Spirit of Steamboat: A Longmire Story (A Longmire Mystery)
Spirit of Steamboat: A Longmire Story (A Longmire Mystery) book cover

Spirit of Steamboat: A Longmire Story (A Longmire Mystery)

Paperback – October 22, 2014

Price
$15.00
Format
Paperback
Pages
176
Publisher
Penguin Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0143125877
Dimensions
5.01 x 0.45 x 6.98 inches
Weight
4.5 ounces

Description

Praise for Spirit of Steamboat “A nail-biter.”— Publishers Weekly “Johnson is a born storyteller, and he spins this old-fashioned adventure tale deftly….An extremely pleasant present for fans of this popular series.”— Booklist “A suspenseful adventure story….Series fans along with adventure and Western readers will raptly devour the details.”— Library Journal “Like flint to stone, the sparks fly and the humour is brilliant and barbed. . .”— Freshxa0Fiction Praise for Craig Johnson and the Longmire Series: “Like the greatest crime novelists, Johnson is a student of human nature. Walt Longmire is strong but fallible, a man whose devil-may-care stoicism masks a heightened sensitivity to the horrors he’s witnessed. Unlike traditional genre novelists who obsess mainly over every hairpin plot turn, Johnson’s books are also preoccupied with the mystery of his characters’ psyches.”— Los Angeles Times “Johnson knows the territory, both fictive and geographical, and tells us about it in prose that crackles.”—Robert B. Parkerxa0“The characters talk straight from the hip and the Wyoming landscape is its own kind of eloquence.”— The New York Times “[Walt Longmire] is an easy man to like…Johnson evokes the rugged landscape with reverential prose, lending a heady atmosphere to his story.”— The Philadelphia Inquirer “Stepping into Walt’s world is like slipping on a favorite pair of slippers, and it’s where those slippers lead that provides a thrill. Johnson pens a series that should become a ‘must’ read, so curl up, get comfortable, and enjoy the ride.”— The Denver Post “A winning piece of work…There’s a convincing feel to the whole package: a sense that you’re viewing this territory through the eyes of someone who knows it as adoring lover and skeptical onlooker at the same time.”— The Washington Post “Johnson’s pacing is tight and his dialogue snaps.”— Entertainment Weekly “Truly great. Reading Craig Johnson is a treat…[He] tells great stories, casts wonderful characters and writes in a style that compels the reader forward.”— Wyoming Tribune Eagle Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire . He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction, the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for fiction, the Nouvel Observateur Prix du Roman Noir,xa0and the Prix SNCF du Polar. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population twenty-five.

Features & Highlights

  • A Christmas novella for fans of the hit drama series
  • LONGMIRE
  • now on Netflix and the
  • New York Times
  • –bestselling series.
  • Craig Johnson's new novel
  • , The Western Star,
  • will be available from Viking in Fall 2017.
  • Sheriff Walt Longmire is in his office reading
  • A Christmas Carol
  • when he is interrupted by a ghost of Christmas past: a young woman with a hairline scar and more than a few questions about his predecessor, Lucian Connally. With his daughter Cady and undersherrif Moretti otherwise engaged, Walt’s on his own this Christmas Eve, so he agrees to help her. At the Durant Home for Assisted Living, Lucian is several tumblers into his Pappy Van Winkle’s and swears he’s never clapped eyes on the woman before. Disappointed, she whispers “Steamboat” and begins a story that takes them all back to Christmas Eve 1988—a story that will thrill and delight the bestselling series’ devoted fans.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(2.4K)
★★★★
25%
(981)
★★★
15%
(588)
★★
7%
(275)
-7%
(-275)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

A heartwarming novella

It’s 1988 and a girl suffering from serious burns must be transported from Durant to Denver for treatment. There’s an old B-25 two engine prop job called Steamboat, a pilot who flew a plane like this in WWII, and a raging Wyoming winter storm. The pilot is none other than Lucian Connally, then sheriff of Absoroka County. Together with his deputy, Walt Longmire, and a woman pilot Lucian likes to call Toots, they undertake this hazardous mission to save the girl’s life.
It’s an exciting and tension-filled story. It’s also ironic in the sense that the girl being flown to Denver is Japanese and this particular plane was part of Jimmy Doolittle’s raid on Tokyo back in 1942. There’s also an explanation of the plane’s name of Steamboat; it’s not the Colorado town but the name of a famous bronco who later becomes the emblem that adorns Wyoming’s license plates. And this old plane bucks and kicks like an ornery nag all the way.
There’s a bonus to this book, a short story at the end called Old Indian Trick. It’s not about Walt’s friend, Henry Standing Bear, but an older fellow named Lonnie Little Bird. Lonnie uses his Indian savvy to help Walt solve a crime in a record short time.
12 people found this helpful
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A Longmire Christmas Story

Recently, I saw mention of this book in a national newspaper as the Wyoming One Book selection for 2014. Having spent summers in Wyoming for a number of years, we love the state; indeed, our oldest daughter graduated from the University of Wyoming and its law school. Thus, I thought she would enjoy reading this book - and I enjoyed it before giving it to her.

