The Dark Horse
By Craig Johnson
Penguin Books

Reviewed by Keith Jones

The Dark Horse is yet another great example of writing that is both excellent and fun. We see Sheriff Walt Longmire exhibit his idealistic character through his inability to leave well enough alone. Walt has a guest lodger from a neighboring county in his jail in the form of confessed murderer Mary Barsad. Despite having admitted to shooting her husband as he slept, something about the case doesn’t seem right to Walt.

So, we get to see something akin to “Longmire: PI” play out before us on the page. Walt goes undercover outside his jurisdiction to get to the truth. Craig Johnson shows his talent with another variation of styling in this story. Naturally there is the same humor and wonderful inner narrative that populate the Longmire books, but he tells this story using a dual timeline much like he does in “Another Man’s Moccasins,” but rather than reaching back many years for back story like in “Moccasins” this time his story traverses a one week timeframe. This story device can be difficult to pull off, but Johnson does so seamlessly.

This book is a great balance of humor, suspense and mystery running though a beautifully savage landscape. Each book in the Longmire series thus far, has been better than the one before.