Rating: 3 out of 5
Mr Johnson’s books—and the show that’s based on them—became such a favourite of mine because of the Mountain West region that it introduced. In this book, our hero Sheriff Longmire is visiting his daughter in Philadelphia, a far more urbane setting. This also makes the story more familiar overall: big cities, after all, have their share of crime and it doesn’t take long to think of either detective stories or shows that are based on this premise.
Mr Johnson’s take on the “Wild West meets East Coast” detective story is nevertheless good. It’s not as good, primarily for the reasons already outlined above, as the previous two, but I enjoyed it overall. The action focusses on figuring out an accident that happens towards the beginning, though I don’t want to give it away. As ever, tied into the story are both Mr Standing Bear and trusted deputies, who are there to help the Sheriff make things right.
I was still able to find much of the story immensely enjoyable, though it wasn’t as funny as the previous book in the series. The author does have a good eye for witty comments, however, so the read is definitely enjoyable. Mr Johnson also manages to incorporate plenty of his own (or, Mr Longmire’s) philosophy into the story, helped along by the still entertaining first-person POV.
All in all, a solid book but underperforms the first two in the series: mostly because of its setting.
