Navajo Mystery(Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee)/Walt Longmire Project 2nd Quarter

Welcome to the Yearlong Navajo Mystery(Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee)/Walt Longmire Project!

Last year we (luvamystery65, Donna828, Crazymamie and Berly) read Spenser by Robert B. Parker but we got a little burned out by him midway. Fortunately, he somewhat redeemed himself before the year ended. This year we decided to split two series in order to avoid burnout. Seems to be working! The participation has been great.

Join us as you like. Post your reviews and comments. If you've read the books and would like to follow along please comment. The more the merrier.

January - The Blessing Way COMPLETED
February - The Cold Dish COMPLETED
March - Dance Hall of the Dead COMPLETED
April - Death Without Company COMPLETED
May - Listening Woman COMPLETED
June - Kindness Goes Unpunished COMPLETED
July - People of Darkness COMPLETED
August - Another Man's Moccasins COMPLETED
September - The Dark Wind COMPLETED
October - The Dark Horse COMPLETED
November - The Ghostway
December - Junkyard Dogs COMPLETED

Basically chime in whenever you would like about your thoughts, feelings, rants or post questions if something leaves you baffled.

It is most helpful if you state where you are in the book, Chapter 7 etc..., if discussing a particular point.

Since this is a multiple book group read then after we start the second book please post the book you are referring to. Some of us read the books late and then come back and post.

Always use the Spoiler function when talking about the plot or something a character did if you are way ahead of everyone else. Just assume you are. There will be a lot of beige blank spots as people get going.

When you have finished the book then post a link to your review or if your review is spoiler free then post it to the thread.

That's about it. Feel free to comment as much as you want. Rants about the books, the characters and the author are welcome!

2016 Reading list:

January - Skinwalkers
February - Hell is Empty
March - A Thief of Time
April - As the Crow Flies
May - Talking God
June - A Serpent's Tooth
July - Coyote Waits
August - Any Other Name
September - Sacred Clowns
October - Dry Bones
November - The Fallen Man
December - Wait For Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories

April we begin with Death Without Company


Book description from the publisher: "When Mari Baroja is found poisoned at the Durant Home for Assisted Living, Sheriff Longmire is drawn into an investigation that reaches fifty years into the mysterious woman’s dramatic Basque past. Aided by his friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and newcomer Santiago Saizarbitoria, Sheriff Longmire must connect the specter of the past to the present to find the killer among them."

I jumped the gun on this one! We drove to a funeral in Dodge City and needed an audiobook for the trip. My reservation for this one came up at just the right time. Now my husband is a Longmire fan as well! Here is the review I posted on my thread:

Book No. 25: Death Without Company by Craig Johnson, Audiobook performed by George Guidall. 3.7 stars.

The title was explained by the epigraph: Adiskidegabeko bizita, auzogabeko heriotza --
A life without friends means death without company.
~ Basque proverb ~

Several people have mentioned the excellent audio versions of the Walt Longmire series…and they were absolutely spot on! George Guidall did his usual excellent job of narration. One of the advantages of listening to the book is hearing how the words are pronounced. One of the disadvantages is keeping all the names straight. The descriptions were so vivid that, as I looked out on the plains of Kansas, it was easy to imagine the mountains of Wyoming!

In the second book of the Walt Longmire series, a woman dies in an assisted living home. Her first husband, who just happens to be Walt's predecessor as Sheriff of Absaroka County and who never stopped loving his wife of three days(!), claims the death is suspicious. After it was discovered that her Metamucil had been spiked with poison an all-out investigation begins. It uncovers more than the death of a beautiful Basque woman as the usual twists and turns occur. And then, there is the near-death scene of our protagonist where the spirit world once again comes to his rescue.

I am beginning to see a little repetition of plot here, but with the addition of some new characters, including my favorite, Deputy "Sancho", and a new set of circumstances, the story kept me engaged and looking forward to seeing how Walt's love life will progress in the next installment. Yes, potty-mouth "Vic" is still around…along with the granddaughter of the deceased Mari. Walt's best friend, Henry Standing Bear, is also a big player in solving this mystery. I always enjoy his Cheyenne wisdom and thought the juxtaposition with Basque culture created an interesting new dimension in the melting pot of rural Wyoming.

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>3 Donna828: I read this one a couple of years ago. This is as far as got in the series. I'll probably do a reread to refresh myself. Actually, I listened to it the first time. Guidall did a superb job.

I was going to give this one a try as an audiobook. Good to hear that it works well that way.

Just requested the audiobook from the library - thanks for the information.

So I requested the first three Longmire books in an omnibus from Overdrive back in January. Still number 10 in line... I'll get yo these someday.

>7 drneutron: Howdy Jim! Does your library have OneClick? The audios are available through there.

Nope, but I don't do well with audios anyway. I'll just patiently (yeah, right) wait my turn for the ebooks...

>9 drneutron: Audio isn't for everyone but your omnibus will get here. The Longmire books work well for a quick read. It would be interesting to read them close together. Let us know when you get them.

I bought this one for the Kindle a couple of days ago, so I might bookhorn it in tomorrow!

I am still reading Rebecca for the British author challenge but as soon as that one is done I will be reading this book.

I must confess that I have already read our April book because my turn came up too soon at the library and it was due back before the end of March. Spoiler alert: I liked it a lot, even though there was entirely too much snow for this ready-for-spring chickadee. :-)

I've got the audio for this one requested through interlibrary loan, so I'll be joining in, too. I read the first of the series last year and have been meaning to go with them.

Well, the audiobook arrived and was on tape, not CD- so no go in my car. Got the print version and just finished it. Good story, less direct connection to the Native American spirituality, but still some..
Will wait until a few more folks have read it for more comments.

#15
Did you order the recorded version from a company or from the library? Our library doesn't have tapes anymore. But my old car didn't have a CD player. It had only tape. It was either convert the car sound system or buy a new one. I bought a new car. :-)

I really liked Death without Company. The motive for murder wasn't unusual but the characters and the setting made the book and I'm looking forward to our next one by Johnson. (We've also started re-watching the TV series. Different from the books but also very good.)

>16 benitastrnad: I ordered it from another branch of my library system- I was lazy and did not check the audio format so when I saw the tapes, felt really dumb. ... No big problem, they had print copies as well, but I like audiobooks for commuting. My husband's truck still has both tape and CD, but he probably would not want to trade for a week, just so I can hear my book.

I finished reading Death Without Company and really liked it. Vic was toned down some in this novel and that made me like her better. The introduction of new help in the Sheriff's office was also welcome and made the story move along much better.

I had figured out who dunnit early on, but even so the book kept me reading. I just love these characters. I also like that small towns have their secrets that aren't really secrets. It is just that nobody talks about some things. That is the beauty and the bane of small towns.

The Basque angle is also of interest to me. This is an often overlooked immigrant population and many people are simply unaware that such large numbers of them immigrated to the U. S. And are still immigrating.

