Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 7/8/2023 + 1223 more book reviews

I really enjoyed this short novella from Johnson. It tells the story of a very harrowing trip that happened back on Christmas Eve 1988 on an old WWII B-25 bomber named Steamboat. The story starts out with an unexpected visit to the Absaroka County, Wyoming Sheriff's office from a young woman looking for Lucian Connally, the ex-sheriff. Walt Longmire seemed to know this young lady but couldn't place her until she mentioned Steamboat. This brought back to his memory the fateful trip from 1988. A young girl had been severely burned in a traffic accident. Her parents were killed and her grandmother accompanied her on an emergency helicopter flight to Durant but she had to get to Denver ASAP or she would die. However, a blizzard was happening on that Christmas Eve and the helicopter could not go on. But there was an old B-25 bomber in the hangar at Durant that had been converted to fight forest fires. Could anyone there fly it? Longmire knew that Lucian had flown these aircraft during WWII so he was drafted to make this emergency flight in the blizzard, in this old aircraft on its last legs, and with only one leg. Could they make it in time to save the young girl and would she survive the flight?

This short novel was filled with action and told some of the backstory of both Walt and Lucian. It is really a good addition to the Longmire saga and anyone reading that series should definitely include this as part of the Longmire cannon. High overall recommendation.

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