Synopses & Reviews
Walt faces an icy hell in this New York Times bestseller from the author of The Cold Dish and As the Crow Flies, the seventh novel in the Longmire Mystery Series, the basis for LONGMIRE, the hit A&E original drama series Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love this seventh novel from Craig Johnson, the
New York Times bestselling author of
The Cold Dish and
As the Crow Flies. Well-read and world-weary, Sheriff Walt Longmire has been maintaining order in Wyoming's Absaroka County for more than thirty years, but in this riveting seventh outing, he is pushed to his limits.
Raynaud Shade, an adopted Crow Indian rumored to be one of the country's most dangerous sociopaths, has just confessed to murdering a boy ten years ago and burying him deep within the Bighorn Mountains. Walt is asked to transport Shade through a blizzard to the site, but what begins as a typical criminal transport turns personal when the veteran lawman learns that he knows the dead boy's family. Guided only by Indian mysticism and a battered paperback of Dante's Inferno, Walt braves the icy hell of the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area, cheating death to ensure that justiceboth civil and spiritualis served. The Longmire Mystery Series is the basis for Longmire, the hit original drama series from A&E.
Review
“With Hell is Empty, Craig Johnson delivers an action-packed Western thriller, rife with evocative setting and literary allusion. This seventh novel featuring wise-cracking Sheriff Walt Longmire creeps stealthily out of the corral with an increasingly tense setup.”
Review
“Johnson managed a rare feat: a mystery that is a literary novel. The story starts with a hilarious image: Longmire and his deputy sheriff, Santiago "Sancho" Saizarbitoria, hand-feeding a cheeseburger to a manacled prisoner. It gets infinitely more complex from there: an escaped prisoner with dead bodies in his wake; some unlikely unforeseen accomplices and hostages; and Longmire, never one to stand back and wait for help, tracking the criminals through the Bighorn Mountains.”
Review
“Johnson crafts a chilling allegorical tale of resolve and endurance…[and] uses his intimate knowledge of the landscape and wildlife of Wyoming to full advantage, making them characters in the action. Despite the dire situation, Johnson continues to employ gentle, wry humor and an authentic, no-nonsense Western voice in his dialogue, especially in Walt’s thoughts. And the immediacy of Walt’s peril pulls readers into the complex plot. Good stories that take place in the West are in short supply these days, and Johnson’s latest is the real deal with literary clout.”
Review
“Truly great. Reading Craig Johnson is a treat…[He] tells great stories, casts wonderful characters and writes in a style that compels the reader forward…He has outdone himself with his newest book, Hell Is Empty…A piece of quality fiction that is built on so many levels that you could read it two or three times and not catch all that Johnson is trying to say…This book deserves the attention of more than just mystery readers. It is a top-notch novel. It is worth both your money and your time.”
Review
“The story starts with a pitch-perfect piece of Johnson’s trademark scene-setting and then roars off into the wilderness, hardly leaving readers time to catch their breaths…In some ways, this reads like a book-length version of the haunting, harrowing final sequence of Johnson’s outstanding debut, The Cold Dish (2005). And when it comes to bad weather, western lore, and a chilling hint of the supernatural, few writers write it better.
Review
“Series fans and readers who enjoy C.J. Box and other authors of Western mysteries will be enthralled by this electrifying and intense work; a triumph.”
Review
“Stellar…When [Raynaud] Shade, who’s headed for death row in Utah, escapes and takes off into the wilderness with a blizzard threatening, Walt sets off alone on the killer’s trail…Soon Walt is past the point of no return as the snow and ice accumulate on a journey that evokes Dante’s Inferno.”
Review
“For Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire, the pursuit of a vicious murderer through a killer ice storm in the Bighorn Moutnains adds up to a cold day in hell…Deft as always.”
Review
“A muscular story of guns and grit, man against man and man against nature…the characters’ ascent is indeed hellish, pulling them deeper into a hypothermic fever dream where the line between the living and the dead blurs.”
