By Any Other Name
by Craig Johnson
A particularly delightful Longmire, mixing spirituality, endurance, and wit. In the later books, Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire displays a charmingly postmodern understanding that, whatever is happening in his life, it’s more than usually surreal: not only does Absaroka County have more than its share of bizarrely serious crime, but its sheriff somehow receives more than his share of affliction. Job asks, “why me?” Walt merely exclaims, “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Here, we’re trying to figure out why the assistant sheriff of a neighboring county killed himself, while somehow getting to Philadelphia in time for the birth of our first grandchild. You know it will come down to the wire, because you understand the genre; here, all the characters understand that, too, but still remain (barely) on the right side of silliness and (mostly) on the customary side of sense and causality.
Also, a ton of fun.