Part of Walt Longmire, book 13
First published 2017
Sheriff Walt Longmire sips a celebratory beer after weapons certification when a young sheriff shows him an old photograph. Twenty-five armed men stand before a steam locomotive called the Challenger. The image transports Walt back to his early days as a deputy, fresh from Vietnam battlefields. His mentor Lucian had taken him on the annual Wyoming Sheriff's Association trip aboard the Western Star excursion train. The route stretched from Cheyenne to Evanston and back across Wyoming. Young Walt carried his Colt .45 and a copy of Murder on the Orient Express, but nothing prepared him for the veteran sheriffs and strange passengers aboard. Now the photograph resurfaces just as a parole hearing approaches for one of the most dangerous criminals Walt has ever faced. Past collides with present as Walt realizes the old train journey holds keys to current threats. Everyone he loves stands in danger as old revenge accelerates toward a deadly conclusion.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, mystery, crime
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: past-colliding-with-present, revenge
Setting: Cheyenne, Evanston, Wyoming
Period: 1970s, present-day
295 pages · Hardcover · Viking