
"Sheriff Walt Longmire is enjoying a celebratory beer after a weapons certification at the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy when a younger sheriff confronts him with a photograph of twenty-five armed men standing in front of a Challenger steam locomotive. It takes him back to when, fresh from the battlefields of Vietnam, then-deputy Walt accompanied his mentor Lucian to the annual Wyoming Sheriff's Association junket held on the excursion train known as the Western Star, which ran the length of Wyoming from Cheyenne to Evanston and back. Armed with his trusty Colt.45 and a paperback of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, the young Walt was ill-prepared for the machinations of twenty-four veteran sheriffs, let alone the cavalcade of curious characters that accompanied them. The photograph--along with an upcoming parole hearing for one of the most dangerous men Walt has encountered in a lifetime of law enforcement--hurtles the sheriff into a head-on collision of past and present, placing him and everyone he cares about squarely on the tracks of runaway revenge"--Provided by publisher.
Publisher:
New York, New York :, Viking,, [2017]
Copyright Date:
©2017
ISBN:
9780525426950
0525426957
0525426957
Branch Call Number:
FIC Johns
Characteristics:
viii, 295 pages


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Add a CommentI had the pleasure of reading the last two Longmire books within the last two weeks. I enjoyed both books and cannot wait to read the next novel, but I guess I'll resign myself to waiting since the next book is still on the distant horizon.
Some readers may have trouble with the format of THE WESTERN STAR, but not me. A little bit of the young Walt and a little bit of the old Walt, both tales told well and coalescing at the end.
To anyone who has not read this novel, I recommend that you wait until the next volume is out. Then you won't have to wait for the answer to the dilemma of the ending of WESTERN STAR.
It's kind of like "Magnum Force" meets "Strangers on a Train" with a bow to Agatha Christie and a Longmire "origin story" all wrapped into one with a cheap and gratuitous conclusion that makes me wonder if the whole "A & E"/"Netflix" distraction hasn't caused a serious deterioration of writing skills or just sheer laziness; in either case, I'm wondering if the next book will be worth my time.
Younger Walt older Walt combined makes for difficult reading as the story jumps back and forth over time. Walt as always is physically fearless and emotionally stunted but that is the sheriff we have followed all these years. Flashbacks are usually a sign the series is running out of steam and I think that is the case with Longmire, time to retire our old sheriff. Daughter Cady will have to tough it out on her own.
I don't think all novels "have to be" in chronological order, but I do think that if half the novel is a "flash to a previously unknown story" there should be a logical reason that the old story is not simply told first. The big "surprise reveal" at the end of this book was not worth the wait since the "surprise" was pretty well foreseen by before the half way mark. I suspect the author is tired of the character since this is the second book in a row that talks about Walt retiring. Not my favorite of a series I otherwise have loved.
Boy howdy! Love this expression. Another great read. I look forward to the next book and hope the wait will be a short one.
the latest in the ongoing Walt Longmire book series is a strong addition. telling the story through, essentially, two ongoing and time-separated but connected murders is not a new plot device, and can be a hindrance, but not in this case. the stories flow together and make for a very enjoyable read.
Not up to previous Longmire novels. A near complete novel of flashback story telling.
Another enjoyable read, well done C.J!!!
Craig Johnson's THE WESTERN STAR is an awesome read. He stays true to his characters and their relationships and has woven a great tale together. This book is written in a constant flashback-style. That is, a modern story line with another story line from a time past from when he was first hired to be a deputy in Absaroka County. This switching back and forth makes for an intense read in that several shifts back and forth per chapter may occur; some going 5-7 pages and other happening in 2-3. One minute you are in an cliffhanger section in one era and then with only a space between paragraphs you are suddenly a few decades away dealing with a more mundane part of that story line. At first this style took some getting used to. But as it moved along mental gears started catching on and by the end I found I liked the style a lot. And I have to say the setting for the book very pleasantly surprised me. My only complaint about the book. would be it would have been nice to have something more that a paragraph spacing to signal the shifts (like a year date when the shifts occurred). Unlike some earlier Walt Longmire stories, this one had a crystal clear indication that a sequel would be coming - no doubt about it. MEMO TO MR. CRAIG JOHNSON - Please hurry up and write this next one; the suspense is killing me. Thank you!
This was and interesting read going back and forth from the past to the present. This story was short. I have read all the Longmire stories and have enjoyed them all. I look forward to the next one.