I found the mysticism in this novel to be on par with that of the Leaphorn novels. It was much quieter but it was there throughout often in the form of dreams that bordered on hallucinations. They were written in such a way that it is easy to see that this kind of experience is just part of Walt's life and part of what he shares with Henry. It is also clear that he does not share this kind of experience with Lucian, Vic, or most of the women in his life. It might be that Vonnie was the only woman, so far, with whom he might have been able to do so.

I have been thinking a great deal about this novel and wonder if perhaps the thing that is the most important here is the secret life of the elderly. This is a group of people that we tend to think of as not having secrets or passion and yet they lived lives filled with these. It struck me that Leaphorn was concerned with a marginalized group as well. The kid was lonely and lost and the son of a no-account drunken father. Leaphorns investigation did not turn out as well as did Longmire's.

>20 benitastrnad: Good point about the secret life of the elderly. In everyday life we tend to go so much by outward appearances and actions that we tend to discount or not think about their past lives. I think Longmire and Leaphorn discover lots of secrets in others lives, and the good mystery writers make us interested in those lives, not just in the solution to the crime.

>20 benitastrnad: Very nice point Benita. In the first book I felt that Walt had a deep respect for not only the elderly, but the disenfranchised. I love how he defended Jules when Turk mistreated him. Also, the way he would look out for Jules by letting him sleep it off and feeding him. He remembered Jules when times weren't so hard and treated him the same. He was also very respectful to Lonnie Little Bird. I think that is what makes me like Walt so much. I love Walt's relationship with Lucien. It's built on respect and gratitude that only a mentor can inspire.

Joe Leaphorn is a great observer. I think we've only scratched the surface with Joe.

I'm seeing many good points made here! It's been a while since I read Death Without Company (I considered doing a re-read this month, but I rarely re-read things.) I remember being interested in the Basque angle, not knowing much about this immigrant group. I love the respect Walt shows for so many different, diverse people.

Honesly! I'm going to begin my March Hillerman any day now!

I am getting ready to start the May Hillerman. And I must say I am looking forward to it.

>23 tymfos: Agree

>24 Carmenere: No rush. The threads will be here. Let us know your thoughts when you're done.

>25 benitastrnad: Excellent. I'll post the next book in case others read it a little early too.

May we begin with Listening Woman


Book description from the publisher: The blind shaman called Listening Woman speaks of witches and restless spirits, of supernatural evil unleashed. But Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police is sure the monster who savagely slaughtered an old man and a teenage girl was human. The solution to a horrific crime is buried somewhere in a dead man's secrets and in the shocking events of a hundred years past. To ignore the warnings of a venerable seer, however, might be reckless foolishness when Leaphorn's investigation leads him farther away from the comprehensible . . . and closer to the most brutally violent confrontation of his career.

I just finished the audio of Death Without Company and enjoyed it very much. I loved the reader, but I'm afraid that mysteries are very hard for me to listen to. I keep wanting to go back and reread and look for clues. I'm re-listening to bits of it.

The Basque connection was very interesting. My first brush with racism concerned a Basque family, and I'm going to inflict the story on you. :-)

We moved to Twin Falls in southern Idaho when I was in second grade in the early 60's. There was a Basque family living farther down the street with a daughter who was about two years younger than me. When we met, she proudly announced that she was Basque. I had never heard of Basques, so I asked the girl what that meant. She replied "It's kind of like Spanish, only better!" Unfortunately, several of the moms on the street did not have that view and did not allow their kids to play with her. I remember that part of the scandal was that her Mom was a 'white' woman, although to my seven year old eyes, her parents looked pretty much the same.

It really makes me wonder if the Basques are now more accepted or if they are still struggling for acceptance as the Native Americans are. Walt Longmire takes everyone at face value, but I suspect that is not the case in the area, especially on the borders of reservations.

The area of Kansas in which I grew up is very mixed ethnically. One part of the county is German Lutheran, on part French, and the east side is largely Czech with the West side being Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian. The people on the east side of the county always told Swede jokes, and the folks on the west side of the county told Bohemy jokes. It still goes on today, but now people are much more circumscript in telling any ethnic jokes. Everybody out there gets laughs when Garrison Keilor tells his Olle and Lena jokes. Even religion was a dividing line. German Lutheran, German Catholic, Swedish Covenenter's, and the Norwegian Lutheran's wouldn't go to church with the Danish Lutherans. West of the Mississippi, I think it mattered less what ethnicity you were and more what kind of person you were. In that regard Walt is very true to the area from which he hails.

Finally got my audiobook of Death Without Company. The library had the paperback on the shelf so I grabbed that. I'll likely move back and forth between the two as I play catch-up here. I'm still not crazy about potty-mouth but the story has started well. George Guidall does a great job reading.

I'll be late with the Hillerman.

ETA: I must say I am really liking this second Longmire novel. I like how he started with a subtle orientation to points and the end of the prior novel and the story is intriguing right from the start with Lucian's old love. I really liked Lucian in the first novel and very happy he's front and center (at the beginning at least) in the 2nd novel. Good stuff!

>29 benitastrnad: I think you're right for a good part of it, but prejudice against American Indians is still very strong. For instance, here in western Montana, about two years ago, members of the Salish tribe requested that ownership of one of their holy sites be transferred from the local county to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The all white county commissioners denied the request and the head of the planning board made comments about problems with drunken Indians off the reservation.

http://missoulian.com/news/local/cultures-clash-at-meeting-between-cskt-ravalli-...

I think Walt embodies what idealized relationships with mutual respect should look like, but not necessarily what race relations actually are in the area.

>28 streamsong: I'm having the same like/dis-like about the audio. At about 4+ hours of listening I decided that I have missed too many little bits and the pace is a lot slower than I normally read. The reader is very good, but I still feel like I'm missing bits. I'm not a seasoned audiobookphile. I've started back at the beginning with the paper book and sorta speed reading till I catch up. I have in fact caught several things I didn't pick up on the first time or misheard*. Despite being less than half done I'm on the verge of declaring this is the best of the four books so far. I certainly like this better than Cold Dish. We already know many of the characters so that work is over and we get to learn more about them. All the Lucian stuff is so surprising! The woo-woo part with the Cheyenne warriors and Longmire's dreams still don't quite work for me. I get what he is trying to do but it just doesn't seem to come across right.

* in the audiobook I thought he had described a vehicle as a shitty blazer or something like that (I thought he was pissed off at the accident perp) but in reading the paper I realized he had used the chivvy style for chevy.

Anyway, a very good book.

I finished reading Listening Woman in four days! These books are really good. I continue to be surprised at how well they wear.

>33 benitastrnad:. Wow! You're fast! I think some of the anthropological/archaeological info about the Anasazi and other early groups in the area has changed. When I read the continuation of the series, Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman last year, she updated some of the info in her father's books by having a scene where a museum expert did a lot of "we used to think, but now we know" type statements. I can't remember the specifics; maybe someone else who knows more about the subject will do so.

I am dying to talk about this book, but know that most of the reader's on this thread have not finished so I will have to wait. But there is so much good stuff in here and I can't wait to talk about it.

