I started watching Longmire, a crime series on Netflix, without realizing it was based on a set of books.  Since I'm a staunch the-book-is-always-better-than-the-movie person, I immediately stopped watching and got to reading The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson.  In this first installment, we're introduced to Walt Longmire, who's been sheriff of (fictional) Absaroka County, Wyoming, for 25 years.  Although the venerable old cowboy loves his job, retirement is starting to sound mighty good.  With an election on the horizon, he just might get his wish.  In the meantime, it's up to him to deal with the murder of a local bad boy.

No one is too surprised or too saddened by the shooting death of Cody Pritchard.  The young man was no altar boy.  In fact, he was known for making racist cracks about Native Americans and being involved in the vicious gang rape of Melissa Little Bird, a Cheyenne girl with learning disabilities, three years ago.  Cody received only a light sentence for his part in the crime, an outcome that pleased the smug boy and outraged both Walt and his county's Indian community.  An eagle feather found by Cody's corpse seems to indicate that someone with Native blood is seeking justice in their own way.  While Walt isn't about to shed a tear over the likes of Cody Pritchard, it's his job to find out who killed the kid and stop the murderer from executing the rest of Melissa's rapists.  With the help of Victoria "Vic" Moretti, his tough-talking deputy and protégé, the sheriff sets about to do just that.  As Walt digs deeper into the secrets of his small town friends and neighbors, he finds himself in increasing danger.  He won't stop until he finds the answers he seeks, even if it means stepping into the killer's crosshairs himself. 

I've heard The Cold Dish described as a "literary" mystery.  While I'm not sure it's as high-brow as all that, it's certainly more than your typical, run-of-the-mill police procedural.  For one thing, Johnson imbues the novel with a very strong sense of place.  You can feel his love for the American West—its landscape, its people, its contradictions—in every word he writes.  In addition, the story is much more about community than crime.  Johnson focuses on Walt's relationships with the people around him more than on the job he's doing.  The result is a folksy, long-winded novel that's enjoyable more for the journey than the destination.  While the plot takes a long time to get anywhere, which makes the story sag in places, there's still plenty in the way of humor, quirky characters, and local color to keep the reader entertained.  The killer's identity also surprised me, which doesn't happen all that often for this veteran mystery reader.  However, the most appealing thing about The Cold Dish by far is its hero.  Walt Longmire is an endearing character on many levels.  Not only is he brave, compassionate, and committed, but he's also fallible and self-deprecating.  It's impossible not to like him.  All these things considered, it's easy to see why this book has garnered so many fans since its publication in 2004.  While it's hardly an edge-of-your-seat thriller, it's an entertaining read.  The real question for me is, do I want to continue with the series?  Maybe, maybe not is my answer.  While I enjoy character-driven crime fiction, I prefer the kind that also features a taut, focused plot.  This is not that, so we'll see if I continue on with the series or not...

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series, Margaret Coel's Wind River Reservation series, and Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series)

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Cold Dish with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

After fighting a debilitating alcohol addiction, Father John O'Malley was sent to the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming to dry out.  Six years later, he's come to love the Arapaho people he serves, even if he still doesn't fully understand all the nuances of their culture.  He appreciates their ancient traditions and counts the members of his flock as treasured friends.  When Harvey Castle, the tribal chairman, is stabbed to death in his teepee while attending a local powwow, John is just as shocked and sad as everyone else on the rez. 

Suspicion for the murder immediately falls on Harvey's nephew, Anthony, who was heard arguing with his uncle the night before his death.  Although the kid's an undeniable hothead, John doesn't think he's a killer.  Vicky Holden, a lawyer who grew up at Wind River, agrees.  If they're going to clear his name, John and Vicky need to find out who really killed Harvey—and why.  Their investigation leads in unexpected directions, putting the duo in danger from someone who's desperate to keep old secrets buried.  Can they expose the murderer and free Anthony without becoming the next victims of a cold-blooded killer?

