Reviews

Death Without Company by Craig Johnson

hgranger's review against another edition

4.0

Solid western-style sequel about the tough sherif of Absarooka County and the people around him. The mystery is good, the cast is well-written, the evil is commonplace and still bone chilling, and the scene is set so well that despite reading this in the summer heat of Arizona, I felt like I was right there on the snowy plains of Wyoming.

doubleace2423's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

nicofic's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

cathyrodgers's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Book 2 of Sheriff Walt Longmire series. Well written; beautiful setting; witty snarky banter between characters; great side characters. Two drawbacks:  the description of the crime from the past was more graphic than I wanted to know about (but that’s just my personal taste and was easy enough to skip through) and, since I listened to the audiobook, I had trouble keeping two side characters (Joe and Leo) separate. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, and Murder

itsmarkyall's review against another edition

4.0

I always forget how good of a writer Craig Johnson is. This might be better than the first one.

danchrist's review against another edition

4.0

Another fantastic Longmire book that ends with sufficient loose ends tied and new threads unraveling. The series gets better and better.

graham_greene_lantern's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

bethwodzinski's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

thebeardedpoet's review against another edition

5.0

This is the second Walt Longmire book I've read aloud to my wife Christi. We are both enjoying the humor and atmosphere of these books. As this one focuses on a Basque family, it has slightly less Cheyenne culture and lore than the last one, but Standing Bear has a role to play. I find the back and forth between Bear and Walt just as funny as Hawk and Spenser. I also enjoy the ensemble cast feel to all the characters associated with the Absoroka County Sheriff's Department. The banter between Walt and his staff puts me in mind of Jesse Stone and his crew. There's definitely a Robert B. Parker feel to this series, but Craig Johnson, at least so far, tends to be lusher than Parker in his style, providing plenty of visual and sensory details. Definitely will be reading more of these.

cher_n_books's review against another edition

2.0

2.5 stars - It was alright, an average book.

Well that was disappointing. After a stellar start to the series, this sequel fell flat for me. There was more action (yawn), less deduction, and the plot was not nearly as engaging as the last book. Vic and Henry's characters are still dependable with delivering snarky quips though, which was greatly appreciated.

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Favorite Quote: A life without friends means death without company. (A Basque proverb).

First Sentence: They used fire, back in the day.