The Cold Dish

I'm a fan of Audible.com and have used it for years. They had a two for the price of one deal, so I took advantage of that and got a few books that jumped out at me. The first of these was a mystery that has now inspired a TV show

Title: The Cold Dish
Author: Craig Johnson
Format: Audiobook
Time to Finish: 6 days

The book takes place in Absaroka County, a (fictitious) rural part of Wyoming near Little Big Horn. Walt Longmire is the aging sheriff, nearing his retirement. As winter approaches his department receives a call from some hunters claiming they found a body. The skeptic sheriff and his deputy humor the hunters and soon find the body of Cody Pritchard, a young man convicted of gang raping a Cheyenne girl two years earlier. Pritchard got off with what all but himself consider too light a sentence. While coincidental, there seems to be no connection between Pritchard's death and his previous crimes. The case is ruled a hunting accident. But another body a few days later causes the sheriff to reconsider.
There were many aspects of the book that spoke to me. One such feature was the location and the implications that came with it. Being in rural Wyoming puts the white characters near to Indian Reservations and inevitably there is interactions between the two nations. This was not only fun to read about, but a new experience for me. As a fantasy fan, I have little experience with Native American characters, and it was enjoyable seeing them portrayed here. Henry Standing Bear is arguably the most important Native American character. He's Walt's best friend, and while he holds to some beliefs and practices that are different from the white characters, he is not portrayed as some alien other that cannot be understood. He is a man, like any other, albeit one who doesn't use contractions. This juxtaposition of the two cultures added another dimension to the story that is not often found. Characters on both sides despicable or heroic or both, showing the humanity and equally despite the racial divide. In general, Walt is accepted by the Native population, and so are we as the readers.
Another dimension of the story is Walt getting his life together. When he first meet him, he lives in a ramshackle cabin with exposed wiring and a shower that's a faucet sticking out of the wall. With Henry's help he starts exercising, hires contractors, and even starts talking to women. This is fun because we are able to feel closer to our protagonist and learn more about his personality and history. As a bonus we are exposed to his hilarious interactions with Henry and Vonnie (the love interest).
All in all, Johnson is able to weave all these elements together into a compelling and interesting story. It weren't for a tiresome epilogue I would have nothing to complain about.
Mystery fans, have at it.
7/10

Note: as mentioned above, there is a TV show Longmire based on the series. I started watching the it, but stopped. The book is much better. The book's story is more compelling and the characters are given more depth.