Any Other Name: A Longmire Mystery
Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire’s eleventh case takes him out of his jurisdiction to Campbell County, near South Dakota. He’s investigating a lawman’s suicide as a favor to his friend, the crusty Lucian Connally, who’s along for the ride. Walt may be away from home, but when undersheriff and love interest Victoria Moretti and old friend Henry Standing Bear show up, he may as well have brought Absaroka County with him. Many of the elements here will seem familiar from previous novels, from the change of location (The Dark Horse), to the key role played by a vintage sidearm (The Cold Dish), to the touch of supernatural and visit from Walt’s spirit guide (Hell Is Empty), to the set piece in a snowstorm (take your pick). But while Johnson might be coasting just a little, all that means is that new readers referred by the popular TV show Longmire (the books have been appropriately rebranded) might be better served by starting at the beginning. Those who have followed the series all along will find no reason to stop now. --Keir Graff