THE LONGMIRE DEFENSE (2023) ****
by Craig Johnson
This paperback edition published by Penguin, 2024, 351pp
© Craig Johnson, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-29733-9
Blurb: Sheriff Walt Longmire and Dog are called on a routine search and rescue to Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains, where Walt finds himself on a rock outcropping remembering when his father told him about the first time he saw a man die. In the late forties, Bill Sutherland was shot but the investigation was stymied because no member of the elk camp–where he was found–was carrying the calibre rifle that killed the state accountant. When Dog discovers the missing weapon, the sheriff of Absaroka County is plunged headfirst into a cold case. His investigation quickly finds ties to a hidden mineral fund that someone is willing to kill to keep secret. The embodiment of the fair-minded detective, Walt is pushed to his ethical boundaries. In his relentless pursuit of the truth, he discovers the rifle in question belonged to none other than Walt’s infamous and uncompromising grandfather, Lloyd Longmire.
Comment: The 19th book in this evergreen series is something of a return to form for Johnson after the mysticism-drenched HELL AND BACK. It is refreshing to see Walt dealing with a genuine mystery, which has connections close to home, as well as a developing scenario in his personal life. Walt is front and centre here, as Johnson returns to his trademark first-person approach. Henry Standing Bear and Vic take a back seat as Walt investigates a historic murder linked to political corruption. Here, Johnson plays to his series’ strengths and his as a writer, by incorporating engaging characters, an intriguing plot, and his tremendous ear for dialogue. Whilst the book closes out this particular mystery, there are strands left loose that are promised to be resolved in the follow-up FIRST FROST (2025). For now, fans can be happy in the knowledge that there is still life in a series that will hit 20 novels with that next publication.
THE LONGMIRE SERIES CHECKLIST:
Novels
- The Cold Dish (2004) *****
- Death Without Company (2006) ****
- Kindness Goes Unpunished (2007) ****
- Another Man’s Moccasins (2009) ****
- The Dark Horse (2010) ****
- Junkyard Dogs (2010) *****
- Hell is Empty (2011) ****
- As the Crow Flies (2012) ***½
- A Serpent’s Tooth (2013) ****
- Any Other Name (2014) ****½
- Dry Bones (2015) ****
- An Obvious Fact (2016) ***
- The Western Star (2017) ***½
- Depth of Winter (2018) ***
- Land of Wolves (2019) ***½
- Next to Last Stand (2020) ***
- Daughter of the Morning Star (2021) ***½
- Hell and Back (2022) ***
- The Longmire Defense (2023) ****
- First Frost (2024)
- Return to Sender (2025)
- The Brothers McKay (2026)
Novellas
- Spirit of Steamboat (2013) ****
- The Highwayman (2016) ***½
- Tooth and Claw (2024)
Short Stories Collections
- Wait for Signs (2014) ****