The Cold Dish is the first of 24 Western mystery novels in the Walt Longmire saga, which was the basis for the Longmire series I binged and enjoyed in TV form (all six seasons) on Netflix in 2021. And this is truly a wonderfully well-crafted murder mystery.
Through the often amusing and ironic first-person story-telling of Sheriff Walt Longmire, a modern lawman nearing retirement who is cut from the mold of old-time Western frontier heroes, we set off on a search for the killer of first one, then several of a group of four young white men convicted a few years before of the brutal rape of a young Indian girl from the nearby reservation.
Along the way, we also meet (for the first time) a rich cast of local characters and oddballs in the rural small-town community of Durant, Wyoming, and get to read a lot of funny and occasionally serious dialogue in the local dialects. There’s also a pleasing mix of action, interesting relationships among the characters, some entertaining flirtations, sexual attractions and diversions, and of course, a murder mystery to be solved.
Fans of the Netflix TV series Longmire will know most but not all of these characters, and will likely be impressed (as I was) by how brilliantly the TV show's lead actors nailed the essential qualities of each of the main characters as they appear in this book. A can't-miss series opener for murder mystery fans who also love a great modern Western adventure. Recommended.
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