First Frost by Craig Johnson

Geez . . . I’ve got about 8-10 books in the queue to be reviewed. Why I can’t sit down and do it when I finish reading a book is beyond me. And I owe it to these first three cuz they are from three of my power rotation. Here goes nothing . . .

By my count, this is the 20^th in the Walt Longmire series, most of which have been reviewed here. If you’ve not met him, Longmire is an aging sheriff in the fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming. As he said in an earlier book, “I am 911.” They guy everyone calls.

First Frost picks up where The Longmire Defense left off. Walt had been cornered in a cabin but managed to shoot his way out, killing a politically well-connected perp. In First Frost, we follow the preliminary hearing to see if there is sufficient evidence of jurisdictional overreach on Walt’s part. Meaning he was too quick to shoot vs de-escalate the situation.

But wait. A question during the hearing reminds Walt of an escapade that he and his lifelong best friend, Henry Standing Bear, had upon graduation from college. Both played football. Walt at Univ Southern Cal and Henry at Berkeley. It’s the mid 1960s and unless one has special circumstances, upon graduation, young men were receiving a letter that opened with “Greetings from the President of the United States.” If you are too young for that hint, that letter meant the recipient had been drafted into the Army and on the fast track to Vietnam. Both wanted to serve, but neither wanted the Army so Walt enlisted into the Marines and Henry joined the Navy.

Schools out and they pile their meager belongings into Walt’s truck to drive cross country to Parris Island with a stop in Illinois to drop Henry off for Naval basic training. They have lots of time and started off taking the scenic route through Arizona following the legendary Route 66. Walt gets distracted while driving, the truck goes off the road and busts up its front end.

The closest town is Bone Valley (AZ or CA? they don’t know) where a grizzled desert rat who runs a garage takes on the repair. The only thing notable they can find out about the town is that it was one of the many Japanese internment camps from World War 2. What remains is mostly ruins. Being the nosey sorts, they ask questions of anyone they can find.

And this is where Walt, who as sheriff always seems to be a magnet for trouble, gets a good start on life. Seems like anyone who will talk to him has something to hide. And each conversation makes him more curious to find out just what the hell has been going on in Bone Valley during and since World War 2.

The two stories are told in parallel with each chapter being split into current day and their drive along Route 66. When I’d finished, I wondered if the book began life as two novellas that either Johnson or his editors decided to combine into a single title.

For me, I couldn’t care less. It’s Walt Longmire. And that’s all that matters.

East Coast Don