Review
“Craig Johnson continues to crank out top-notch mystery novels featuring the adventures—and misadventures—of Walt Longmire, a modern-day Wymoning sheriff…Little wonder that he’s a winner of the Spur Award given by the Western Writers of America.”
Synopsis
Buffalo Jump Blues, the fifth novel in the Sean Stranahan mystery series, is coming from Viking on June28,2016
Truly wonderful. . . . A mystery that unfolds with grace and humor against a setting of stunning beauty and danger. Nevada Barr, New York Times bestselling author of the Anna Pigeon Mysteries
The Gray Ghost Murders is the second novel in the acclaimed Sean Stranahan mystery series
Fourteen months after moving to Montana, fly fisherman, painter, and sometime private detective Sean Stranahan is still sleeping in his office-cum-art-studio, but he's no longer a newcomer. He now knows the rivers and has a new sweetheart, Martinique. And when the bear-ravaged remains of two men are found on Sphinx Mountain, Sheriff Martha Ettinger once more turns to Stranahan for help in solving what smells like murder. Meanwhile, he's also been hired by a group of eccentric fishermen to find their valuable, and possibly stolen, Gray Ghost fly. Could the theft be connected to the gray ghosts haunting the mountain? To find out, Stranahan will cross paths, and arms, with some of the most powerful people in the Madison Valley."
Synopsis
Cold Hearted River, the sixth in the series, is forthcoming from Viking.
Truly wonderful. . . . A mystery that unfolds with grace and humor against a setting of stunning beauty and danger. Nevada Barr, New York Times bestselling author of the Anna Pigeon Mysteries
The Gray Ghost Murders is the second novel in the acclaimed Sean Stranahan mystery series
Fourteen months after moving to Montana, fly fisherman, painter, and sometime private detective Sean Stranahan is still sleeping in his office-cum-art-studio, but he's no longer a newcomer. He now knows the rivers and has a new sweetheart, Martinique. And when the bear-ravaged remains of two men are found on Sphinx Mountain, Sheriff Martha Ettinger once more turns to Stranahan for help in solving what smells like murder. Meanwhile, he's also been hired by a group of eccentric fishermen to find their valuable, and possibly stolen, Gray Ghost fly. Could the theft be connected to the gray ghosts haunting the mountain? To find out, Stranahan will cross paths, and arms, with some of the most powerful people in the Madison Valley."
Synopsis
Cold Hearted River, the sixth in the series, is now available. "Truly wonderful. . . . A mystery that unfolds with grace and humor against a setting of stunning beauty and danger." --Nevada Barr, New York Times bestselling author of the Anna Pigeon Mysteries
The Gray Ghost Murders is the second novel in the acclaimed Sean Stranahan mystery series
Fourteen months after moving to Montana, fly fisherman, painter, and sometime private detective Sean Stranahan is still sleeping in his office-cum-art-studio, but he's no longer a newcomer. He now knows the rivers and has a new sweetheart, Martinique. And when the bear-ravaged remains of two men are found on Sphinx Mountain, Sheriff Martha Ettinger once more turns to Stranahan for help in solving what smells like murder. Meanwhile, he's also been hired by a group of eccentric fishermen to find their valuable, and possibly stolen, Gray Ghost fly. Could the theft be connected to the gray ghosts haunting the mountain? To find out, Stranahan will cross paths, and arms, with some of the most powerful people in the Madison Valley.
Synopsis
Wyoming's favorite sheriff braves a frozen inferno as he races to capture an escaped murderer. Well-read and world-weary, Sheriff Walt Longmire has been maintaing order in Wyoming's Absaroka County for more than thirty years, but in this riveting seventh outing, he is pushed to his limits. Raynaud Shade, an adopted Crow Indian, has just confessed to murdering a boy ten years ago and burying him deep within the Big Horn Mountains. After transporting Shade and a group of other convicted murderers through a snowstorm, Walt is informed by the FBI that the body is buried in his jurisdiction-and the victim's name is White Buffalo. Guided only by Indian mysticism and a battered paperback of Dante's Inferno, Walt pursues Shade and his fellow escapees into the icy hell of the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area, cheating death to ensure that justice-both civil and spiritual-is served.