The first thing is that these books are at least 100 pages shorter than the Johnson books and Hillerman manages to pack just as much excitement and punch into them with less verbiage. That is good writing and good editing. I think it shows how much the publishing industry has changed.

I also noticed that the Hillerman books did not come out at the rate of 1 per year. It took longer for them to be written and to be published. Again, I think that is due to the changes in the publishing system.

This is not a spoiler - but there is much more explanation of Leaphorn's thought processes in here, and much more about the Navajo religion.

This one felt a little disjointed. A list of cases and security duty at a Boy Scout campout in the first chapter all become related later. It was like going to an improv comedy show where audience members yell out random words, and the troupe is supposed to use them all in a story.

Still loving Joe Leaphorn as a character and the Navajo Way.

What do people think of the deeper examination of Leaphorn's belief system? Did you notice that there was a distinction made between the "Blessing Way," "The Dark mountain Way," and the "Navajo Way?" I think that this book makes it clear that Leaphorn is a very spiritual man.

I noticed that on page 174 Leaphorn thinks about the different rituals that the Listening Woman had recommended and the reasons behind them. "The mountain Way would have been intended to restore Hosteen Tso's psyche with the harmony that had been disrupted by his witnessing some sort of sacrilegious taboo violation... But why the Black Rain Chant? ... It was an obscure ritual, rarely performed. He remembered that it came from the creation of rain ... Hosteen Frog had used his magic, inflated himself with water, and - carried aloft by First Crane - had produced black rain to save Dinetah from fire.". (In my book that is one page 174 - it is in chapter 13.)

I find these explanations of the rituals much more authentic than the New Age superfluous kind found in the Longmire books. These are almost ethnographic in their content and are so much a part of the character of Leaphorn. Somehow they seem so much deeper and truer.

>38 benitastrnad: I just finished Listening Woman and agree that the explanations seem much more ethnographic. Remember Leaphorn (as character) studied anthropology at University- so a good way for Hillerman to bring out the information. I think this is a better constructed mystery than the earlier ones.

I just downloaded my copy of Listening Woman and I'll get started this weekend some time.

I'm in the middle of reading it, and really like it.

I just finished Listening Woman. I am growing to like the character of Leaphorn as a person more with each book. So far I think each book is better than his previous. I really liked this one. Agree with Benita about his spirituality.

I enjoyed Listening Woman a lot, too.

#39
I had forgotten that Leaphorm had an anthropology degree. I know it was mentioned several times in the three books we have read, but somehow it slipped my mind. I wonder if Hillerman was purposefully and gently trying to educate his readers about the culture or if he thought that extra knowledge made for a better story?

I really liked Listening Woman. Here is what I said on my thread about it:

"Too much coincidence. Leaphorn didn't believe in it. He believed nothing happened without cause. Everything intermeshed, from the mood of a man, to the flight of the corn beetle, to the music of the wind. It was the Navajo philosophy, this concept of interwoven harmony and it was bred into Joe Leaphorn's bones." (207)

What a good story! This one delivers what I expect in a Hillerman mystery. First of all, a believable crime to be solved. Next, a dedicated servant of justice to get to the bottom of the problem and find the criminal(s). And, finally, leaving the reader with a satisfying experience…which in my case meant reading the latter part of the book on the edge of my chair as Lt. Joe Leaphorn turns spelunker and must outwit the bad guys in the dark of a cave that has been hidden for hundreds of years. Love these books!

June we begin with Kindness Goes Unpunished

I really enjoyed Listening Woman. I love the mysticism but I think it is well balanced with Joe Leaphorn's need for logic and explanation. I think Hillerman did well to pick him as an introduction to the Navajo culture for the reader. It will be very interesting to meet Jim Chee in July. He is a police officer but also studying to be a healer.

Hillerman has said that he created Jim Chee because he needed someone less hardened than Joe Leaphorn to solve some crimes. I look forward to meeting him.

For now though we get to revisit Walt Longmire and head East.

I finished reading Kindness Goes Unpunished today and enjoyed it very much. I have a few questions but will wait to ask when I hear that a few of you have finished.

I will say that it was interesting enough that i stayed up late reading on Sunday night when I had work the next day.

This book is my least favorite of the Longmire series so far. The plot was OK but somehow the book didn't have any omph. Even though Henry was the reason they were in Philadelphia he seemed like an afterthought. It felt like the book was just an excuse to let Walt and Vic have sex. She remains my least favorite charactef.

I finally had the opportunity to read Dance Hall of the Dead . I've read a few Hillermans in the past and enjoyed them but to me this one was very disturbing particularly because of the murder of a 12 yo boy.
The premise of his death was also sketchy. Really, was it necessary to off a child?

Was anyone else disturbed by this one?

ETA: I just looked back at the comments written about this book in the first thread and it appears that no one was bothered by this.

Also, my rating of this book was similar to Berly's. I gave it at first gave it a 3 then thought myself down to a 2 1/2

#50
Several people said that they were surprised by the book. I don't know if that translates as disturbed, but I took it as such. What bothered me about this was that Leaphorn did not arrest anybody, even though he knew who had murdered who and why. He told the guardians what had happened and they took care of it. It was plain that Leaphorn thought justice was done. I thought of the whole thing as vigilantism. That disturbed me.

After reading your comment I went back and read the last part of the thread and it seems to me that there was plenty of shock about the ending of that book. Several people commented on it and made sure to put in spoiler alerts so that they could talk about it freely before everybody else had read it.

I think that ending to that book was not what we were expecting and goes against the popular beliefs about Native religions. We want to concentrate on the harmony part of them and forget that they did have a violent component.

I think that Leaphorn's rage at the murder of the child was expressed by his going to the elders and telling them who had murdered the children. He thought that there might be a chance that the murderer could get off if the case went through the court system and his sense of justice would not permit that. He went for the sure thing - letting the elders do what they had to do so that the murderer got his just deserts.

Violence against children is frequently a deal killer for me. I have stopped reading authors because of it and certainly avoided others. Yeah I know it happens in real life - I just do not want it in books that I read. I think >51 benitastrnad: summed things up nicely. I was disturbed by Dance Hall of the Dead and truthfully it dampened my enthusiasm to move on to the next book last month. I do plan to catch up because I know there are some excellent books later in the timeline. So I will tackle Listening Woman before too long.

I've read the first two Craig Johnson novels but will probably stop there. There are a lot of other TBR books calling my name. I'll be interested in people's comments on the series tho.

Wait for Signs the short story Longmire collection is available on Audible for $2.95 today.

I just picked up Kindness Goes Unpunished from the library yesterday. I'll get started midweek and post.

I'll come back later and respond to some of the posts.

>54 luvamystery65: I just got Kindness Goes Unpunished yesterday too- Will get started in a few days.

Me three. Just picked it up from the library and hope to start mid-week.

I enjoyed hearing Craig Johnson speak on Thursday. He's a very down-to-earth guy who seems to really enjoy his readers - and his plan to relax was to go back to his motel and write after the signing was over.

I finished Kindness Goes Unpunished. The plot was good as far as plots go. I prefer Walt in his own element but it was good to see him out of it. Henry gets the best lines.

