As the Crow Flies

Starred review from May 28, 2012
Everyone’s favorite Southern sheriff is back in this eighth volume of Johnson’s popular series, which is also set to premiere on June 3 as Longmire, a new A&E drama. In this installment, tragedy rears its ugly head at a time of great celebration as Walt Longmire scouts potential locations for his daughter’s wedding. Narrated by George Guidall, this audio edition captivates from start to finish. Guidall’s delivery is flawless, his tone perfect. As Longmire, Guidall is gritty (as any sheriff should be), but also empathetic to the horrors that death brings to a victim’s family and friends. Guidall’s remarkable palate of dialects is on display throughout, and never falters or veers toward cliché. It would be easy to get carried away with such a myriad of colorful characters, but Guidall—the seasoned pro that he is—navigates that raging river with ease. A Viking hardcover.

Starred review from March 12, 2012
In bestseller Johnson’s excellent eighth Walt Longmire mystery (after 2011’s Hell Is Empty), Walt agrees to help the new tribal police chief of Wyoming’s Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Lolo Long, with an investigation, even though his daughter Cady’s wedding is imminent. Walt saw a woman, later identified as Audrey Plain Feather, plunge from Painted Warrior cliff holding her infant son, Adrian. Miraculously, Adrian survives, but the evidence points to murder, not suicide, in Audrey’s death. Suspicion immediately falls on Audrey’s abusive husband, Clarence Last Bull, but Walt isn’t convinced of his guilt, especially when the FBI shows up, hot on the trail of illegal drugs. Meanwhile, Lolo, an Iraqi war vet, is eager to prove she can do her job, despite her lack of police training. Johnson expertly highlights his conflicted hero’s dual role as father and sheriff in this deeply satisfying installment. The TV series Longmire, starring Australian actor Robert Taylor as the Wyoming sheriff, premiers on A&E in June. 10-city author tour. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents.

July 1, 2012
In the eighth of this excellent series (Hell is Empty, 2011, etc.), Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire finds himself out of his element, and not just because he's in Montana. More to the point, it's because he's father of the bride. Walt's beloved daughter Cady should have known better, so it's really on her that Longmire, feeling twinges of guilt and wishing he could be in two places at once, veers off to track down a killer instead of being at the alternative nuptial site as she suddenly requires. Audrey Plain Feather, recently returned from duty in Iraq, has gone off a cliff somewhere in Montana's Cheyenne Reservation. Longmire, who saw her "walk the air," has no doubt he's witnessed a homicide. On the other hand, the tribal chief of police has all manner of doubts, though mostly about herself and her ability to do her new job. Though she's been severely scarred by her own service in Iraq, Lolo Long is quick to spot mentor material when it crosses her path. She commandeers the visitor from Wyoming, who puts up only token resistance. Something of an odd couple at the outset, Long and Longmire pull together as the complex investigation deepens. Tough, resourceful and quietly funny, as always. No wonder Johnson's hero will debut in a new A&E TV series, Longmire, this summer.

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March 1, 2012

No matter how innocent their intentions, trouble always finds Sheriff Walt Longmire and his best friend Henry Standing Bear. While checking out a wedding site for the upcoming nuptials of Walt's daughter, Walt and Henry are horrified to witness a woman falling to her death off a cliff. Luckily, the baby she was holding survives, but now the guys are hot to find out why the young mother died that way. They are also trampling on a new tribal police chief's turf, and she, Lolo Long (an Iraqi war veteran), overreacts accordingly. Walt, in his usual low-key manner, garners her begrudging trust and begins yet another mentoring relationship. Because it turns out the woman's fall wasn't suicide, and Walt is now helping Lolo find a killer. VERDICT Order multiples now. Johnson's magnificent last entry (Hell Is Empty) is a tough act to follow, and readers will find this title somewhat mellower. Anticipate additional interest when Walt hits the TV waves this summer on A&E in a new series called Longmire. Share with William Kent Krueger readers for the Native American themes and with Lori Armstrong followers because of her female veteran lead.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2012
After scaling the heightsboth literally and metaphoricallyin Hell Is Empty (2011), Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire comes back to earth. With Henry Standing Bear, Walt is supposed to be making preparations for his daughter Cady's upcoming wedding on the Cheyenne reservation. But plans are complicated when the two friends see a woman and her baby tumble off a cliff at a potential site for the ceremony. The suspect-rich investigation partners Longmire with the new tribal chief of police, Lolo Long, an Iraq War vet whose hard-charging ways endanger her and those around her. Johnson wisely moderates the tone hereyou can't shoot the moon in every book of a long-running seriesbut all the elements his fans love are present: lively characters, easy banter, and, of course, a touch of the supernatural. In early books, Walt was less sure of himself, but, in his eighth adventure, it makes sense that he's now the one giving sheriff lessons. This book fits the hand like a well-worn glove.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)