Synopsis
Truly wonderful. . . . A mystery that unfolds with grace and humor against a setting of stunning beauty and danger.” Nevada Barr, New York Times bestselling author of the Anna Pigeon Mysteries Award-winning Field and Stream writer Keith McCafferty caused a splash amongst mystery lovers and fly-fishermen alike with his debut novel, The Royal Wulff Murders. Now McCafferty is backand so is fly-fisherman, painter, and sometime private detective Sean Stranahan. When a search dog discovers the bear-ravaged remains of two elderly men on Sphinx Mountain, Sheriff Martha Ettinger suspects murder. Meanwhile, Stranahan has been hired by the Madison River Liars and Fly Tiers Club, a group of eccentric fishermen, to find a valuable Gray Ghost fly stolen from their clubhouse. Could the theft be connected to the gray ghosts who haunt Sphinx Mountain? To find out, Stranahan will cross arms with some of the most powerful people in Madison Valley, in a novel that is sure to capture new fans for one of the mystery genres rising stars.
Synopsis
A Library Journal Best Mystery of 2012
He never wanted to tell Joe Pickett about it, but Nate Romanowski always knew trouble was coming out of his past. Now it's here, and it may not only be the battle of his life-but of Joe's.
In 1995, Nate was in a secret Special Forces unit abroad when a colleague did something terrible. Now high up in the government, the man is determined to eliminate anyone who knows about it, and Nate knows exactly how he'll do it-by striking at Nate's friends to draw him out. The entire Pickett family will be a target, and the only way to fight back is outside the law. Nate knows he can do it, but he isn't sure about his straight-arrow friend-and all their lives could depend on it.
Synopsis
Truly wonderful. . . . A mystery that unfolds with grace and humor against a setting of stunning beauty and danger.” Nevada Barr, New York Times bestselling author of the Anna Pigeon Mysteries Award-winning Field and Stream writer Keith McCafferty caused a splash amongst mystery lovers and fly-fishermen alike with his debut novel, The Royal Wulff Murders. Now McCafferty is backand so is fly-fisherman, painter, and sometime private detective Sean Stranahan. When a search dog discovers the bear-ravaged remains of two elderly men on Sphinx Mountain, Sheriff Martha Ettinger suspects murder. Meanwhile, Stranahan has been hired by the Madison River Liars and Fly Tiers Club, a group of eccentric fishermen, to find a valuable Gray Ghost fly stolen from their clubhouse. Could the theft be connected to the gray ghosts who haunt Sphinx Mountain? To find out, Stranahan will cross arms with some of the most powerful people in Madison Valley, in a novel that is sure to capture new fans for one of the mystery genres rising stars.
About the Author
Craig Johnson is the author of eight novels in the Walt Longmire mystery series, which has garnered popular and critical acclaim. The Cold Dish was a Dilys Award finalist and the French edition won Le Prix du Polar Nouvel Observateur/Bibliobs. Death Without Company, the Wyoming Historical Association’s Book of the Year, won France’s Le Prix 813, and Kindness Goes Unpunished, the third in the series, has also been published in France. Another Man’s Moccasins was the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award Winner and the Mountains & Plains Book of the Year, and The Dark Horse, the fifth in the series, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. Junkyard Dogs won The Watson Award for a mystery novel with the best sidekick and Hell Is Empty as well as As the Crow Flies (the eighth in the series) were New York Times bestsellers. All are available from Penguin. Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire novels have now been adapted for television in the hit series Longmire on A&E. Johnson lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population twenty-five.