The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire Series #1) (TV Tie-In)

A very good read

I am an avid reader and often look for authors I have never read to see if I like how they write. Craig Johnson's The Cold Dish was a very good read. I enjoyed the bookd characters and really liked the main character Walt Longmire. The plot had a few twists and turns which I liked and the stories otther characters were all very interesting.

This book is the first in a series and I went and bought the next three series books because I enjoyed this one so much. I also gave the book as a gift to my brother who told me he really liked the story.

I know a lot of my friends who enjoy reading would like this book. If you like a good mystery with engaging characters and a good plot you will like this story by Craig Johnson.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Cold Dish

Great book and great author. Creative story. Reflects Wyoming well and any one from that state knows just what he is talking about when he writes. Keeps you engaged in the story. Has great sense of humor. Entertaining from start to finish.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

New author - Glad I read him

Here is a novel I think you will enjoy. It had been recommended to me, and I am happy I read it as I found his style of writing very likeable. I look forward to his next book which is to be released March 2006. Try it, you'll like it!!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great fun and touching

The Cold Dish is the first in Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series. Great read(s)! Set in contemporary Wyoming, the land is as important to the story as the characters, relationships, police procedures... ...and the murders. Plan on laughing, sighing, pulling for characters and crying as you read through this well-crafted series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Cold Dish

Really enjoyed this colorful and amusing cast of characters introduced by western mystery writer Craig Johnson. Set in Absaroka County, Montana the story centers on Sheriff Longmire, his foul-mouthed deputy Vic Moretti from Philadelphia, and Cheyenne friend Henry Standing Bear, among others. Very strong characterizations, with hints at depths that a long series can tease out.

Listened to the Access Utah (public radio) interview with Johnson as he promoted his fourth book in the series and was fascinated to learn his background in playwriting helped him to craft dialogue that relies on action or 'voice' alone to distinguish speakers. Works particularly well here. Very auspicious beginning.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The start of a classic crime series

Craig Johnson's The Cold Dish is the first novel in his series set in Absaroka County, Wyoming, featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire. It's billed as a mystery, but crime fans would probably be happier to put it in the hard-boiled category. This is not to say that the novel does not feature a mystery - in fact, Johnson's plotting is sure-footed, the clues are cleverly and subtly included, and the final resolution is well handled. The even better news is that the novels in the series which follow this one (Death Without Company, Kindness Goes Unpunished, and Another Man's Moccasins) display an even surer handling of the mystery plot. However, the mystery elements almost take a back seat to Johnson's deft handling of his characters - Walt Longmire, a Cheyenne called Henry Standing Bear, and the rest of the Absaroka Sheriff's department. Walt, in particular, is the character who will keep you coming back to this series. He is a character cast in the hard-boiled mode, tough and vulnerable at the same time, but it is his voice, in dialogue as well in narration, that is the real heart of the novel. At turns humorous, insightful, and poignant, Walt's narrative voice never lets the pace of the novel falter, and his dialogue with his friend Henry Standing Bear is full of perfectly weighted humor.
If you're a fan of crime fiction, there's a lot to recommend this novel, and the series. Johnson builds on the connection between mystery fiction and the western established by writers like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, and gives it a twenty-first century twist. However, while the novels are set in the contemporary moment, there is a wonderful sense of history - both public and private - throughout the series. In The Cold Dish, it is this sense of history that lies behind the novel's revenge plot, as well as being revealed in bits and pieces in the backstories of the novel's central characters. This sense of history is crucial to mystery novels, as the past comes back to haunt the present, and Johnson develops it in order to add depth and feeling to his characters, whom he clearly loves.
The Cold Dish is well worth reading, both by itself and as part of a growing series. The characters, the Western motifs, the Wyoming setting, the careful plotting, and Johnson's fine prose all combine to create the sort of book that will keep you awake until the small hours, and will keep you coming back to the series as new titles are published.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Boring yet Captivating

