Review: "Dry Bones: A Longmire Mystery" by Craig Johnson

The place known as “Lone Elk” covers 10,000 acres in Absaroka Country, Wyoming. The landscape in May is dotted with blooming beauty and the scents are heavy in the air. Heavy in the water in one of the ponds at Lone Elk is a body that Omar Rhodes has found. Wealthy beyond all means, Omar likes his toys as well as to hunt and fish. This day he was on Lone Elk fishing as he had the permission of the family.

When Vic, Walt, and Omar get the body to shore they discovered it is Danny Lone Elk just as Omar suspected. They decide to move the body back to town in Omar’s truck as being enclosed it would be a bit better than tossing it in the back of Walt’s truck. As they load the body on board they hear the crack of a nearby rifle shot. Omar’s SUV is also bulletproof which is handy when you are going to drive towards somebody shooting.

That proves to be a good thing a few minutes later when, while driving towards what appears to be a road block and some sort of altercation , somebody opens fire on the vehicle. When the shooting stops Walt, Vic, and Omar discover that the incident is because of a clash over what possibly could be the most intact Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton ever found. A skeleton that everyone wants.  Danny’s death has made ownership a much trickier matter with his family, tribe, and the federal government all claiming control. If that wasn’t enough Walt’s Daughter, Cady, and baby Lola are due in for a visit in a matter of hours. Walt has his hand’s full and things are about to get much worse.

For different from the television show, the books that inspired it are far better and very different. In the books, Vic is brunette and Walt has a romantic relationship with her. In the books, Cady is married, has a child, and lives back east now. The books also have a spiritual angle to them as Walt sees visions and experiences things that don’t translate well to the television series that isn’t even filmed in Wyoming. There are other differences and if one is expecting the television show version with the books one may be disappointed.

Dry Bones: A Longmire Mystery is the 11th book in the series. A book of short stories Wait For Signs is also available and a good read. With numerous references in this mystery to earlier events in the series, if you are new to the books this is a series that should be read in order starting with The Cold Dish. These are characters that evolve as time passes from book to book. It is one heck of a series and the latest, Dry Bones, continues that good reading. 

Dry Bones: A Longmire Mystery

Craig Johnson

http://wwwcraigallenjohnson.com

Viking (Penguin Random House LLC)

2015

ISBN# 978-0-525-42693-6

Hardback (also available in audio and e-book)

320 Pages

$27.95

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015