Johnson, Craig - DEATH WITHOUT COMPANY

[LJ Roberts]

DEATH WITHOUT COMPANY (Police Procedural-Wyoming-Cont) – VG Johnson, Craig - 2nd of series
Viking, 2006-Hardcover

Sheriff Walter Longmire receives a call from his mentor, good friend and the previous Sheriff, Lucian Connally. Lucian demands that Walt investigate the death of Mari Baroja, a fellow resident at the Durant Home for Assisted Living. Lucian and Walt were married very briefly when they were young. Now Lucian believes Mari has been murdered. The investigation uncovers greed, secrets and other deaths.

Johnson has created great characters in Henry Standing Bear, the profane Deputy Victoria Moretti, Lucian, and many others old and new. But it’s Walt who really stayed with me. He has a degree in English Literature, is a Vietnam vet and a man who has known grief from the death of his wife and a woman he loved. The dialogue is natural, with character-driven humor. His descriptions and sense of place and use of the metaphysical add dimension and power to the story. It took me a bit to get into this book but once there, I didn’t put it down. Very well worth the read.