By Craig Johnson

The 18th Longmire novel finds Walt in a strange place and not remembering where or who he is. Finding clues from those in the strange town where he awakens. And in that town, he will face his toughest opponent… All while his best friend and his deputy sheriff are searching for him. And the town he is in, is notorious for its Indian Boarding program that had a horrible accident a century before.

Longmire stories have had a native spiritual component baked right in. Here that is dialed up to 11. If you are looking for a traditional “Longmire cruises Wyoming and the Rez to solve a mystery…. that is not this. I figured out what was going on well before the final “reveal”, as this book picks up where Daughter of the Morning Star ended.

I enjoy Johnson’s writing, but at this point, suspension of disbelief is out the window. Walt is a Vietnam Vet who can still get around like a much younger man. And the supernatural has gone from a background feature to something very much in the fore. The last novel had the abuse of women on the Rez as a center piece and this one has a boy’s boarding institution. Johnson’s writing keeps me going, but it feels like the series is nearing its end.

336 Pages

4/5