[finished 6/17
/14] In this latest mystery, Walt Longmire is supposed to get on a plane to fly out to Philadelphia to be at the birth of his first grandchild. However, his old mentor, Lucian, gets him involved in one more case before he’s set to leave. Gerald Holman, an old friend of Lucian’s who was working on a Cold Case Commission, has committed suicide; the widow wants Lucian to look into it and Lucian brings Walt to help him. There’s a moment where Lucian tells Gerald’s wife why he has involved his friend in the case, “In all the time I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him quit, which is where most of ‘em ain’t up to snuff—they give out. If he’s got any give in him, ain’t nobody found it yet.” Lucian compares Walt to a gun, “Once you point him and pull the trigger, it’s too late to change your mind.” This, of course, foreshadow the events to come as Walt begins to look into the case and gets dragged deep into the cases that Gerald was investigating before he died. The countdown to his daughter’s induction continues but Walt can’t seem to get on the plane without resolving this case first.
This is a dark and complex story (and the looming birth pushes the tension higher) but as Craig Johnson mentioned when we heard him read last month, there’s a lot of humor here too. Black humor, of course, but I sometimes found myself laughing out loud. I’m such a big fan of Johnson’s writing and his characters that I don’t know how objective I can be in reviewing this book. I enjoyed it and eagerly await the next installment (because the TV show doesn’t fully satisfy that itch.)
