Part of Walt Longmire, book 1
First published 2021
Sheriff Walt Longmire has spent twenty-five years keeping the peace in Wyoming's Absaroka County. He plans to finish his career quietly, but those hopes end when someone shoots Cody Pritchard near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Two years ago, Cody and three other high school boys received suspended sentences for raping a local Cheyenne girl. Now someone appears to be hunting the perpetrators with a Sharps rifle. Longmire must protect the three surviving boys while tracking down their would-be killer. He works alongside his longtime friend Henry Standing Bear and Deputy Victoria Moretti as they navigate the tensions between the white community and the reservation. The case forces Longmire to confront questions of justice and vengeance in a landscape where old wounds run deep. Johnson sets this debut mystery against the backdrop of the American West, populating it with characters who reflect both the tragedy and humor of life on the high plains.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Absaroka County, Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Wyoming
Period: 21st Century
333 pages · ebook · Penguin Random House
Content warnings: violence