Death Without Company by Craig Johnson

This author was recently in Bend for The Nature of Words. His mystery series centers on Walt Longmire who is a sheriff in a small Wyoming town. Death Without Company is the second in this series. Lucian Connally, the former sheriff and a current resident of the Durant Home for Assisted Living, is convinced a fellow resident did not die a natural death. His convictions are complicated by his past relationship with the woman, Mari Baroja. The sheriff investigates Lucian’s allegations while also delving into the past.

A major strength of the book is that Johnson introduces an incredible number and variety of characters. The town doctor is not just the local doctor, but a survivor of a concentration camp. Here Sheriff Longmire describes his deputy, “I looked at my recently divorced deputy, a beautiful, intelligent woman with a body like Salome and a mouth like a saltwater crocodile.” (pg 151) Johnson makes it seem like each person in this fictional Wyoming town is interesting in a unique way. Mari Baroja and her family’s identification as Basque is mentioned; more information on that transplanted culture would add to the book.

The writing is enjoyable. Some of it is just quirky and gives you a sense of the main character. “I pulled my pocket watch out and consulted it as to lunchtime; we concurred that it was early but acceptable.” (pg 54) At other points there were phrases that I almost missed and then wondered what they really meant. For example, “I smiled as the feathers brushed the inside of my chest like they always do when I get irritated.” (pg 42)

The mystery from the past was almost too easy to figure out. The present day problems with increasing violence and danger keep one interested in the plot. There are some dream sequences that I felt did not really mesh with the rest of the book.. It helps with background to have read The Cold Dish first.

Free Fire by C. J. Box

Somehow I had never heard of this author until Free Fire was published. It is the seventh in a series of mysteries staring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett. The game warden’s wife, Marybeth, and their two children are also well-developed characters. The language is not eloquent, but to the point as in this example.
“But in a job where nearly every man he encountered in the field was armed as well as pumped up with testosterone- and calling backup was rarely an option- playing dumb was a survival skill. And Joe, much to Marybeth’s chagrin, could play dumb extremely well.” (pg 76)
It is very much a departure from many mysteries in that the action primarily takes place far removed from where most people live.

This particular mystery is set in Yellowstone National Park. Joe has been fired from his normal position of game warden in the Saddlestring area, but has managed to become known to the new governor as someone who stirs things up. The governor hires him to investigate a mass shooting in an area of Yellowstone, which is now being called the Zone of Death as the shooter is released on a technicality. The park is under federal control so the governor sends in Joe unofficially.

The plot is convoluted and involves the unique setting of Yellowstone with its geysers, paint pots, and wildlife in all forms. The book can be read on its own without reading any of the preceding mysteries. However, there were enough hints to prior activity that I felt compelled to read the rest of the books in the series. Also, I wonder what will happen to the Pickett family in the future and look forward to the next in the series. I liked these mysteries so much that I'm adding Box to my list of top ten writers of mystery series.