The Moretti family was interesting but I did not like the whole Lena/Walt/Vic storyline. I do think Walt and Vic were headed for sex eventually but the way it happened really complicates things. Vic may not think it matters but it does to Walt and it really does to her too.

#57
I have lots I could say about the book, but I will stop for right now and say that it did not make me like Vic any better. I simply do not understand Walt's obsession with her and don't know why the author keeps making her so integral to the story?

I agree that Henry has the best lines but his part in the overall novel is that of sidekick. He is the vehicle for providing an excuse for Walt to go to Philadelphia and provides a convenient way to include some Native American mysticism but other than that he doesn't even need to be in story. That leaves me wondering why Walt is even friends with him? Or why Henry deigns to hang out with Walt? At some point the reason for the friendship between Walt and Henry needs to be explained because at this point - 3 novels into the series - I am just not getting it.

>58 benitastrnad: I'm not sure I understand why you don't "get" the friendship between Walt and Henry. Maybe some of the background is in later books -- hard for me to separate what I learned when, as I've read the whole series up to present, plus my memory isn't that good for details. But it seems to me they've just known each other forever. Sometimes that's enough to keep a friendship going when there's mutual respect and folks get along well. I just get the feeling that they're really comfortable with each other, and trust each other. Also I'm thinking that there's some wartime experience that links them, too (that would be covered in a later book that deals with Walt's Vietnam experience).

>59 tymfos: I'm pretty sure the Vietnam connection came up in an earlier book, too, because I know about it and I've not read past this one. The friendship between Henry and Walt is one of the least baffling things about the books, to me.

As for this one, I missed Wyoming as a character. Unlike many, I think Vic is a great character and her profanity bothers me not a bit, but I didn't really care about any of her family. Considering how much of the book revolved around various members of that clan, that was probably the biggest reason I liked but didn't love this one.

Looking foward to the next Hillerman, which I think is the first time we meet Jimmy Chee.

Who knew Philadelphia had so many statues? But I agree that Wyoming is an important character in the series. and I missed it.

Henry's and Walt's friendship seemed a natural to me. Never thought to question it. I'm on Vic's side too, but I wonder about her relationship with Walt when they all get back to Wyoming. Could be pretty awkward.

I think that Henry is just there because what would the West be without an Indian? He is just window dressing and is never, or at least in the three books we have read, that much of the story.

As for the Vic and Walt thing. Vic did what she did when she did because she knew her mother was interested in Walt and that the friendship was blossoming.

In many ways this felt like a "Da Vinci Code" in Philadelphia. I found the art history more interesting than the plot of this book. In case you couldn't tell, I didn't like this novel very much and I hope that the next one in the series is better than this one.

Still trying to finish up another book before starting this one , so I actually haven't read it yet.

But when I heard Craig Johnson speak on his tour last week, he said that most of the characters are based on real life people living in his area. I think he said that Vic is actually patterned after his wife- (I had a bit of trouble hearing the word). He said that she is a very independent woman and that the cussing gets so creative while they are watching ballgames at home, he'll pull out a notepad to jot down the good ones. In many ways, he sees himself as the Walt character, so I guess that would explain the sexual tension.

Henry Standing Bear is also based on a friend of his. I would say that close white/Indian friendships are the exception rather than the rule. He does add a different perspective on life as well as being an interesting character.

We have gone halfway through our journey and we now get to meet Jim Chee!

July we begin with People of Darkness


Book description from the publisher. A dying man is murdered. A rich man's wife agrees to pay three thousand dollars for the return of a stolen box of rocks. A series of odd, inexplicable events is haunting Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police and drawing him alone into the Bad Country of the merciless Southwest, where nothing good can survive . . . including Chee. Because an assassin waits for him there, protecting a thirty-year-old vision that greed has sired and blood has nourished. And only one man will walk away.

>62 benitastrnad: I think that Henry is just there because what would the West be without an Indian? He is just window dressing and is never, or at least in the three books we have read, that much of the story.

Wow, I can't believe we are reading the same books. I couldn't disagree more strongly. The Indian element is such an elemental part of these books and Henry is a living embodiment of it. I'm at a loss to understand how you could read the first two, especially, and come to the conclusion that he is just window dressing. Ah, well.

I finished Kindness Goes Unpunished a few days ago - read it quickly- did not want to put it down. The change in location did give a changed feeling from the earlier books, but it allowed Walt and Henry's characters to show apart from their usual context. I agree that Henry is essential to the stories- he is the connection to the Indian spiritual aspects. The Philadelphia stories put Vic and Cady in their usual (or prior) contexts and I expect will help fill out those aspects for later parts of the series.

Thank you Benita, tymfos, streamsong, Julia and Helen for sharing your opinions. I do think there are others that don't care for the Longmire series for many of the same reasons that Benita has but they aren't speaking up. I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I do get that Henry and Walt have been friends for a long time because they new each other in school and shared the same experience in Vietnam. I also think they are both a bit of outsiders in their respective worlds and that is another glue that holds them to together. They ARE an unlikely friendship to ME but they are a lifelong unlikely friendship. Note that Cady does live in Philadelphia so that is a reason for Walt to go not just because Henry is going but I do agree that he could have gone before but is only going since Henry is going.

Personally I like the mysticism. It's what drew me to this series. It's also why I paired it with the Hillerman series. The mysticism here does seem to pale in comparison to the Hillerman series but I think it works. I do get why some of you don't like it and I agree the story would be just as strong without it. I also like the Dr. Siri Paiboun series and that has a lot of mysticism. I have no idea if it is correct or hokey since I know almost nothing about the Hmong people.

I don't dislike Vic. I think she adds something to the story. I just don't think we have seen the best of her yet and this story was certainly not her best. I figured she and Walt would end up together at some point but the way it happened I did not like it. HELLO! HIS DAUGHTER IS IN A COMA IN THE ICU!

I'm actually excited that we are getting a response in the middle of the year because we really haven't had any strong opinions except that of Kim from the last thread and >50 Carmenere: about Dance Hall of the Dead.

Please keep the comments coming!!!

Excellent comments, Roberta (@67). I agree, especially about the Walt/Henry friendship.

Like many others, I didn’t care for this installment as well. I guess I like Walt back in his own environment. Didn’t like the mother/daughter thing. I guess it was interesting to see a bit of background to Vic, but she’s still my least favorite character.

I think that this was my least favorite of the three Longmire books we have read, but there were some good things about it. I liked the idea of using all the Native American statues as part of the plot. The Eastern tribes and their place in our history are often over-looked so it is easy to forget that they would be part of the landscape in the big eastern cities as well. This book helped to make me more aware of that part of the art world in Philadelphia.

I keep trying to put my finger on exactly what it is that bothers me about these books and so far have been unable to articulate it. I think it comes down to the fact that somehow the Hillerman books feel more genuine.

I finished my book so tomorrow will be off to the library for the next Hillerman so that I can continue the journey with these two series.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through People of Darkness, and enjoying it.

