Cathy C. (cathyskye) - , reviewed on 10/30/2021 + 2307 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

A year without a new tale from Craig Johnson is a year with no sunshine as far as I'm concerned, so I was glad to hear of his latest book. When I learned that one of the focuses of Daughter of the Morning Star is the horrendous scourge of missing and murdered Native American women, I couldn't wait to read it; I knew that Johnson would have something important to say about that, and he does.

What he also does is pay homage to bookstores by having Walt walk into PAPER TALK, talk with the owner, and walk out with just the book he needs to shed some light on his little unofficial investigation. One of the things this investigation of his uncovers is a bit of Native American supernatural folklore, the Ãveohtsé-heómÄse, the Wandering Without, the description of which makes the hair stand on the back of my neck. It is...


"...a collection of lost souls that hunger for the living. The outcasts banished from the tribes over the centuries-- the murderers, the mad, the deranged who were driven off to die in the wilderness."

"...like all carnivores, it culls the herd, preying on the sad and lonely, those living in its hunting ground on the outskirts of humanity."


Daughter of the Morning Star also touches on something else that I hope is discussed more in the next book, the fact that some of the Indian boarding schools were so tragedy-ridden that they were removed from the history books. Walt's work is not done at the end of this book, so I shall have to wait and see what happens in the next.

This latest Longmire mystery has all the touches we've come to expect and to love. New characters like Betty One Moon make appearances, Betty being the type of person that even Dog backs away from, Dog having made the trip with Walt and Henry. We also get to revel in some of Johnson's trademark humor as Walt and Henry try to keep Jaya safe, no matter how much the anger-filled young girl tries to pretend they're not there.

Although I did enjoy Daughter of the Morning Star, I have to come clean about something. I know that Craig Johnson has a plan. He knows where he wants to take this series, and I will be with him every step of the way. My confession is this: I do miss the camaraderie of Walt and his crew. Couldn't Walt have a short vacation from his quest where he can spend some quality time with Vic and Henry and Ruby and Cady and all the rest? Then we'll all be refreshed and ready for the next adventure.

All in all, Daughter of the Morning Star was enjoyable, but it felt a bit disjointed, and that some of the plot threads were loose and not woven completely into the story. But there's always next time, and I'll be ready and waiting with a big smile on my face, for that's what happens when a writer creates a cast that is so filled with life that it feels like Family.

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