Part of Walt Longmire, book 9.1
First published 2013
Sheriff Walt Longmire sits in his office on Christmas Eve reading A Christmas Carol when a young woman with a hairline scar interrupts him. She has questions about Lucian Connally, the sheriff who came before Walt. With his daughter Cady and undersheriff Moretti busy elsewhere, Walt agrees to help the stranger. They visit Lucian at the Durant Home for Assisted Living, where the old man has been drinking Pappy Van Winkle's bourbon. Lucian swears he has never seen the woman before. Disappointed by his denial, she whispers the word "Steamboat" and begins telling a story that transports them all back to Christmas Eve 1988. This tale from the past will reveal connections that bind the present to long-buried secrets.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: past-present-connection, secrets
Setting: Durant Home for Assisted Living
Period: Christmas Eve, 1988
146 pages · Hardcover · Viking