I finished People of Darkness and really liked it. I will wait awhile before I say why. But it was so good I went to the library and immediately checked out Dark Wind the next one in the series. I may just skip the Craig Johnson book for August and read the Hillerman instead. Ironic, because I will be in Wyoming and Montana the first week in August.

I also finished People of Darkness and enjoyed it. I had read it before, but it is interesting to put it in sequence and share thougts. I'll wait until more have finished before much sharing.

I am on a roll with the Hillerman books. I started reading Dark Wind already.

So what did all of you think of People of Darkness? I thought it was a great novel. Hillerman manages to put lots of cultural and religious information in a mystery about drilling for oil and mining for uranium. I thought the religious information was fascinating and brought home to me just how different the Indian religions are from our western religions. To me, this type of description is much more informative than the new age/politically correct feeling I get from the Longmire novels. Somehow, the Hillerman books just feel more authentic and sincere.

I loved People of Darkness, and am eager to move on to the next one.

I thought that the information about death and burial customs was interest. On page 13 and 14 of my copy Chee shakes his head at the oddities of the way white's treated bodies. The author says "Death robbed the body of its value. Even its identity was lost with the departing chindi. What the ghost left behind was something to be disposed of with a minimum risk of contamination to the living. The names of the dead were left unspoken, certainly not carved in stone."

This kind of description has added so much to this series that for me the mystery is almost not needed. Hillerman has brought these cultures to life for me.

People of Darkness is my favorite of this challenge so far. Hillerman just kept getting better. Interesting thoughts, benitastrnad - agreed.

I just started this and should be finished fairly soon. I've had a lot going on in RL. I love this series. For those that also love it and have gone on slightly ahead, what say you to slow down a bit and wait for us to catch up before the end of the year? I would love to read one a month next year. I miss the continuity of sticking to one series and this one gives you the option of 2 main characters.

I would love to also read book 7 Skinwalkers in December and watch the PBS Mystery version. Any takers? Then we can go on and start with book 8 in January.

I'm still reading last month's book. Lots going on in RL.

Apologies for not getting this month's book up. Here goes.

August we begin with Another Man's Moccasins


Book description from the publisher: When the body of a young Vietnamese woman is found alongside the interstate in Absaroka County, Wyoming, Sherriff Walt Longmire is determined to discover the identity of the victim and is forced to confront the horrible similarities of this murder to that of his first homicide investigation as a marine in Vietnam.

To complicate matters, Virgil White Buffalo, a homeless Crow Indian, is found living in a nearby culvert and in possession of the young woman’s purse. There are only two problems with what appears to be an open-and-shut case. One, the sheriff doesn’t think Virgil White Buffalo—a Vietnam vet with a troubling past—is a murderer. And two, the photo that is found in the woman’s purse looks hauntingly familiar to Walt.

In the fourth book in Craig Johnson’s award-winning Walt Longmire series, the tough yet tender sheriff solves two murders tied in blood but separated by nearly forty year

>78 luvamystery65: Are you saying you just want to read the Hillerman series? Where do you do you need to have people slow down?

I have Another Man's Moccasins home from the library but it will be a bit yet before I get to it. I have the best intentions of rereading some of the Hillerman's this year, but so far, haven't made it. I am currently reading Anne Hillerman's Rock With Wings since my name popped to the head of the library waiting list.

>81 streamsong: What I meant was next year I am going to commit to reading a Hillerman once a month. I know some favor one series more than the other and some have jumped ahead with both series. I was asking if anyone wants to join me in reading a Hillerman a month next year if they would slow down to book 7 Skinwalkers by the end of the year. We are slated for six books in each series this year but I am looking forward to Skinwalkers since it is the first book that Leaphorn and Chee work on the case together. I am planning on reading it in December.

I hope that makes sense.

It seems that most of us who are reading these mysteries are finding the Hillerman books to be superior to the Craig Johnson books?

To be fair to both writers I find qualities that I like about each one of them. However, the cultural aspects written about by Hillerman are superior to the cursory inclusion of Native American culture in the Johnson books - so far. However, I have only read three of them and have just started on the fourth, so Johnson may develop his characters and story lines more as time goes on. I confess that I found the Hillerman books so interesting that I have read ahead of our schedule in that series and decided to go back and read more of the Longmire books. I like them, but they don't teach me as much.

I am enjoying them both. But then I don't bother trying to grade them against each other, or ask one series to live up to the expectations I have for the other. I simply enjoy each of them for what they are. They are not similar in any way (to me) except that they are mysteries set in the western half of the U.S. Apparently I am in the minority in feeling this way, which is fine with me.

>84 rosalita: I will join you in the minority, Julia. I find the Hillerman books more steeped in Indian culture while the Johnson books have more action. I like both of them for what they are, but am perfectly willing to finish the Johnson books on my own and read more Hillerman books next year.

>85 Donna828: At least I'm in good company, Donna! What the heck, we can do our own Johnson readalong next year and still keep up with the Hillerman group read here.

I like both series but have a slight preference for the Longmire books.

>84 rosalita: and >85 Donna828: I too really like both authors and don't see much similarity. Right now I'm enjoying the Johnson books more, maybe because they have been on audio. The latest Johnson book I will read instead of listening to it. I'm waiting to see if Hillerman improves his depiction of his female characters.

I like the Longmire/Johnson books I just miss being in a rhythm with reading one book in a series a month. I think since Hillerman has both Leaphorn and Chee it seems like I am reading 3 series right now and I feel a little off.

>86 rosalita: I plan on continuing with the Longmire books so if you decide to host a thread next year I will definitely pop in and comment.

I finished People of the Darkness. I really liked all the talk about religion and the Navajo view of death. I have also taken to calling my mom's sisters "my little mothers" the way Chee does.

I'm almost done with Another Man's Moccasin's. Love George Guidall!

I just finished reading Another Man's Moccasins. I'm in the camp that enjoys both series, and sees no reason to have them compete against one another. I had read most of Hillerman years ago- Longmire is new to me. I agree that Longmire has much less of the Native spirituality than Chee/Leaphorn, or at least a very different sort, but they are decent mysteries and interesting characters.

I just got back from my cross country odyssey. I drove from Alabama to Bozeman, Montana. Along the way I passed a road sign that said Ucross, WY was 25 miles east. I was so excited! My mother was puzzled, so I had to explain to her that Ucross was the home of Craig Johnson - he of the Longmire fame. That didn't help her out as she isn't much of a reader, but I was happy just to be that close. I drove right through the fictional Absaroka county and there was fire in the Bighorns.

I stopped at the Little Big Horn National Battlefield on Sunday, August 2. The park ranger told me that it was their busiest day of the year due to the huge numbers of motorcyclists who were congregating in Sturgis, South Dakota for the 75th anniversary of the Motorcycle Rally that is held there every year during the first week of August. I had forgotten about the rally but knew something was going on because I had a hard time getting a hotel room in Casper, WY. The signs on the Interstates were correct - they all said to watch for motorcycles because they were everywhere. They certainly were.

I wonder if Johnson will ever use the Motorcycle Rally in one of his future books?

How exciting Benita!

