For me, reading a Craig Johnson novel or short story is very much akin to enjoying the kind of comfort food I grew up on as a kid. After having read Johnson for so many years, I feel completely at home in the Absaroka County world that he has created for the sheriff, and I always look forward to the next chance to visit Walt and his friends there.
Have Courage, scheduled to be published in early November, is Johnson's latest collection of Longmire short stories. Each of the thirteen stories takes place during the Christmas season just when the sheriff's office is as short-handed as it ever will be and everyone is expecting things to have pretty much quieted down for the rest of the year. But as Walt has learned the hard way, that's not the way things work in Absaroka County, Wyoming.
The thirteen stories cover the entirety of Walt's policing career, from the early days when Walt was just a green young deputy learning the trade at the knee of Lucian Connally, to when Walt has become a fixture in the job he ultimately inherited from Lucian. Along the way, a cast of familiar deputies comes and goes - although I do think that Walt's best friend, Henry Standing Bear, is under-utilized in this collection of stories. (I am one who doesn't think that you can ever have enough Henry Standing Bear.)
The stories offer insights into Walt Longmire's character and how he got to be the man he turned out to be. They are stories of reclaimed lives, violent hostage situations, seeing the best in people during the worst day in their lives, havoc caused by the surprising results of DNA testing, dealing with a skunk that decides to crash a Christmas party, an old dog needing a new friend, and much more. And best of all, no matter how violent or sad the situation might be, it's all narrated with the same wit that Craig Johnson fans have come to expect over the years. I don't usually do "Christmas in July" stuff, but I'm grateful that that reluctance didn't keep me from reading Have Courage when I got the chance.
This one is for the Walt Longmire fans.
Nice to hear about this new Johnson book. I'm not the biggest fan of short stories, but I will keep this one in mind.
ReplyDeleteShort stories like these can be lots of fun because they give the author of a series the opportunity to show little snippets of the main character's personality that might otherwise never be exposed to the reader. Too, you can get lots of small chunks of a character's backstory for a short story collection dedicated to a single character or series.
DeleteAlways nice to have stories like this from a favorite author; it's fun this collection is centered around Christmas and spans the years. :D
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a soothing collection of stories, very folksy and funny...really, really funny at times.
DeleteI haven't read a Walt Longmire book in years but this book of short stories sounds like it might be very good. Might take me back to the novels perhaps.
ReplyDeleteA collection like this one might be just what you need to get yourself back into the series, Cath. I hope so.
DeleteI've never read this author. I'm glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteI've read Craig Johnson for decades now, Mary. He's become one of my go-to authors, in fact. He's definitely worth taking a look at if you have the time.
DeleteThank you for the recommendation. I take a look at his books and see if one sounds good to me.
Delete