Spirit of Steamboat

This is not a mystery.

It's not supposed to be a mystery. The moment the story begins, you will instantly understand how it ends. Obviously, since it's about the past, you know that the three main characters of the story will end up okay.

But, like the story of “A Christmas Carol,” which serves as an undertone to this tale, the point of the story is the journey.

The story of a young Walt Longmire pairing up with a recently-retired Lucian Connolly to save a young girl's life on the cusp of a hellacious winter storm in 1988 is nothing short of a roller-coaster of plane ride.

It's a bit different than the tales that Craig normally tells, but he does it so well that you won't really mind. Johnson's ability to turn a phrase and write dialogue that crackles is what sets him apart from most writers and this book has plenty of that.

If you're looking for a traditional Walt Longmire mystery, you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for a story about hope and courage, with a hint of the sort of chutzpah that society seems to lack nowadays, then you're in for a treat.