I finished Another Man's Moccasins yesterday and it is probably my favorite to date. Lots of background into Walt's and a bit of Henry's experience in Vietnam. A little bit more is shed on what makes Walt tick. This series started out slow for me but now it is gaining ground.

#94
I agree with you. This is the best of the Longmire's so far. Walt really comes alive, and best of all --- no foul mouthed Vic. Or very little of her.

That was a favorite Longmire for me, too.

BTW, just FYI, if folks are interested in another mystery series set in the West, dealing with Native American culture and issues, I'm currently listening to The Eagle Catcher, the first in Margaret Coel's Wind River novels, set among the Arapaho of Wyoming. The main characters are an Arapaho attorney and a Roman Catholic priest assigned to the reservation mission. I don't think it's going to get into the Native American spirituality in as much detail as Hillerman does, and it lacks the personality of a Longmire novel, but so far it's prety good. (The audio quality is poor, however.)

I plan to join in on the Longmires the rest of the year if that's OK. I had already read the first three in the series and this gives me the nudge I need to continue. I'll get to the Hillermans some day, but I've got so many series going already that I couldn't talk myself into starting another one.

I read Another Man's Moccasins over the weekend. I'm another who likes this one best of the first four in the series. I liked the balance of the supporting characters - a lot more Henry Standing Bear and a lot less Vic. I had a little trouble with the Vietnam flashbacks. I didn't understand all of the military jargon. The shift back to the present was awkward for me, too. I could have used bold headings like those that signaled the jump back to the 1960s.

Reading this book made it clear to me just how old Longmire is. If he was in Vietnam in 1968 and was already 20 (he had already been to USC and played football on the team there) that would make him almost 70 in real life. So somehow the numbers here are just not adding up for me? Maybe the books are set in a Wyoming of 20 years ago? if so how to explain the computers and cell phones? Other than that I thought this was a really good book. Like #97 said - more of the supporting characters and less Vic.

>98 benitastrnad: More like 60 when the book was written ...

>98 benitastrnad: The first book was published in 2004, so written maybe 2003- 35 years after 1968. His daughter is through college and law school and working- so mid 50s to 60 is a reasonable age. Lots of references to pending retirement- also fits.

Another consideration is that not as much time elapses between books in Absaroka County as it does in RL. I think books 1-5 cover about a 1 year time period. As I recall, book #2 starts almost immediately after book #1 and it includes Christmas and New Year's. Book #4 takes place within a couple of months of book #3. It looks like #5 starts a couple of months after book #4 ends.

I figure him for 55-60. That's one reason the TV series doesn't work for me, as he seems younger. (They always make them younger for TV -- did that with Bones, too.)

September we begin with The Dark Wind


Book description from the publisher: The corpse had been “scalped,” its palms and soles removed after death. Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police knows immediately he will have his hands full with this case, a certainty that is supported by the disturbing occurrences to follow. A mysterious nighttime plane crash, a vanishing shipment of cocaine, and a bizarre attack on a windmill only intensify Chee’s fears. A dark and very ill wind is blowing through the Southwestern desert, a gale driven by Navajo sorcery and white man’s greed. And it will sweep away everything unless Chee can somehow change the weather.

Posting this a little early as I am working on Sunday and running errands on Monday.

I finished The Dark Wind a couple of days ago. I thought it was another very good entry in this series, and I really like Jim Chee more and more as a character in each book. It will be interesting to see how Hillerman has Chee and Leaphorn interact when the series gets to the point that they share the stage.

One thing I wish had been more extensive in this book was an explanation of how and why the Navajo were being displaced in favor of the Hopi. There was a brief explanation pretty far into the book but none at all when it was first mentioned, and it distracted me quite a bit from the plot. Yet another example of the gaps in my otherwise extensive historical education, which I need to fill in.

I finished the book on Friday and for me this series just keeps getting better and better. There is so much cultural history in each one of the books that make the novels so much more than just mysteries. This series and the author could be feature on that BBC4 series about mysteries reflecting and in some cases providing a window into political movements that aren't always that well known. (I can't remember the name of the series but try to listen to them when I can and find them very enlightening.)

I finished The Dark Wind a few days ago. I agree with earlier posts that this is the best so far in developing the Navajo spiritual traditions. Chee is growing as a character. I have read many of the later books, so it is a bit hard to keep thinking only of what has been revealed so far. I am enjoying this project - thanks to the organizers.

>105 rosalita:, >106 benitastrnad: & >107 Helenoel: I am enjoying this entry but I'm not done yet. Chee is so different than Leaphorn. I do like that they are methodical, each in their own way.

I'll post next month's book later in the day.

October we begin with The Dark Horse


Book description from the publisher: Wade Barsad, a man with a dubious past and a gift for making enemies, burned his wife Mary's horses in their barn; in retribution, she shot him in the head six times, or so the story goes. But Sheriff Walt Longmire doesn't believe Mary's confession and is determined to dig deeper. Unpinning his star to pose as an insurance investigator, Walt visits the Barsad ranch and discovers that everyone in town--including a beautiful Guatemalan bartender and a rancher with a taste for liquor--had a reason for wanting Wade dead.

My library didn't have Ghostway and I couldn't find it at the local second-hand book store, so I had to order it. I'll have it for November when it is time to read another Hillerman book.

I'm just getting started on The Dark Wind now, having had too ambitious a plan for September Series and Sequels.

>111 tymfos: I'm right there with you. I'm about 7 chapters in. No worries. We will finish it when we do. :-)

Dark Wind is such a good book you will finish it quickly.

>113 benitastrnad: I did! A quick read, and very good!

So…we're moving from The Dark Wind to The Dark Horse. Very cool. I finished the Hillerman a few days ago and enjoyed it very much. Jim Chee and his persistence is growing on me. Like others have said, I am learning a good deal about Navajo culture. I plan to seek out more books about our Native Americans. I am listening to Empire of the Summer Moon, a fascinating look at the fierce Comanche Indians and the Texas Rangers.

#115
I read Empire of the Summer Moon last spring. I also lived down in Southwest Kansas close to Cimarron and Garden City, so had a very good idea, geographically of the area in which those battles took place. Then this summer I drove to Bozeman, MT and stopped at the Little Bighorn National Battlefield. That prompted me to start reading Crazy Horse: Strange Man of the Oglala's by the Nebraska Sand Hills author Mari Sandoz. I am not done with that biography yet, but I am over half done with it and learning much about the Sioux Wars.

One thing I discovered is that by the 1860's the Native Americans were already dependent on the U. S. Government for much of their food and general life goods. For one thing, they really needed a steady supply of iron pots. I guess nobody wanted to cook in buffalo bladders or stomachs even then. Surprisingly, they also wanted wool blankets. They traded buffalo robes for wool blankets. I found that ironic as the white people coveted the warmth of the buffalo robes and the Native Americans wanted the wool blankets. Go figure.

>116 benitastrnad: It is much easier to make coats and other clothing from wool than from hides.

Just finished The Dark Horse - I'll hold detailed comments, but I liked it a lot- but it does not have much of the Native American connection.

