First published 2026
Sheriff Walt Longmire arrives at the O-Kay Lodge in Crazy Woman Canyon to find Pepper McKay dead. The rancher had plenty of enemies in Absaroka County, but Walt focuses on the four sons who gathered for a family meeting that night. One charms his way through life, another works as a journalist in the city, the third lives as a monk, and the fourth runs the ranch as a half-Native hired hand. Each brother had reason to want their father gone. Each swears he didn't pull the trigger. Walt digs into decades of family resentment and hidden truths, but the case explodes when a second corpse appears. A wildfire sweeps through the canyon, cutting off escape routes and forcing Walt into a deadly game of survival. The killer stalks him through the flames as Walt fights to stay alive and solve the case that threatens to consume everything in its path.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, family-drama
Setting: Absaroka County, Crazy Woman Canyon, O-Kay Lodge
368 pages · Hardcover · Viking