Short Story Wednesday: Tooth and Claw: A Longmire Story by Craig Johnson

Tooth and Claw: A Longmire Story by Craig Johnson takes readers to late December 1970 and the North Slope of Alaska. Long before Walt Longmire became Sheriff in Wyoming, he was head of security at an oil rig. Henry Standing Bear has come up from the lower 48 to see him and finds Walt drinking heavily and isolating himself. Vietnam took a toll and Walt is coping by drinking and staying away from the woman he loves, Martha.

 

The isolation and the cold makes some people snap. The latest causality of a breakdown was George Frazier. Frazier works for Walt and was supposed to be on the security detail for a U.S. Geological Survey team doing core testing out on the ice the next day. The day before the Winter Solstice and it will have just 3 hours and 42 minutes of daylight.

 

With Fraizer out, that means Walt Longmire has to go on what should be a relatively easy run. Relatively easy for the artic weather conditions. Henry Standing Bear tags along as he had been complaining about not doing anything, but playing chess in Longmire’s cramped quarters. Good thing he goes too because what should have been a relatively easy same day excursion turns into fight for survival against a massive polar bear that, seemingly, can’t be killed. Throw in a ghost ship, bad weather, and members of the excursion party being killed left and right, and the result is one heck of a pulp adventure read.

 

Tooth and Claw: A Longmire Story by Craig Johnson is one heck of a good read. A fast-moving novella, it comes down to the most primitive battle there is --- man vs nature. The getting there is very much well worth it.

 

Make sure you read Scott Montgomery’s far more detailed review here at his The Hard Word site as well as the author’s recent appearance at The Poisoned Pen and shared by Lesa Holstine here. 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41xy5Oo

 

While I had hoped to read this months ago via NetGalley, the publisher, Penguin Group Viking, denied me as they often do, so I had to wait for Dallas Public Library to get it. They finally did. My reading copy was a digital one through the Libby/OverDrive app and read in one day. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024 

Lesa's Book Critiques: Craig Johnson at The Poisoned Pen

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Craig Johnson at The Poisoned Pen

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – “Girls’ Night Out” by J.A. Jance

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – “Girls’ Night Out” by J.A. Jance

Short Story Wednesday Review: Girl’s Night Out: A J.P. Beaumont Short Story by J. A. Jance

Despite the billing, Girl’s Night Out: A J.P. Beaumont Short Story is not J.P. Beaumont tale. He is referenced, but he never is actually in the tale. That fact was annoying and very disappointing as that is why I purchased the read.

 

The novella revolves around Twinkle Winkleman who as last seen in Nothing to Lose (also reviewed by Aubrey here).After considerable backstory regarding her life, we eventually get to the fact that her daughter in law, Cindy, has gone missing after being out for the evening with female friends. Cindy went out anyway, as she does every weekend, even though her best friend, Leslie, wasn’t going make it. This is shortly after Cindy had told Twinkle some concerning news about Leslie’s current boyfriend.

 

James is abusive and controlling. He could be a problem, not just for Leslie, but anyone around her. The fact that Cindy hasn’t come home by long after midnight, or answer her phone, is a worry. Twinkle soon finds Cindy’s car at where she was supposed to be though the club is dark and locked up tight. Cindy’s car is the only vehicle in the cold and desolate parking lot. The vehicle is unlocked and Cindy’s purse is inside. Then she finds Cindy’s cellphone under the car.

 

Clearly something bad is going on. With the Anchorage P.D. of no help, Twinkie goes on her own to find Cindy before it’s too late.

 

While this heavily narrated tale with very little dialogue was somewhat interesting, once it actually got going, the absence of J.P. Beaumont was disappointing. To me, I feel misled by the publisher, Witness Impulse, as Beaumont is not in the read.

 

Based on the ratings and reviews I have seen many folks did not have that issue with the read. If I was doing the stars/cups of coffee/flaming suns/whatever deal here, I would go with three stars—at best. If I could have returned it for a refund, I would have, and I never do that.

 

My recommendation would be either to read it for free via your local library, if they get it, or wait for the free book sale when they do it through Amazon.

 

The final quarter of this eBook is publicity material and an excerpt from the next Beaumont series, Den of Iniquity, currently scheduled to be released in September. Based on the synopsis, it would appear that Beaumont is actually in that book.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3AglCmr

 

 

My reading copy was a wasted purchase by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024

Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday: "Alaska" from POTATO TREE by James Sallis

 Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday: "Alaska" from POTATO TREE by James Sallis

Review: Cold to the Touch: A Thriller by Kerri Hakoda

Alaska is the setting for Kerri Hakoda’s very good police procedural, Cold to the Touch: A Thriller. Anchorage, specifically, where it is deep in winter. For Homicide Detective DeHavilland Beans, the calm and serene morning of listening to an audiobook by the Dalai Lama is destroyed by a phone call. It is a Saturday morning, twelve days before Christmas, and the call regarding a dead body is jarring and upsetting for the man who is a Buddhist seeking karmic balance.

 

Cross county skiers first thought they a carcass of a moose buried under the falling snow. When they started seeing fabric at the mound behind some shrubs a few hundred yards off the municipal trail, they called for help.

 

When Detective Beans looks at the frozen body, he knows immediately who has been murdered, and left in the snow for animals to scavenge. Jolene Nilsson worked at a nearby coffee kiosk and one that the Detective Beans frequents. He had thought a lot about asking her out, as they had quite a bit in common, but he is 33 and she was 19. Going out with her never would have been right.

