carol. (not getting notifications)'s Reviews > Kindness Goes Unpunished
Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire, #3)
by
Although I have yet to see the A&E tv series Longmire, I’m enjoying my trot (well, okay; gallop) through the source material. Walt Longmire, county sheriff, has over twenty-five years in the field and is supervisor of a very small team of deputies. As with many books in the detective fiction, the mystery is deeply imbued with a sense of place, notably the sparsely populated and rugged landscapes of rural Wyoming. As in many mysteries, Longmire has a faithful comrade-in-arms, but instead of the generally dopey Watson stereotype, his companion is a far wiser long-time friend, Henry Running Bear. Henry is a man of seemingly infinite talents and an artistic soul and when in Wyoming, is often Walt’s ambassador to Native reservations.
In this book, Henry is escorting a collection of unusual historical photographs out to an exhibition in Philadelphia. Walt decides the timing is right to meet his daughter Cady’s boyfriend, so the two decide to make a trip of it. It is a bold authorial choice to take your detective hero out of the home environment so early in a series, particularly when your mystery is so intimately tied to the intricacies of the setting. In this case, Johnson wisely continues to integrate setting, letting Walt play tourist to involve a number of prominent locations in the story.
Johnson is gifted at the ‘show, don’t tell’ style of storytelling, and occasionally I find myself pausing, realizing he just dropped an implication. This little gem aptly displays his skill with just a few words:
“‘No, I was just thinking. I do that, sometimes, before I talk.’
Lena smiled, this time with her entire mouth. ‘Not me, robs the evening of all its spontaneity. A little wine, a little truth, and pretty soon you’ve got a real conversation on your hands.’ She took a last sip.
I started to pour us both some more. It seemed like the conversation was getting interesting, and I wasn’t quite ready to leave it.“
This installment stands out in the interplay between Henry and Walt. Although Henry is the primary motivator in making the trip, he ends up nicely balancing support of Walt and Cady with his own work. It’s always interesting to me to see how a writer deals with ethnicity, and I feel Johnson generally avoids turning Henry into a Native trope. Parat of what elevates the characters is the decades-long history between the two, which Johnson illustrates in his usual understated way:
“After Michael left, we sat in chairs on either side of the bed and watched Cady. ‘It was the right thing to do.’
I had been listening to him think it for so long, I wasn’t sure if I needed to reply. ‘Yep.’“
Humor played a more prominent role in this story, although it was often only evident to the reader. I enjoyed Walt’s dry sense of humor, as well as his confidence in wearing his comfortable Western clothes in a major city.
“I opened my coffee and looked at the decisively dark brew. ‘This looks strong.’
‘Espresso, tall, double-shot. I thought you could use it.’ She looked at me. ‘How’s she doing?’
I took a sip and swallowed most of the enamel from my teeth.“
Even I, sports-adverse as I am, laughed at this sports-related one, made as Walt and Henry were taking in a baseball game:
“He looked at me and shook his head. ‘Where do you want to hide the body?’
“I just want to talk to him.’
The Bear pursed his lips. ‘How about behind third; the Phillies have not shown any signs of life there in years.’“
I enjoyed the mystery, although at one or two points, it seemed excessively convoluted, but I felt it unraveled remarkably similar to real life. The emotional complexity as Walt faced certain issues was very interesting, balanced between melodramatic and stoicism. I was perhaps just slightly too obsessive to me, but I’m not a parent, so what do I know? Johnson gives a nice sense of the difference between Walt’s exterior and his interior, no easy feat in a book that focuses on action. Really, it fit me perfectly, suspenseful without being horrific, emotionally sophisticated with complex characters and enough humor to make it palatable. The ending scene would have made me laugh out loud if Johnson didn’t have such a deft hand for pathos. Un-putdownable, I’m already on to the next in the series.
Cross posted at my blog: https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/...
by
Although I have yet to see the A&E tv series Longmire, I’m enjoying my trot (well, okay; gallop) through the source material. Walt Longmire, county sheriff, has over twenty-five years in the field and is supervisor of a very small team of deputies. As with many books in the detective fiction, the mystery is deeply imbued with a sense of place, notably the sparsely populated and rugged landscapes of rural Wyoming. As in many mysteries, Longmire has a faithful comrade-in-arms, but instead of the generally dopey Watson stereotype, his companion is a far wiser long-time friend, Henry Running Bear. Henry is a man of seemingly infinite talents and an artistic soul and when in Wyoming, is often Walt’s ambassador to Native reservations.
In this book, Henry is escorting a collection of unusual historical photographs out to an exhibition in Philadelphia. Walt decides the timing is right to meet his daughter Cady’s boyfriend, so the two decide to make a trip of it. It is a bold authorial choice to take your detective hero out of the home environment so early in a series, particularly when your mystery is so intimately tied to the intricacies of the setting. In this case, Johnson wisely continues to integrate setting, letting Walt play tourist to involve a number of prominent locations in the story.
Johnson is gifted at the ‘show, don’t tell’ style of storytelling, and occasionally I find myself pausing, realizing he just dropped an implication. This little gem aptly displays his skill with just a few words:
“‘No, I was just thinking. I do that, sometimes, before I talk.’
Lena smiled, this time with her entire mouth. ‘Not me, robs the evening of all its spontaneity. A little wine, a little truth, and pretty soon you’ve got a real conversation on your hands.’ She took a last sip.
