Hot off a book of short stories by George Pelecanos comes a
small book of 12 short stories featuring Walt Longmire by Craig Johnson, mostly set around Christmas. Probably a given that
if the book-length Longmire stories are such a hit with me that these dozen short
stories will also resonate with me.
A few examples:
Old Indian Trick. Walt takes Lonnie Little Bird for his
periodic diabetes check. They stop at a diner for a quick bite only to find
it’s just been robbed; Lonnie uses an OIT to send Walt and the local cops on
the right path. This is Johnson’s first Longmire story that was a Tony Hillerman award winner.
Slick Tongued Devil. Now just why does a Bible salesman show up at Walt’s cabin with a Bible he says his wife just ordered
. . . 6 years after she died?
Firebird. Lucian Connelly, Walt’s former boss and mentor,
lives in a Durant, WY assisted living facility. Christmas is coming up. Lucian
has been sort of booted from his room for a while because a space heater set his curtains on
fire. Odd, because Lucian doesn’t use a space heater.
Several Stations. A semi has slipped off an exit ramp to the
interstate and spilled its load into the snow. Deputy Santiago is working the
details as the snow continues to fall on Christmas Eve. Walt sends him home to
be with his family; he and Dog will wait for roadside assistance to haul up the
truck and close the interstate per highway patrol orders. While picking up some
of the mess, a beat up car pulls up. The driver of a on-the-edge of being destitute family is disappointed the interstate
is closed; how they will ever get home for Christmas.
Toys for Tots. Daughter Cady in home from Philly for Christmas and
has dragged her dad on a shopping trip. First stop is Best Buy. While walking
in, Walt stops to talk with the young man in full dress Navy uniform and an arm
in a sling manning the Toys for Tots stop at the store’s entrance. Being an
inactive Marine (no such thing as an ex-Marine), they exchange conversation about
their experiences while Cady shops. The Navy guy’s shoulder is a mess from being run over by a
Humvee in Iraq, so he is home on disability leave to mend. A ruckus is the store
results in a man dashing out carrying a laptop. What happens next would make
this one terrific holiday TV movie. This and OIT were my favorite stories in this collection.
Most of the stories in this delightful collection would add local detail, color, and subplots to the
background of any of Johnson’s novels, but here, they further demonstrate
Longmire’s folksy wisdom and strength of heart for the people of Absaroka
County who continue to elect him as their Sheriff. This is one terrific little book to curl
up in front of a fire with a bottle of Walt’s favorite Rainier beer.
My main regret is that now I am officially current with the Longmire series. Have to wait out the next book (and Season 4 later this summer or fall on Netflix). This sprint through Johnson's catalogue of 12 Longmire book could well be one of my favorite endeavors since taking up this blog.
East Coast Don
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