The Highwayman

March 28, 2016
Wyoming’s scenic Wind River Canyon provides the setting for this atmospheric Walt Longmire novella, an update, according to Johnson (The Spirit of Steamboat) in the acknowledgments, of a Charles Dickens ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” For three months, Rosey Wayman, a Highway Patrol officer, has been on duty in the canyon, and on some nights, she receives a distress call on her radio: “officer needing assistance.” Rosey, who’s due for a psychiatric evaluation, thinks the call is from Bobby Womack—a patrolman who perished nearly 50 years earlier while trying to stop a runaway fuel tanker in a canyon tunnel. Longmire, the sheriff of Absaroka County, and his sidekick, Henry Standing Bear, assume there has to be a natural explanation, but in their search for the truth they learn some surprising things about Bobby and the long-ago theft of a cache of Morgan silver dollars. You don’t have to be a fan of Longmire, the hit Netflix series, to appreciate this clever tale. 10-city author tour. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents.

May 1, 2016
For years, Johnson's Walt Longmire mysteries have come out in the spring. But with the publication of his next full-length novel, An Obvious Fact, set for September (perfect timing for a new season of Longmire on Netflix), fans may have wondered how on earth they were going to wait that long. The veteran storyteller bridges the gap with this novella that finds the genial sheriff and his old friend, Henry Standing Bear, in Wyoming's Wind River Canyon, where they're investigating a spooky situation. Highway patrolman Rosey Wayman has been hearing officer needs assistance calls in the middle of the nightfrom an officer who died decades ago. She thinks she's going crazy, and her supervisor thinks she needs help. Walt, despite his own frequent run-ins with paranormal phenomena, is determined to stick to the facts, no matter how compelling the evidence of a haunting might be. Blending a unique landscape, western legend, and Arapaho lore with his usual colorful cast of characters, Johnson serves up a satisfying tale that is sure to tide readers over until fall.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)