This morning in my Sunday newspaper I ran across a book review for the winner of the Hillerman Prize. This is a prize is an annual award give. to a debut author whose crime fiction honors the late Hillerman and utilizes a Southwest setting. The winner for this year is Dark Reservations by John Fortunato. This novel is set on the Navajo Reservation and is about an agent with the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is three months away from a forced retirement. He is given a cold case to work on to bide his time or solve and go out big.

I was unaware of this prize and thought this novel sounded interesting to me. It may be one of my purchases in the next few weeks. If we continue this group read next year we might consider throwing in a Hillerman Prize winner - just as another comparison with our two authors.

I really have enjoyed this compare and contrast group read this year. These novels have become my "comfort" reads this year, providing me with many hours of enjoyment.

I just finished The Dark Horse and liked it a lot. Walt trying to go undercover ...

>118 Helenoel: >119 benitastrnad: & >120 hailelib: I started The Dark Horse yesterday on audio. I went to Winnie, TX to pick up a dog for Tired Dog Rescue out of Mississippi and took the dog to her forever home in Sugar Land, TX. George Guidall is perfect for a road trip. I'll continue the audio during my daily commute and errands.

Benita - I follow Anne Hillerman on FaceBook and I also follow Tony Hillerman's author page. They post about the Hillerman Prize and The Tony Hillerman Literary Landscape Series. Lots of great information.

For those that would like to continue with this group read I would be happy to host again next year. I wanted to continue on with only the Hillerman's earlier but now that I feel I know Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee and Walt and the gang I wouldn't mind continuing to rotate both series. There are enough Longmire's to get one more year out of them. We can read the short story anthology in December if there is no Book 12 by then.

Please chime in with your opinions.

I will like to continue as I'm enjoying both series.

I would continue as well as I like both series.

>122 luvamystery65: I'm up for continuing.
The pace is about right at one a month.

I plan to continue with both series next year, regardless. Of course it's always more fun to read them with a group.

We shall then continue with both series next year. I'll start up our thread whenever Jim opens the new group.

I'll be there too. I've been really enjoying both series. I just have to catch up on The Dark Horse.

I'll be reading along, too. I've already read all the Longmire, but I am really enjoying discovering the Hillerman books.

I'm the opposite of tymfos, having read all the Hillerman, but enjoying Longmire. I'll continue onwards next year, too - and hopefully get a few of the Hillerman's reread.

I've just started listening to The Dark Horse.

I've posted next year's reading list for those that need to look for books on >1 luvamystery65:

I am anxious for the new year to start, but have to confess that even though I had to purchase a used copy of Ghostway because my library did't have it, I have not started reading it yet. I think that alternating reading the two authors has been a good idea, but there have been times when I got "into" one author or another I didn't want to quit to move to the next book on our reading list. I think that means that these are good books.

>132 benitastrnad: I agree. I felt a little disjointed at first because I didn't really know all the characters and with Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee just being introduced it felt like 3 series in a way. Now that we know them all it has gotten more interesting and next year should be even better since we start out the year with Leaphorn and Chee working together and four of them together in total.

>119 benitastrnad: Anne Hillerman posted a review of Dry Bones, Longmire book #11 on her Facebook page with a statement saying that Craig Johnson received one of the first Tony Hillerman short story awards. Seems like this pairing was meant to be.

>134 luvamystery65: That is so cool, Roberta. Meant to be. Yup. I bought exactly one book at this fall's library book sale, The Dark Horse. I hope to read it before the end of the month...just a few days away.

I am in for next year too. I like alternating the two series.

>135 Donna828: Donna post that you've finished your Longmire book and then I'll make my slightly snarky remark about Walt being undercover. Ha! I miss the days of my Spenser rants. I'm not feeling too rantish but I some thoughts have been brewing in my head for the last couple of books. ;-)

>136 luvamystery65: Isn't that what the spoiler feature is for? :-)

Yes it is Julia but I'm still chewing on my thoughts. I've had this idea in my head and this book turned it around for me.

Is anyone watching this season of Longmire? They've really upped their game - the writers are getting into very difficult issues, and making it work. The tv series is true to the characters, IMO, but doesn't follow the books at all.

I'm all caught up on the books, and wish I wasn't. :-)

November we begin with The Ghostway


Book description from the publisher. Old Joseph Joe sees it all. Two strangers spill blood at the Shiprock Wash-O-Mat. One dies. The other drives off into the dry lands of the Big Reservation, but not before he shows the old Navajo a photo of the man he seeks.

This is all Tribal Policeman Jim Chee needs to set him off on an odyssey that moves from a trapped ghost in an Indian hogan to the seedy underbelly of L.A. to an ancient healing ceremony where death is the cure, and into the dark heart of murder and revenge.

Posting this >140 luvamystery65: a little early. This will be our last Hillerman of the year.

>139 jnwelch: Joe I watched Season 1 of Longmire and part of Season 2. I loved the first season because it was limited to 10 episodes and I probably would have stuck to it better if they had kept to shorter seasons. Netflix has offered me a free trial to come back and I just may take them up on it.

>142 luvamystery65: You can tell, we're big fans of the Longmire tv series, Roberta. The new season (which is available all at once on Netflix) has really been impressing us.

When my radio alarm goes off in the morning it starts playing NPR's Morning Edition. This morning, to my surprise, there was a story about giving people who live on the Navajo Reservation addresses. Of course, I was instantly interested and wide awake enough to listen to it closely. It made me think about how much has changed since Hillerman wrote the novels we are reading and how much has stayed the same.

Here is the link to the story: http://www.npr.org/2015/11/02/452824825/navigating-navajo-nation-soon-to-be-easi...

I also found this story of interest on other levels. I am from a very rural area of Kansas. (It is about 40 miles to the nearest McDonald's, but when I was growing up it was 100 miles to the nearest McDonald's.) I remember when we got addresses. The excuse given for the addresses was so because the county started an ambulance service that was funded by the county. Those of us who lived in the county had trouble understanding why addresses were needed. The rural mail carrier knew where everybody on his route lived so the ambulance drivers should as well. What nobody realized was that the ambulance personnel were not going to be based locally. Most of them were going to come from other places and would be working "shifts" in the county. It was outsourcing before there was such a term. We also had to have a surcharge attached to our phones to pay for the tracking system and of course taxes were raised in order to pay for the company to come manage the emergency response system. I voted against both of these initiatives, as I simply couldn't see what they added to our lives. Today, even though there is now a house number on my house, it still isn't mapped into google maps and the mail gets through, the phones work, and when I need to go to the doctor I either drive myself or call my cousin to come get me. There still is no "overnight delivery" because UPS still delivers packages to the post office for delivery and only delivers when they have enough for a truck load. They do that because of the distances from the distribution center. It simply doesn't pay to drive 100 miles to deliver one package. A fact that the U. S. Post Office contends with everyday. I was amused when the woman from the Navajo Reservation that NPR interviewed said that it would be nice for her nephew to have an address because then things that he ordered could be delivered to the house. That may be true, but he may find himself going to the nearest trading post to get it because UPS or FedEx simply won't deliver that far out. As for having an address making voting easier - you got to wonder how this country let anybody vote before we put voting laws into effect. They probably had somebody who lived in that precinct and knew everybody working at the polls. And that meant that they had more polling places that were closer and more accessible to the people who voted. I'm all for voter ID. I want to be ID'ed by people I know, not some poll workers imported from some temporary employment agency based in Kansas City. All of this makes Hillerman's novels, and present day happenings on the Navajo Reservation, very relevant to my life.

