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Depth of Winter A Longmire Mystery edition by Craig Johnson Literature Fiction eBooks

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Depth of Winter A Longmire Mystery edition by Craig Johnson Literature Fiction eBooks

Depth of Winter is Craig Johnson’s fourteenth novel featuring lawman Walt Longmire, and to be honest, it is a disappointment. I say this with regret because I am a fan of the Longmire series, having read all thirteen previous novels as well as the two novellas and collection of short stories. My basic rule for fiction is whether it keeps me turning pages. On that account, the novel failed. I had to force myself to keep reading.

This surprised me. The setup of the novel is good. At the end of The Western Star, Longmire’s archnemesis Tomas Bidarte had kidnapped Cady, fled to Mexico, and dared Longmire to come and get her (and him). This sets up Depth of Winter as a suspense novel focused on rescue and revenge.

So why didn’t this setup work for me? Several reasons:

First, the novel is set in the badlands of Mexico, doesn’t include the usual cast of characters (e.g., Henry, Vic), and introduces other characters that won’t appear in any future Longmire capers. Plus, some of those characters—the legless, blind hunchback; the doctor/intelligence officer/anti-cartel vigilante; the mute Indian sniper—are caricatures, too overdrawn even for Longmire’s admittedly eccentric social network.

Second, what makes fiction work is the reader’s willing suspension of disbelief. The overdrawn characters made me pay more attention to how unrealistic the setup is. Longmire is going to the heart of Mexican cartel country in order to rescue his daughter and kill his enemy. Alone? At his age?

Longmire graduated from USC and served in Vietnam. He was in country during the Tet Offensive, which took place in 1968. At minimum, that means he’s 22 in 1968, which means he was born in 1946. (One estimate I saw online estimates his birthyear as 1943.) If the events of Depth of Winter are contemporary, that means Longmire is in his early to mid-70s. And he takes the hardships and beatings in this story as well as he does? I don’t thinks so.

Third, Johnson’s previous novels in this series have been mysteries. There’s a crime, and Longmire solves it. Suspense novels work somewhat differently. There’s a complex problem that needs to be solved, but the question is whether the protagonist will solve it in time. Obviously, readers know that Longmire will at minimum get his daughter back and live, so the question is how tight his escapes will be, how just-in-time he’ll solve the problem. Unfortunately, given the problems I mentioned in my first two points, the tightness and just-in-timeness factors weren’t believable.

As I said at the outset, I’ve been a fan of Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire series, so I regret to file such a poor review of it. I’ll give Johnson one more novel in this series to recapture my interest, but at this point, absent a great follow-up novel to this one, I think it’s time for the sheriff to retire.


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Depth of Winter A Longmire Mystery edition by Craig Johnson Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

Rich in literary allusions, Depth of Winter seems to have more literary meat than most books in the Longmire series bring to the table. The inclusion of Ambrose Bierce & the crafted writing, with Walt experiencing optical illusions so similar to those of Peyton Farquhar, is relatively uncanny, artistic, & wonderful. Initially, I was thrown off by the setting and was missing Absaroka county. However, Walt is true to his character, & the subsequent deaths of noble characters add to the realism of horrific events surrounding Mexican drug cartels. Such a good book. Especially interesting is the interview with Craig Johnson at the end. I believe this book brings Johnson up to a higher literary level putting him on more equal footing with those writers from whom he has gained inspiration.
Longmire was always reckless, impetuous, and sometimes a bit stupid, but he was always a lovable, witty character and fun to read about. In this one he is only stupid and far out of his element. Craig Johnson has written a seriously implausible and stupid story here and totally trashed the Longmire series by turning his character into an artifice of incredulity. A very sad turn for the worse.
I would have liked to five this book five stars because I'm a fan of Craig Johnson and Walt Longmire, but it's seriously flawed. It apparently was written specifically -- and only -- for people who follow the Longmire series. If you hadn't read all of the books leading up this saga, there was little background or perspective to set up the story and lead you through it. One example Readers never were told how Cady was kidnapped or under what circumstances. All the reader got was a few tips here and there suggesting there was a history of violence and conflict between the sheriff and the cartel leader. We saw little of Vic Moretti or Standing Bear, which is the author's choice except for the occasional references that, again, came out of the blue for anyone who hasn't followed these books. This author is capable of better work. Hopefully, this is just a clip.
I have really enjoyed the other books in this series, but this one was disappointing. Minimal character development and in the end the print version of an action movie. Also, the plot line is just not plausible from the get go. Read his other books and give this one a pass.

I note some other reviewers said this book reminded them of a wrtitten version of a Rambo film. Could not agree more. What makes the other books in this series work for me is the quirky continuing characters in Walt’s life. There is none of that in this book other than a few gratuitous sentences here and there.
What happened? No mystery No Henry. No Vic. No Wyoming. Instead there is a a totally unbelievable plot with Walt as a Rambo type which is rather unflattering in my opinion. It wasn't even interesting and the characters were boring, particularly the villains. I live in El Paso and found the references to the area fairly hollow. I am sorry to write such a bad review. I am a dedicated Longmire fan, but this is such a disappointment. And I don't get the title at all. There is no depth of any kind about this novel.
Depth of Winter is Craig Johnson’s fourteenth novel featuring lawman Walt Longmire, and to be honest, it is a disappointment. I say this with regret because I am a fan of the Longmire series, having read all thirteen previous novels as well as the two novellas and collection of short stories. My basic rule for fiction is whether it keeps me turning pages. On that account, the novel failed. I had to force myself to keep reading.

This surprised me. The setup of the novel is good. At the end of The Western Star, Longmire’s archnemesis Tomas Bidarte had kidnapped Cady, fled to Mexico, and dared Longmire to come and get her (and him). This sets up Depth of Winter as a suspense novel focused on rescue and revenge.

So why didn’t this setup work for me? Several reasons

First, the novel is set in the badlands of Mexico, doesn’t include the usual cast of characters (e.g., Henry, Vic), and introduces other characters that won’t appear in any future Longmire capers. Plus, some of those characters—the legless, blind hunchback; the doctor/intelligence officer/anti-cartel vigilante; the mute Indian sniper—are caricatures, too overdrawn even for Longmire’s admittedly eccentric social network.

Second, what makes fiction work is the reader’s willing suspension of disbelief. The overdrawn characters made me pay more attention to how unrealistic the setup is. Longmire is going to the heart of Mexican cartel country in order to rescue his daughter and kill his enemy. Alone? At his age?

Longmire graduated from USC and served in Vietnam. He was in country during the Tet Offensive, which took place in 1968. At minimum, that means he’s 22 in 1968, which means he was born in 1946. (One estimate I saw online estimates his birthyear as 1943.) If the events of Depth of Winter are contemporary, that means Longmire is in his early to mid-70s. And he takes the hardships and beatings in this story as well as he does? I don’t thinks so.

Third, Johnson’s previous novels in this series have been mysteries. There’s a crime, and Longmire solves it. Suspense novels work somewhat differently. There’s a complex problem that needs to be solved, but the question is whether the protagonist will solve it in time. Obviously, readers know that Longmire will at minimum get his daughter back and live, so the question is how tight his escapes will be, how just-in-time he’ll solve the problem. Unfortunately, given the problems I mentioned in my first two points, the tightness and just-in-timeness factors weren’t believable.

As I said at the outset, I’ve been a fan of Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire series, so I regret to file such a poor review of it. I’ll give Johnson one more novel in this series to recapture my interest, but at this point, absent a great follow-up novel to this one, I think it’s time for the sheriff to retire.