I started to pour us both some more. It seemed like the conversation was getting interesting, and I wasn’t quite ready to leave it.“
This installment stands out in the interplay between Henry and Walt. Although Henry is the primary motivator in making the trip, he ends up nicely balancing support of Walt and Cady with his own work. It’s always interesting to me to see how a writer deals with ethnicity, and I feel Johnson generally avoids turning Henry into a Native trope. Parat of what elevates the characters is the decades-long history between the two, which Johnson illustrates in his usual understated way:
“After Michael left, we sat in chairs on either side of the bed and watched Cady. ‘It was the right thing to do.’
I had been listening to him think it for so long, I wasn’t sure if I needed to reply. ‘Yep.’“
Humor played a more prominent role in this story, although it was often only evident to the reader. I enjoyed Walt’s dry sense of humor, as well as his confidence in wearing his comfortable Western clothes in a major city.
“I opened my coffee and looked at the decisively dark brew. ‘This looks strong.’
‘Espresso, tall, double-shot. I thought you could use it.’ She looked at me. ‘How’s she doing?’
I took a sip and swallowed most of the enamel from my teeth.“
Even I, sports-adverse as I am, laughed at this sports-related one, made as Walt and Henry were taking in a baseball game:
“He looked at me and shook his head. ‘Where do you want to hide the body?’
“I just want to talk to him.’
The Bear pursed his lips. ‘How about behind third; the Phillies have not shown any signs of life there in years.’“
I enjoyed the mystery, although at one or two points, it seemed excessively convoluted, but I felt it unraveled remarkably similar to real life. The emotional complexity as Walt faced certain issues was very interesting, balanced between melodramatic and stoicism. I was perhaps just slightly too obsessive to me, but I’m not a parent, so what do I know? Johnson gives a nice sense of the difference between Walt’s exterior and his interior, no easy feat in a book that focuses on action. Really, it fit me perfectly, suspenseful without being horrific, emotionally sophisticated with complex characters and enough humor to make it palatable. The ending scene would have made me laugh out loud if Johnson didn’t have such a deft hand for pathos. Un-putdownable, I’m already on to the next in the series.
Cross posted at my blog: https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/...
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Kindness Goes Unpunished.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
September 15, 2014
– Shelved
September 20, 2014
–
Started Reading
September 22, 2014
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-18 of 18 (18 new)
date
newest »
message 1:
by
James
(new)
Sep 30, 2014 01:43PM
Nice review, Carol. I've met Johnson and he's exactly the sort of guy you'd imagine from reading his books. I watched the first couple of episodes of the TV series, but wasn't knocked out and so didn't go back to it.
reply
|
flag
Thanks, James. I think it'd be fun to meet Johnson, as long as he wasn't as taciturn as Walt. I did look at some of the plot summaries of the first episode or two, and it seemed far more extreme than Johnson's writing (something about how his wife didn't really die of cancer). Still, I like Lou Diamond Philips, so someday I might check it out.
No, he's a really funny guy--one of those writers who wears a big cowboy hat, jeans and a belt buckle the size of a VW. But he pulls it off--very down to earth. I think he'd be a great guy to hang out and drink a few beers with.
James, I'm disappointed in you. You mean you aren't meeting people with a couple of beers in your hand? Or better yet, one of those dual beer-can holder baseball caps?
No; actually, I think that dual beer-can-holder baseball cap would be something you would see in Kansas, maybe among Royals fans!
Agreed with your review. Really love this series, but only sort of liked the TV show because Walt such a clueless one note character on it. Henry well done on show as is Vic.
Thanks, Dsolove. Hm, bummer about the tv show. I still haven't seen it (I'm waiting to run out of books, I guess) but am looking forward to Lou Diamond Phillips. Now I'll look for Vic too.
Great review, Carol. I think you nailed the characters well. I watched the whole series before ever reading the books, and liked it a lot, especially Lou Diamond Phillips. Now, reading the series, I see the characters in my mind from the TV series, and I think they mesh well.
I absolutely LOVE the show. I generally have a hard time looking at the tv for an hour, so I’m very far behind for all shows, but in this case it’s only because Something Very Important Happened and I forgot about tv altogether.
I didn’t know it was based on a book. I’m curious as to whether I should read it, but I only skimmed your review because I want to watch the show and I’m wary of spoilers (don’t laugh).
I didn’t know it was based on a book. I’m curious as to whether I should read it, but I only skimmed your review because I want to watch the show and I’m wary of spoilers (don’t laugh).
Naomi wrote: "...I’m curious as to whether I should read it, but I only skimmed your review because I want to watch the show and I’m wary of spoilers (don’t laugh)."
The storyline for the TV show is not in the books at all (at least not so far). There is nothing about the casino, no Ferg, Branch, Malachi, etc. I really think seeing the TV series first makes the books more enjoyable, once you get past the differences.
The storyline for the TV show is not in the books at all (at least not so far). There is nothing about the casino, no Ferg, Branch, Malachi, etc. I really think seeing the TV series first makes the books more enjoyable, once you get past the differences.
Carol: A case of the screen writers extending stories because they had nothing new to offer. Cast was great. Robert Taylor teriffic as Walter Longmire. Similar show Justified suffeed from same problem. Great cast, engaging storyline, but lost its charm after season three.
Marty wrote: "Naomi wrote: "...I’m curious as to whether I should read it, but I only skimmed your review because I want to watch the show and I’m wary of spoilers (don’t laugh)."
The storyline for the TV show i..."
Good to know! Thanks.
The storyline for the TV show i..."
Good to know! Thanks.
I also have met Johnson, and he is very articulate and charming. You can see where many of the positive qualities of his character come from when you talk to the author