The Cold Dish

3.5 out of 5 Stars

Author: Craig Johnson

Publisher: Penguin (2012)

Started: August 3rd, 2013

Finished: July 28th, 2014

After twenty-four years as a sheriff of Wyoming's Absaroka County, Walt Longmire's hopes of finishing out his tenure in peace are dashed when Cody Pritchard is found dead near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Two years earlier, Cody had been one of four high school boys given suspended sentences for raping a local Cheyenne girl. Somebody, it would seem, is seeking vengeance, and Longmire might be the only thing standing between the three remaining boys and a Sharps .45-70 buffalo rifle.

With lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and a case of characters both tragic and humorous enough to fill in the vast emptiness of the high plains, Walt Longmire attempts to see that revenge, a dish best served cold, is never served at all.

The first thing that stuck out at me and what made reading The Cold Dish immensely enjoyable was Walt's sense of humor.  Walt is portrayed on Longmire, in my opinion, as an old hardass with a soft and caring inside coupled with a strong sense of lawful justice. It appears the TV series has stayed true to its source material in regard to Walt's core sensibilities, but it was a treat to read that Walt also possesses a dry and witty sense of humor and isn't above a little self-deprecation when he does something stupid. That, I think, is a good sign when a character can call themselves out on their faults and mistakes and own up to them once they've gotten past their stubbornness.

In regard to the murder investigation of the novel, there was a pleasant balance between the present and Walt's recollection/POV of the past investigation that Cody Pritchard was a suspect in along with his cohorts. Craig Johnson also wrote a nice balance between the serious nature of both crimes and lightening tense situations and circumstances with well-timed (and sometimes poorly-timed) humor. In addition to a great supporting cast, each character contributes just enough to the story without leaving the reader wondering why one character got more "screen time" than another. Overall, this lead to a great story and storytelling experience. However, I'm sure you're feeling a "but" coming on and you would not be wrong.

You're probably wondering why it took me nearly a year or so to finish reading The Cold Dish, right? I kind of wondered that myself and I'll admit that there are one or two spots where the story drags a bit and my attention wandered to other books in the meantime. These spots are usually where Walt is wrapped up in thinking on a personal issue that leaves you kind of wondering if Johnson couldn't snip a few sentences here or there and still get the idea across. However, overall, the novel was very enjoyable I found, particularly when the Who Dun It was revealed at the end and I was very surprised by it (and then subsequently facepalming at all the "obvious" signs throughout the book if one is paying close attention). So, in the end, despite the slot spots, I highly encourage to give Craig Johnson's, The Cold Dish a try as it's an entertaining mystery novel.