Walt Longmire is in the office Christmas Eve, when a woman in her mid-thirties walks in and asks to see the old sheriff. He took her to view a photo of his predecessor, and then took her to the home where Lucian Connolly now resides. The book then flashes back to the events of Christmas Eve, 1988, during which Walt Longmire convinced Lucian Connolly to fly a battered WWII vintage B-25 to Denver in a blizzard to try to save the life of a little girl severely burned in a car crash in Montana. It's not so much a mystery as a harrowing recounting of these men doing the right thing regardless of danger to themselves. The book is only 146 pages, and I read it during a long soak in the bathtub. Fans of the Longmire TV series will enjoy this, as will anyone who likes a good story. My only disappointment was that this is a paperback book, and doesn't feel all that high quality; I love purchasing hard covered books, which will last a much longer time.
3 people found this helpful
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Craig Johnson does it again!

Great story. So creative. As usual great characters and plot keeps you on edge. Greg Picard, author of Old Bones
1 people found this helpful
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I love the Longmire books

What can I say? I love the Longmire books, their compelling stories, and their well-wrought characters, and now that I've followed them through so many adventures, we've bonded strongly.

This is actually a novella that the author says began as a short story. Walt Longmire and his former boss Lucian Connally take the lead role in this hair-raising adventure that involves a terrible accident with a young girl burned so badly she needs medical help from a far-away burn center. A dangerous winter storm is barreling in as Walt assesses the situation. As both time and options are running out, he's left with a WWII vintage airplane and only one person who knows how to fly it: the hard-drinking, irascible Lucian.
1 people found this helpful
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New hero for me!

Some of the best writing ever in mysteries. I've read all Guido Brunetti, Bruno, Chief of Police and Inspector Gamache stories and am now going thru Walt Longmire stories. Love the Cheyenne stories intermingled .
1 people found this helpful
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Love Craig Johnson's writing

Love Craig Johnson's writing! Sadly, Steamboat was only 146 pages long. 1/2" thick total. Book was 5" X 7". Not quite the Novel that I was expecting for over $10.00 Would have enjoyed more book for the money. Still love his use of the English language.
1 people found this helpful
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Still good writing but this book left me wanting more

Still good writing but this book left me wanting more. Just not as interesting or developed as his other books
1 people found this helpful
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Christmas giving

Walt Longmire is listening to Christmas music and getting ready for a quiet Christmas when he has an unexpected guest.

The woman appears to know Walt and asks about his predecessor, Sheriff Lucian Connally.

Walt tells the girl that he has been the sheriff in Absaroka County for almost a quarter of a century and that former Sheriff Connally is a resident at Durant Home for Assisted Living.

When the girl asks where it is, Walt takes her there since he was going to visit Lucian anyway. When she sees Lucian, he doesn't remember her and then she whispers "Steamboat," and the story comes back.

In 1988 there was a terrible car accident with only one survivor, a young girl who was flown from the accident scene by a lifestar helicopter. However, she needed more medical care immediately and there was a raging storm with most of the roads closed.

Walt get Lucian away from a card game and they find an old B-25 airplane at the local airport. It's the only plane that could make it trough the storm to medical facility near the Stapleton - Salt Lake airport.

A crew of brave people, including Walt, Lucian, a co-pilot and medical officer brave the storm and icy conditions to get the girl to the medical hospital and save her life.

There is good drama in this novella. Craig Johnson details the heroic actions as the crew makes its way.

An enjoyable story with good descriptions we see Walt's enjoyment of the view of the Bighorn Mountains and we get to know the whiskey soaked Lucian Connally and learn of Walt's wife and young daughter at home.
1 people found this helpful
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Beyond improbable

Ok, sure, it is a novel. The story is far out and the hero is the hero.

As a pilot who has flown in this area for many years, I thought the thought process the author puts in the pilot's mind is beyond far fetched. As I read the story I put myself in his shoes and thought about several other courses of action I would have taken to minimize the risk. Of course if I were taking on this mission I would have no guarantee as the fictional pilot did that things would work out and I would not crash.

I love Longmire and I love the stories about him. I would love to grow up to be like him. OTOH, I detest aviation stories that rely on magic to make the story work out.
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never fails

Mr Johnson is a very prolific writer a tells great tales, this is one of the best !