line is this book just is
not nearly as good. A certain up and down quality to a series is expected and that
certainly is true here in a read that
while good, is not anywhere near the level of the last book.
Those who are new to the books because of the
“Longmire” television series on A & E should understand that there are
significant differences between the television series and the books. Not just
in casting or the fact that the series was shot in New Mexico instead of
Wyoming, but in terms of story points and plots. While this novel could be read
as a stand-alone it would be best to read the series in order starting with the
very good The Cold Dish.
As
the Crow Flies: A Walt Longmire Mystery
Craig
Johnson
Viking
(Penguin Group)
2012
ISBN
#978-0-670-02351-6
Hardback
308
Pages
$25.95
Material supplied by the good folks
of the Plano Texas Public Library System. Again this year the summer reading
challenge for adults and kids is now underway. For more information go to
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
Book Reviews and More... http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/
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