Craig Johnson: Dry Bones, 9780525426936, Viking US (Penguin Random House imprint)

I have a great weakness for Craig Johnson’s novels featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire and his recurring cast of characters, daughter Cady, Undersheriff Vic Moretti, his dog named Dog and best friend Henry Standing Bear.  So every time Craig Johnson completes a new book, I know a few great hours of reading and an armchair trip to Wyoming’s cowboy country are in store. Yippee! 

Apparently I am not the only one who thinks so, Johnson is hugely popular in the US and Warner Bros. “Longmire” TV hit show, also available on Netflix, have no doubt helped spreading the word.

I have no idea why German editors have missed Craig Johnson so far; apparently German publishers think his books are to US focused.  I would bet the TV show and the books would find their fans.

“Dry Bones” delivers with a good plot as all his other novels do,  I especially like the dry sense of humor which reminds me of old Westerns.  The bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton shake up the peace in Absaroka County, with the High Plains Dinosaur Museum and Danny Lone Elk’s family battling over this windfall after he is found dead in a turtle pond. When the FBI descend on the town, the number of groups claiming the skeloton increases which is worth several million dollar. Walt is determined to find out who killed Danny Lone Elk and who is to profit the most from his death. Soon after Walt’s daughter Cady finally arrives home for visit with his grand- daughter Lola, a new tragedy strikes the family.  

If you have not read any of the previous Longmire stories, it is best to start with the first one, The Cold Dish. They can all be read standalone but it is more satisfying to know how all characters find their place in Longmire’s life.  (The first 4 are The Cold Dish, Death without Company, Kindness Goes Unpunished, Another Man's Moccasins).