I'm listening to a scanner call now. Rural. In our county houses have been numbered for a while, but for some reason the caller doesn't know the house number. Maybe the resident is the one unconscious and someone else is calling, or it's an area without home mail delivery and the folks never paid attention to the assigned 911 address.. County EMS is trying to find the house, calls going back and forth, County Dispatch describing the directions panicked loved ones are trying to relay. What a mess. Seconds count, let alone minutes upon minutes.

>145 tymfos: yikes! I always thought about retiring to the country but now that I work at a stroke and chest pain center hospital I realize that seconds and minutes do count, not just for EMS, but also, for CT scan and a heart catheterization.

I finished The Ghostway. I just love these Hillerman books.

I am about a third of the way done with it. I got sidetracked while finishing a travel book about Oaxaca.

I finished Ghostway this afternoon. What a great book! I can't decide if this series is a narrative non-fictional way of writing anthropology or anthropology written as fiction? There is so much packed into this series in the way of culture and cultural information about the Navajo, with some great mysteries, that they are great fun to read. Clearly, for many years I had underestimated them as mysteries with staying power. In that regard they remind me of the Martin Beck series.

The descriptions of the Navajo way of viewing the world are outstanding and they make it easier to understand the philosophical differences between the Native American view of the world and the white view. That makes this series of books totally relevant to what is going on right now at the University of Missouri and the small demonstrations we have had here at The University of Alabama regarding race relations.

I started ghost way yesterday and am enjoying it very much.

December we begin with Junkyard Dogs


Book description from the publisher: It's a volatile new economy in Durant when the owners of a multimillion-dollar development of ranchettes want to get rid of the adjacent Stewart junkyard. Meeting the notorious Stewart clan is an adventure unto itself, and when conflict erupts—and someone ends up dead—Sheriff Walt Longmire, his lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, and deputies Santiago Saizarbitoria and Victoria Moretti find themselves in a small town that feels more and more like a high-plains pressure cooker.

This will be our last Longmire book of the year.

>137 rosalita: I never did post why I was struggling with the Longmire's and then turned around. Generally speaking it was taking awhile for me to get into these books but once we got to the fourth one I really felt like I was getting to know everyone. It really bugged me how everyone treats Walt like he's one step behind all the time. I will admit that on most things socially and technologically, he is. It just seemed a little much to me. I found it annoying until book 5 when Walt went undercover in the county he was born and raised in. Really? Now, I'm with the crowd. LOL! I still love him. Even Vic has grown on me. I don't always like her but I do feel like I understand her a little better.

I would have started reading Junkyard Dogs over Thanksgiving but I was unable to get my hands on a copy. The used copies are quite expensive and the copies in my local library seem to be always checked out. I have tried for two months to get my hands on one of them. I finally decided to opt for using Inter-Library Loan. Now I have to wait for it to come in and hope that I get the book read before the end of the year and all of you have finished it ahead of me.

#153
Of the two series I still think that the Hillerman books are better, but the Longmire books are growing on me. I suspect that Hillerman was trying to introduce his audience to a culture and way of life that he knew would be very different from that of most of his readers. He is trying to enlighten and create sympathetic readers with his books and I find it fascinating how he gently introduces concepts and philosophy into a murder mystery. Johnson isn't trying to do that with his readers. He is mostly concerned about getting us to like Walt. I am learning more from the Hillerman books, but I find the Johnson books more entertaining. And of course, I am more familiar with the landscape in the Johnson books than that of the Hillerman books, so in some ways Johnson is like putting on a comfortable pair of slippers.

I finally got Junkyard Dogs through ILL, so I will start reading it tonight.

I've started listening to Junkyard Dogs. The opening sequence with the old man was funny in a horrifying way. Craig Johnson said he combed newspapers for odd incidents - I had to wonder whether this was one that had really happened!

#156
The odd stories connected with character continue. I am about half done with the book and I am laughing out loud at some of the incidents in the book. Poor Longmire - he tries so hard.

Once again, the Brookville Hotel Fried Chicken and Coleslaw recipe is mentioned. I would hazard a guess that Craig Johnson really likes that chicken. And the coleslaw. If I ever see him again I am going to ask him about that and find out if he has ever been to Brookville.

I just finished Junkyard Dogs - I agree that the series is improving. This seemed a better crafted mystery - and the characters are developing nicely. Not much of the Native American spirituality content in this one though - will be interesting to see if we get back to it next year.

I've enjoyed this project- Thanks to luvamystery for originating it !

I just finished listening to the audio of Junkyard Dogs - it's my favorite of the series so far. Light, fluffy, lots of humor and twists and turns.

If you haven't listened to any of the audios, they are a treat. George Guidall is the perfect reader for this series, and according to Johnson's Facebook page, won an award this year for his reading of Dry Bones.

>157 benitastrnad: Another thing Craig Johnson said when I heard him speak, was that he believes people like Walt because he's a decent guy, just trying to do his best. Johnson's belief is that many people are a bit tired of anti-heroes - the deeply flawed protagonist with ambiguous moral compass. Longmire is a sort of anti- antihero.

We just finished watching the fourth season of Longmire on Netflix. So good! Craig Johnson is a consultant for the series, which doesn't follow the books but is faithful to the characters.

This reading project has been great fun this year. I already have the next three Chee/Leaphorn novels ready and waiting for next year. Lots of Happy New Year reading in store for me with both of these series.

If anybody here lives in the Boston area here is the link for the LT free passes to the ALA exhibit hall. That is where I met Craig Johnson (ALA - Denver) and got interested in the books, so if you can do so take advantage of these free passes from Abby Blachley - one of the LT Goddesses.

https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=314&oi=1Trx3hK26xzHoIiGjo9vo...
That's the link to use for free exhibit-only passes!
Best,
Abby

Thanks for that link in >163 benitastrnad: Benita. Both series have been really good. I still need to finish the November Hillerman to get ready for our January read.

Thank you to everyone who has participated and commented. I'll post the link to the new thread in next year's group when it's up.

>164 luvamystery65: I'm half way through listening to the audio of Junkyard Dogs. Both these series have been great. Thanks for setting this up. I am on board for next year.

I am also looking forward to a new year with Tony Hillerman and Craig Johnson. I like both series very much for different reasons. I enjoy learning about The Cheyenne Way and Longmire is my kind of hero...kind and unassuming. I must watch those TV adaptations someday.

Thanks, Roberta!

Howdy everyone! I hope you are having nice holidays. If the holidays are rough for you like mine have been this year then I send you my blessings. Hang in there.

The 2016 Group is up and our Project continues right here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/209475