Rating: 3 out of 5
I wasn’t overly impressed by this… Mr Johnson becomes ever more repetitive with every volume in his series. The series, dull as it was by turning the protagonist into a one-slogan Harry, offered some variance by the nature of crimes committed, and therefore also by how they were solved. This time round there’s a slight change; the Sheriff of Absaroka isn’t in his native haunt for once, but in a federal territory, working alongside the reservation’s police force.
However, what could have been a great look into how the different organization operates turns out to be a Walt-saves-all by ignoring many a law and riding roughshod over the local police chief. Admittedly, this was made more palatable by the local police chief, Chief Long, being totally inexperienced about every aspect of the job, but this definitely did not make any aspect of the story more understandable.
Yet, the few aspects which I’ve solidly liked throughout the series—the Wyoming landscape (this time partially in Montana) and the camaraderie between the law enforcement team—were still in evidence. Walt and Long build a rapport; the Sheriff’s team is occasionally heard in the distance calling in; and the crowd moves through considerable parts of the Cheyenne–Crow reservation in doing so, including the original setting for the crime.
Yet, I keep on expecting more from this series, so perhaps it’s time to throw in the towel… after the next one.
