THE COLD DISH
Craig Johnson, Longmire #1
We are not traveling too far with this week’s review, but we are returning to Wyoming. This trip takes us again to the Big Horn Mountains, the Powder River, a different county (Absaroka), and a different town (Durant). The characters, too, are different: Walt Longmire is the sheriff, Vic Moretti is his deputy, and Henry Standing Bear is Walt’s best friend.
Sheriff Longmire is a widower with a daughter, Cady, who is a lawyer in Philadelphia. He has been the sheriff of Absaroka County for much of his adult life and is considering retirement. There isn’t much crime in this part of Wyoming, but what Longmire has experienced haunts him, especially a case involving a young Native American girl, Melissa Little Bird, who was allegedly gang-raped by several high school jocks. Melissa was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Longmire highly respects the Native American people, their customs and lore, and cares deeply for those under his jurisdiction. He also cares deeply for his staff and the colorful residents of Absaroka County.
As Walt is doing his weekly study of the file on Melissa, he is notified that there is a dead body in a ditch. Since those who find this dead body have a notorious reputation for being mostly drunk, Walt discounts the report and sends his deputy, Vic Moretti. Unfortunately, there is a dead body, one of the boys involved in the Melissa Little Bird case. Walt now wonders if this was an accidental shooting or intentional. If intentional, then the lives of the other boys may be in danger as well.
Next up: Everywhere That Mary Went by Lisa Scottoline
Harriet Engle, a Staff Assistant at the Manheim Community Library, is an avid reader of several authors who write murder mystery series. Look for her weekly reviews highlighting each of these series.
Note: If you decide to start one of the series being reviewed and wish to read the next in the series, go to www.fantasticfiction.com, type in the author, and scroll down to see which book was written next under that series. The Manheim Community Library may not have the book you want, but staff will be happy to order it for you from another library.
You can also find and request the next book in the series right from the LSLC catalog. Search the book you have just read from the search bar at the top right of manheimlibrary.org. Click on the title to open up the book information and then scroll down to the section marked “Series”. At a glance, you can see the series and where the book you searched is in the series. For series of more than 14 titles, click on the button below that says “See Full Series”. To request another title from this section, just click on the cover and it will take you to the screen to request a copy from the Library System of Lancaster County to be delivered to Manheim Community Library (or another library in the LSLC.)