Wait For Signs by Craig Johnson, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Wait for Signs by Craig Johnson is a small book of twelve short ordinary stories in the life of not-so-ordinary lawman Walt Longmire, Sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming.

Each story in this collection is distinctive. Each tale tells of a journey he made throughout his county and the very interesting characters involved. The stories are short but very rewarding. Some are somber and some are carefree and some are cheerful. All show Walt, his daughter Cady, and friends Vic and Henry Standing Bear as considerate and caring people.

One common element to the stories is their time-frame, all set around the end of the year. "Ministerial Aid" is about Walt's drive on New Year's Day to Powder Junction, the second largest town in Absaroka County. Though he was very hung over, he decides to deliver a pay check to Turk Connelly, the lone member of the Powder Junction staff, because he wasn't able to get it to him on the previous day. The reason he was driving the hundred mile round trip to deliver the check instead of mailing it was that he got into a squabble with the county commissioner over the price of stamps. So, since they paid for his gas, he decides to take that route. Another story, "Unbalanced", involves Walt's drive to Billings, Montana to pick up Cady from the airport as she is coming home for Christmas. When he stops for gas he notices a woman sitting on a bench outside the Conoco service station/museum/post office in the town of Garryowen. The only part of her clothing showing beneath the heavy blanket she had wrapped around her were black combat boots and mis-matched green socks. The woman didn't like his truck, hated seat belts, and did not like Walt's dog. Then, too, she had a hand gun that slipped out of a pocket and landed on the floor. She tried to hide it with her foot and Walt pretended not to see. She was the daughter of a musician from Tennessee where she had been in an institution and now just roaming the streets. He gives her encouragement to find her way and she in return teaches him a lot about music.

Some of the stories have been previously published as ebook singles. And this collection also includes Craig Johnson's first published story, the Hillerman Award-winning "Old Indian Trick". Overall, twelve entertaining side trips for Longmire fans.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Wait For Signs.

Acknowledgment: Penguin Group provided a copy of Wait For Signs for this review.

Any Other Name
Viking (Hardcover), May 2014
ISBN-13: 9780670026463; ISBN-10: 0670026468

Dry Bones
Viking (Hardcover), May 2015
ISBN-13: 9780525426936; ISBN-10: 0525426930

Wait For Signs

A Walt Longmire Short Story Collection by Craig Johnson