Land of Wolves

Walt's getting old, the years of treating his body badly are starting to catch up to him, and he's not recovered from his showdown with Bidarte, and there's a wolf in the wilderness that may or may not be a shaman in disguise. Things are lookin' mighty bleak for the beloved sheriff of Absaroka County in this, the fifteenth go-round from Craig Johnson.

LAND OF WOLVES is one of the better books in a series that maintains a high bar for character, dialogue, and prose. After focusing so hard on Walt Longmire alone in the previous book, Walt's back on familiar turf, and the glib, often funny dialogue from Vic, Sancho, Ruby, and Henry comes at a breakneck pace. It was a welcome return to form for Johnson. This is why I read the books. This is why so many people are so invested in the series. At this point in the series, there doesn't even need to be a mystery anymore. I'd read 300 pages of Walt, Vic, and Henry talking to each other.

Walt's getting up there in years. Thoughts of retirement loom large, and there might be a new contender to wear the Stetson of command in Absaroka County, but is Walt really ready to step back? Walt's internal struggles with the weight of the world on his mind and the abuse his body suffered finally catching up to him really drive the plot of this book. The murder mystery is secondary to Walt's personal plot, and for that–this book is ranks right up there in the top three that Craig's written.

I love when these books come out. I hate when I finish reading them because I know it'll be another year before I can clamber up into the sheriff's Bronco for another spin around the county with Walt and Dog.