An Obvious Fact finds Sheriff Walt Longmire on the
road outside of Hulett, Wyoming at a crash site. Located in northeastern
Wyoming, the small town is best known the Devils Tower, the first national
monument. Most likely the second most famous thing it is known for is the
Sturgis Motorcycle rally in nearby Sturgis, South Dakota just across the
Wyoming border.
After examining the macadam
road under the August sun and seeing no sign of any skid marks on the turn,
Sheriff Longmire and Henry Standing Bear make the nine mile drive into Hulett.
While Henry plans to try his hand once again at a couple of events during the
rally, Sheriff Longmire is in town to help with an investigation. Campbell
County Deputy Corbin Doughtry regarding a recent motorcycle accident. Tores,
known to one and all as “B-way” is in a medically induced coma over in a
hospital in Rapid City and critical.
Doughtry is pretty
sure that B-way was deliberately hit by somebody that fled the scene. Not only
is that a problem, members of his motorcycle club, the “Tre Tre Nomads” are
actively harassing Doughtry who is trying to not only work the case, but deal
with all the problems during Rally week. Their enforcer, a man known as Brady
Post, is the biggest problem. Doughtry needs help, as do the other members of
law enforcement who are doing everything they can to keep the peace in an area overrun
by tourists, motorcycle clubs, and more.
Then there is the
explosive problem of the real life “Lola” who rocked Henry’s world all those
many years ago. Not only is she heavily vested in the situation that brought Sheriff
Longmire to town, she still has the power to mess with Henry. Not that he needs
her help as he is acutely aware that the day when he can no longer compete at
Sturgis is coming very soon.
As in the recent
novella, The Highway Man, Sheriff Walt Longmire is far from home and
helping an officer he respects in An Obvious Fact. Though there is
some interplay between himself and Vic as well as Cody, most of the interaction
is with Henry Standing Bear who carries a significant part of the book. He also
provides some laugh out loud moments regarding Sherlock Holmes and his cases.
Billed as the 12th in the
series (apparently ignoring novellas, short story collections, and other stand
alone stories) An Obvious Fact: A Longmire Mystery is another good one from
author Craig Johnson. While the mystical is always present in these tales it
takes a backseat to the present day mystery that is tinged with flashes of
humor. While this series should be read in order, this one could be read first
as previous events are only briefly discussed. Most of the backstory in
this book refers to the woman who inspired Henry many years ago. An
Obvious Fact, like everything else by Craig Johnson, is solidly good
and very much worth your time.
For another take on the book, make sure
you check out Lesa Holstine’s review.
An Obvious Fact: A Longmire Mystery
Craig Johnson
Viking (Penguin Random House LLC)
September 2016
ISBN# 978-0-525-42694-3
Hardback (also available in audio and
eBook formats)
336 Pages
$28.00
Material supplied by the good folks of
the Plano Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple (C)2016
Great review, Kevin. I love the Longmire series.
ReplyDeleteLike Maryann, I am a fan of this series. I enjoyed reading your book review, Kevin.
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