Will I love The Cold Dish?

I love Western movies and TV shows. I don’t read as much in the genre unless we’re talking about modern Westerns. Craig Johnson’s Longmire series ranks among the best. As strong a protagonist as Sheriff Walt Longmire is, I find his sidekick Henry Standing Bear to be the real star.

The Cheyenne Nation, as Walt likes to call him, is as indispensable to the stories as Watson is to Sherlock Holmes. And the setting of the Wyoming Rockies makes me long for a road trip. With its strong characters and satisfying plot twists, this book drew me into the Longmire… show more.

The Cold Dish follows Absaroka County Sheriff, Walt Longmire, as he investigates the murder of a young man near a Native American reservation.

As Longmire delves deeper into the case, he realizes that someone may be seeking revenge against a group of high school boys who had been involved in a rape two years prior.

What differentiates this novel from others is how Johnson has skillfully crafted Longmire as a character shaped by his experiences in the military. Longmire's service as a Marine in Vietnam has left a lasting impact on him, influencing how he approaches his work as a… show more.

This early installment of Craig Johnson’s venerable Walt Longmire series explores Walt’s roots, both personal and professional, and begins to describe the Wyoming landscape he inhabits, and the cultures—both contemporary western and Native American—that shape the people who live there. 

Craig Johnson masterfully builds upon both Longmire’s strengths and internal struggles to create a character that resonates with real-life pathos and relatability. The challenges that face him are shaded by the world around him, the expectations of the townsfolk who rely on him, and the slowly disappearing ways of the old west. 

The scenery is as much a character as… show more.

You know the saying, “Don’t meet your hero.” Well, that is really about managing your expectations more than anything else. Such as watching the amazing Longmire TV series then deciding to read the books. While I’ve never struggled with separating my expectations between books and movies, rest assured that if you can’t, you don’t have to worry. Johnson created such intimate and diverse characters in his books. So much so that it almost hurts to put the following thoughts to paper: the actors were lucky to capture half of what Johnson puts into the books. And the show is in… show more.

The Cold Dish is the first in a mystery series by Craig Johnson about Walter Longmire, sheriff of the fictitious Absaroka County in the northeast corner of Wyoming. Walt’s character is so real he jumps off the page. I read four of the fourteen-book series after binging on the sixty-episode Netflix TV series, Longmire. Walt is a quiet, yet assertive John Wayne-type western hero who is smart as a whip and gets his man, though the odds are often deeply against him. The stories—murder mysteries mostly—are fascinating and include, in addition to his daughter and the three other members… show more.