Back in the Dark Ages before I started reviewing books on this blog, I read the first few installments in Margaret Coel's Father John O'Malley mystery series.  I enjoyed learning about Arapaho culture, following the developing relationship between John and Vicky, and reading mysteries that were engaging without being graphic.  When I needed a book set in Wyoming for the Literary Escapes Reading Challenge, I decided to revisit the series.  While I still appreciated the things that first drew me to the series, this time around I found its first installment, The Eagle Catcher, not quite as engrossing or compelling as I did the first time I read it.  John and Vicky are both likable characters, but they're so underdeveloped that neither comes off as very unique or exciting.  The supporting cast is the same, with so many similar people that they all ran together for me.  Plotwise, The Eagle Catcher is predictable, with no real twists to keep it interesting.  In a word: boring.  The story is slow and dull.  I'm not saying this series opener is a terrible read; it's not.  It's just a bit of a slog, which disappointed me because I wanted to love it as much as I did the first time I read it.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Coel's books have been compared to those by Tony Hillerman, although I don't know how apt the comparison is since I've never read Hillerman.)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Note:  While Healing Hearts is more of a companion book than a sequel to its predecessor, The Sheriffs of Savage Wells, reading them out of order may result in spoilers.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.

In the small Western town of Savage Wells, Wyoming, men outnumber women at least 2:1.  Unless he wants to marry a woman old enough to be his grandmother, Gideon MacNamara has to take extreme measures.  As the only doctor for miles around, he's not just lonely but also exhausted from overwork.  Desperate, he sends out a request for a mail-order bride who has nursing experience.  He's not expecting a passionate romance from the union, but at least he can get some help with his bustling medical practice.  

A nurse with a devastating secret she's desperate to keep hidden, Miriam Bricks is grateful for the opportunity to work, even if it is in the middle of nowhere.  When she arrives in Savage Wells, however, she realizes—to her horror—that there's been a terrible mix-up.  Apparently, she's expected to be not just a nurse, but also a wife to a man she's never met!  Her refusal to marry Gideon, a man beloved by the town, makes Miriam an immediate outcast in Savage Wells.  Only Gideon offers her kindness.  He hires her as a nurse, no strings attached.  As the two work together day in and day out, a warm friendship forms between them. 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for mild violence

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Savage Wells, Wyoming Territory, might be a small, quiet settlement, but the town is growing fast and its anxious mayor fears trouble is just around the corner.  He needs a tough, dedicated sheriff to keep the peace.  Offering an unusually high salary should lure in the right man for the job.

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for mild violence

To the FTC, with love:  I bought an e-copy of The Sheriffs of Savage Wells from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Living like a pioneer is not quite what 13-year-old Genevieve Welsh had in mind for her summer break.  Trudging around the prairie in a long dress (and petticoats!), growing her own food, slaving away at chores that can easily be done by machine, living with her family in a tiny, rustic cabin—nothing about Frontier Family History Camp sounds like a vacation at all.  What are her parents thinking?  Living without modern distractions might bring her family closer, but it's also going to make Gen completely insane.

Camp isn't completely awful, especially considering there's a cute boy to practice her flirting skills on.  Still, Gen finds plenty of drama to rant about in the texts she sends to her friends on the forbidden cell phone she snuck into camp.  When Gen's pals turn her messages into a blog and that blog goes viral, attracting national media attention to her plight in the Wyoming wilderness, Gen starts to wonder just what she's done.  Has she managed to ruin what's turning out to be the best worst summer she's ever experienced?

Little Blog on the Prairie, a middle grade novel by Cathleen Davitt Bell, tells a cute, uplifting story about learning to appreciate the simpler things in life.  It's an easy read that's funny, upbeat, and entertaining, albeit totally predictable.  While it feels contrived and far-fetched at times, it's still a fast, fun read that will appeal to anyone looking for a light, laugh-filled story that's not without a lesson or two.  I enjoyed it.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:  

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence and scary images

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  

for some violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Longing for Home from the generous folks at Shadow Mountain.  Thank you!