 

Any chance he ever had is gone as is her future.

 

The body is in bad shape. But, she clearly still has duct tape on her mouth. There is also nearby a single white rose. It seems obvious to Beans, the Medical Examiner, Chuckie Hefner, and others that she did not just wander out to the site and succumb to the elements. No, she was murdered, opened up for the animals to get to her, and then dumped by person or persons unknown.

 

It isn’t long before a second young woman is killed and she is not the last. As a pattern begins to emerge over the coming weeks, Beans is forced to work with Detective Ed Heller. Beyond the fact that Heller is old school and most likely believes, in Bean’s mind, that the biracial Beans got promoted due to his minority status, they just don’t get along.

 

Beyond the escalating case, Beans has things going on with family and friends. Some of it criminal, some of it personal, and all of them are bundled into various intriguing secondary storylines as the main one dealing with the murders goes forward over the next several weeks.

 

As the murders continue, and pressure from the media, citizens, etc., increases, Heller and Beans are on the hunt for the killer or killers that show no sign of stopping. Good thing the cops don’t either in Cold to the Touch: A Thriller by Kerri Hakoda.

 

This is a complicated and very good police procedural. The setting is rich, the characters in terms of Beans and others are complicated and interesting and the murders are a bit different than the normal run of the mill police procedural. The result is a complicated read that quickly pulls the reader into a far different world. A world that is hopefully the first installment of a series. Strongly recommended.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3VuvKke

 

My ARC came from the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, via NetGalley with no expectation of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024 

Lesa's Book Critiques: CITY UNDER ONE ROOF BY IRIS YAMASHITA

 Lesa's Book Critiques: CITY UNDER ONE ROOF BY IRIS YAMASHITA

The Reading Room: Winter's End (Alaska Wild #4) by Paige Shelton: Reading Room Review

The Reading Room: Winter's End (Alaska Wild #4) by Paige Shelton: Re...:   The Alaska Wild series by Paige Shelton is not a survivalist series, and, yet it is. This mystery/crime series set in the isolated sma...

Lesa's Book Critiques: WINTER’S END BY PAIGE SHELTON

 Lesa's Book Critiques: WINTER’S END BY PAIGE SHELTON

Review: Nothing to Lose: A J. P. Beaumont Novel by J.A. Jance

It is early December as Nothing to Lose: A J. P. Beaumont Novel by J.A. Jance begins and Mel wants J.P. to put out the Christmas decorations as he will be home for the day. Mel is the chief of police and has her duties along with meetings with the mayor and the city council in separate events. The winter storm won’t help her either.

So, it is just him and their dog and many boxes of decorations when a knock at the door stops everything. It has been nearly twenty years since J.P. Beaumont last saw Jared Danielson. That was the night that J. P.’s partner, Sue Danielson, was shot and killed by her ex-husband, Richard Danielson. J. P. had tried to save her and could not. J.P. has always had a lot of guilt over that fact as well as his decisions that horrible night. Seeing Jared Danielson on his snowy doorstep brings everything back with a vengeance.

Jared Danielson is now a catholic priest. He has been through some things over the years, but has pulled himself together because of his own efforts and support from other folks who helped along the way. In the here and now, he needs J. P.’s help finding his brother, Chris.

Chris has always blamed Jared for their mom’s death as he believes that if they had not left, their father would not have murdered their mom. The fact is that they had run, because J. P. told Jared to take his brother and run, no doubt saved their lives. Chris believes otherwise, despite all evidence to the contrary, and the issue has never been resolved. While going to home of their mom’s parents in Ohio had worked out well for Jared, Chris had a far harder time. He eventually ran away and wound up in Homer, Alaska, living with the grandparents on their father’s side of the family.

Now with Grandma Hinkle, Sue Daniel’s mom, in assisted living and not doing well, time is of the essence. Grandma Hinkle is desperate to try and make things right with Chris before she dies. Father Jared Danielson wants J. P.’s help in finding his brother and thereby giving the family a chance to reconcile.

While Jared has some ideas what Chris was doing in 2006 thanks to an old yearbook, a dozen years have passed. That is a lot of time to account for and there is not much information readily available. That means to get the answers they all need; J. P. is going to have to go to Alaska.

What follows is a complex tale of mystery and deceit with an occasional laugh out loud moment as J. P. deals with locals in Alaska and winter weather. Such details serve as colorful background for a complex mystery that truly is a cold case – literally and figuratively. A lot if going on here along with the internal grief and self-doubt J. P. is dealing with as he works to find Chris and the answers to many questions.

While it is always preferable to read a series in order, those new to the world of J.P. Beaumont could start here. Most of the reminiscing about earlier events is tied into the horrible events of that night which was many books ago in the series. Obviously, those who are familiar with the series and caught up will get more out of this read than others.

All and all, Nothing To Lose: A J. P. Beaumont Novel is another solidly good read in the long running series. Recommended.

  

My reading copy came from the Dallas Public Library System via the Libby/OverDrive App. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022 

Lesa's Book Critiques: COLD WIND by Paige Shelton

 Lesa's Book Critiques: COLD WIND by Paige Shelton

Lesa's Book Critiques: Of Bears and Ballots by Heather Lende

Lesa's Book Critiques: Of Bears and Ballots by Heather Lende

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler

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Thanks to the mention on The Passive Voice.