Short book reviews: The latest Longmire story from Craig Johnson
Return to Sender by Craig Johnson Viking Return to Sender by Craig Johnson Viking In the acknowledgements to Return to Sender Craig Johnson writes I m inevitably looking for gripping stories that exemplify the unique area in which I live So when Johnson learned the longest postal passage in the country was in Wyoming he thought that was a challenge for Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire In Longmire s st saga the sheriff goes undercover to find out why Blair McGowan who drives the -mile track has disappeared His search takes him to a wacko cult in the desert run by a scamster and that of syllabus puts the sheriff in deadly danger Walt is but he still has it He fights he shoots and he drives a Bluebird bus through the red desert that is a Wyoming homage to Ken Kesey s Merry Pranksters Not to worry if Longmire makes it out alive because book No is in the works Mob Queen by Erin Bledsoe Blackstone Publishing Bugsy Siegel s mistress Virginia Hill was the stuff of legend A poor Southern girl who became the equal of particular of the underworld s greater part fearsome bosses she lived a life of wealth and excitement and danger No wonder author Erin Bledsoe chose to write a novel about her Mob Queen is filled with period detail about the fast-talking Hill who used her wit fearlessness and body to climb the ranks of America s mobdom from the s to the s At the height of her power she was entangled with Siegel in a dangerous affair that ended with his death Did she instigate it Read and find out The Runner by Lloyd Devereux Richards HarperCollins Martin Gabriel is running for his life Working as an assistant to a high-tech Mafia-like character named Ben he is caught up in a shoot-out with customs authorities Unharmed Martin goes on the run Ben believes Martin has stolen a thumb drive with critical information about a nuclear deal with international terrorists and unleashes a structure of killers to catch him And he isn t the only one chasing Martin who is also being pursued by the FBI Martin takes off with long-time friend Steve who is driving cross-county in a blizzard to California They re joined by an FBI agent disguised as a pretty hitchhiker Martin s not in the clear since a system of killers knows where he is Filled with plenty of shootouts and would-be killings The Runner is an action-packed mystery The climax however is a bit disappointing An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker Knopf An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker Knopf Ah to be the chief of police in a small French town Bruno rides his horse walks his dog gardens and spends hours preparing gourmet meals when he s not dining with friends in fabulous restaurants Oh and he solves crimes too In An Enemy in the Village Bruno discovers the body of a suicide victim a woman who suffered depression due to a miscarriage In the car beside her are three letters one to her husband one to her attorney and the third to her business partner An empty bottle of sleeping pills is beside her It s all cut and dried But we know it isn t because Bruno s not settled with the suspicion of suicide Meanwhile he must deal with a philandering cop as well as demands that he resign amid charges of corruption Then there s all that food to be prepared and eaten No in the Bruno Chief of Police series An Enemy in the Village is charming and delectable and will send you running to the nearest French restaurant