Boring yet Captivating: ¿The Cold dish' is a mystery novel that takes place in rural Wyoming. The setting is in Absoroka County along the Bighorn Mountains. This is an area that consists of both the native Americans and the whites. The community has prospered and these two groups have gotten along great up until four teenage boys are convicted of raping a young Cheyenne girl. The main character, Walt Longmire is the sheriff of the county. He must face the situation with the best morality he sees fit. The case is suspended and treated very leniently which angers the Native American community. This leads to the mysterious murder of one of the boys convicted. Walt and his deputies must find out if the murder was accidental or the forerunning conclusion of an act of revenge for his crime. This book has a relatively slow pace and tends to get rather boring but it never really strays away from the story line. However the plot does sort of act as an attention grabber and the story leads more into the lives of and relationships of the characters. It really showcases the laid back atmosphere of the community in which the story takes place and the wilderness of Wyoming as well. The main character, Walt Longmire is the sheriff of Absoroka County. He is a well respected man in the community with a strong set of moral values. Walt is a white man in a community with both Native Americans and whites, which results in some very interesting aspects of his position with the Native Americans. He really depicts the type of man associated with a rural laid-back area such as Absoroka County, not only in his physical characteristics but his attitude as well. His laid back manner and physical characteristics are described in the line, ¿Her eyes had traveled all the way from the rounded toed boots to the silver matted hair that I¿m sure was sticking up at undefined angles.¿( Johnson, p. 11) Aside form his laid back attitude Walt Longmire has a very intriguing side to his character. He has a breaking point and when it is passed he can become very dangerous and hostile to who ever crossed that line. An example of Walt Longmire¿s short fuse is showed when he says, ¿I picked up the receiver and punched line two. ¿Longmire.¿ I sounded busy and possibly a little angry.¿(Johnson. P. 298) this just scratches the surface of how Longmire¿s emotions can get the best of him and his character almost transforms. Throughout the story Walt Longmire is faced with adversity when trying to solve the murder case. Since he is white and the boy who was murdered was as well many native Americans look at is as if he is bias towards the whites. He overcomes these obstacles by staying true to his beliefs and his moral values by taking into consideration both aspects of the case. He looks at the fact that the boy was killed but still considers the remorse for the Cheyenne girl that was raped and the pain her families were faced with. Through doing this he maintains his respect in the community. Due to Walt Longmire¿s ability to overcome such adversity a fitting theme for this story could be perseverance. Throughout all of the events in the novel Walt stayed true to what he believes is right and because of this he overcame his obstacles. Walt shows this in his character when he defends a man he believes is innocent. When Henry is accused he says, ¿Why would Henry do it? I didn¿t believe he did and that was all there was to it.¿ (Johnson. P. 199) You sort of get the sense that Walt is never going to give in to false accusations just to solve the case if he strongly believes that Henry is innocent. Because of Walt¿s determination to follow his believes he perseveres through the hard ships he is faced with. Although this novel is very slow paced at times it still manages to remain interesting and keeps you reading. There is more reason to read this novel than just for simply being entertained. Although this book accomplishes that as well it really keeps you guessing through

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Superb first novel

This is the best book that I have read in the past 12 months. James Patterson and the other famous authors should be reading it, to remind them as to what a really great book can be, with three dimensional characters, incredible atmosphere, great intimacy with the location and the characters, and the importance of character development and interaction over contrived action in every chapter.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommended

I have just finished the first series in the set, and it is a great story line, full of twists and turns, Longmire is a laid back sheriff in a wyoming town, We are from wyoming and we can relate with every part of the story, you can't put it downand you just have to find out whats around the next corner. Craig keep writing about Walt Longmire
And I have already started on the next series #2

I loved this story and the characters he created. I live in Colo

I loved this story and the characters he created. I live in Colorado and I think he captures the feeling of the "west" very well. The characters are rich, but sometimes a little hard to accept. I have read the second book in the series and liked it too. I will definitely keep reading this series.

Wow, glad I found this author.

Excellent characters and story. Really glad there are more.

Good book

Author knows the territory he writes about. Makes the story easy to read. Characters are like old friends. Definitely recommend.

perfect

great story

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Boring!

A 300 page book with maybe 100 pages of actual story line. By page 157 I no longer cared who killed "Cock Robin".

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

REally?

Another Penguin/B&N nookbook price gouging experience... Shame on them!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Craig Johnson is a really good read!

I enjoyed my first Craig Johnson novel a few months ago after reading a review in the mystery section of the NYT Book Review....the combination of a remote western setting and a mature central character appealed to me.

Well, I've eagerly read every book Mr. Johnson has written (and purchased the one my library did not have). The descriptions of the locale are wonderful; the characters are original and entertaining and the humor makes me laugh out loud.

I am hopeful he will produce a new book asap!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Craig Johnson is a master!

I loved evrything about this novel.Am I going to read the rest of Craig's novels? you betcha!

Do you like Hillerman?

The first book of the Walt Longmire series (currently 5 books). My book club read this and we all gave it a thumbs up. It constantly kept me guessing to who the murderer was. What I really enjoyed most was the writer's dry sense of humor. I look forward to reading his other books as well and have bought this one as a gift for my dad. Other members in the group compared Johnson to Hillerman.

What a great story

A good follow up to Tony Hillerman. Great characters and fun reading.

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