Review: This is a short, but masterful bridge between Walt Longmire mysteries ...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 16, 2012
The sting of the ice crystals from the blizzard whipped Walt's face as the unending nightmare of the swirling snows, snow that tried to obliterate the path of Reynaud Shade, a child killer, threatened to snuff out his his life like cowboy boot stomping an unwelcome cockroach.  Shade had buried that Indian boy deep in the Bighorn Mountains, leaving him beneath the Wyoming ground without so much as a glance over his evil shoulder.  Sheriff Walt Longmire had struck out alone to find the escaped sociopath because it had somehow turned personal.  The spirit of the Bighorns had whispered its secrets to him and he knew hell wouldn't be empty for long.It was a chase that was not too far in distant memory and Walt was still convalescing.  He was having dinner with Henry Standing Bear (Cheyenne Nation) and his daughter Cady, who was marrying Vic's brother, Michael.  Victoria Moretti was a person of interest in her father's life or so she wanted to believe.  She was his deputy and Cady wanted to know if she was going to stick in out on the High Plains, but Walt wasn't buying into her questions. She turned to ask Bear how old she was. "I have found in most relationships with women it is best to remember their birthdays, but forget their age."The Busy Bee Café was a place where gossip was on the menu and Dorothy soon found out that Cady was going to get married on the Rez at Crazy Head Springs.  Walt's walkie-talkie soon dropped a bomb into the conversation that exploded like an Alka Seltzer in a glass of water.  "Tommy Jefferson says one of his horses has been stolen out at the rodeo grounds."  It was that darn Divorce Horse again.  Tommy had ended up in divorce court with Lisa because she was convinced he was "more addicted to horses and amphetamines than to her."  He was.  Rural sheriffs had to deal with a lot of nonsense and Walt figured "nobody in their right mind would steal that horse."  Or would they?Cady was chomping at the bit as she asked, "How `bout I be the lead investigator on this one?"  The Indian Relay Races were up and running and Walt needed to head out.  The action would be hot and there would be a lot of people to question.  Bear and Walt's Basque deputy, Saizarbitoria (Sancho), could work the crowds.  Bear, who "had magic in his hands," would also check out the horses.  If the spirit guides came to visit Walt and show him a vision of the future, he'd divorce this Divorce Horse fiasco.  In his mind's eye he'd watch as young Crow girl suddenly plummeted to her death beneath the mysterious cliffs of the Painted Warrior ...This is a short, but masterful bridge between Walt Longmire mysteries.  In an attempt to make a smooth transition toAs the Crow Flies, the eighth book in the series, the brief mystery of the disappearance of high-strung Tommy Jefferson's "Divorce Horse," nicely fills in the gaps.  The high tension of Longmire's foray in to the Bighorn Mountains has abated, but it's quite obvious that by the end of this short story that he won't have much time to relax before the Indian Paintbrushes start to bloom in Wyoming and mysterious things once again start to happen on the High Plains.  Aficionados of the series will be treated to the equivalent of a movie trailer of "As the Crow Flies," something I won't attempt to spoil.  If you like seamless continuity between novels and enjoy sneak previews, this is one that won't disappoint!The e-book courtesy of the publisher.