TV vs. Books: A&E's Longmire vs. Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson

The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire #1) by Craig Johnson is the first book of a western mystery series that my husband and I read in tandem while we were on vacation. We both watch and enjoy the A& E television program, Longmire, based on this popular book series and decided that reading the first book was a good idea if we wanted to find the differences and commonalities between the two.

What we found is that unlike the television program which targets western aficionados who love action, mystery and drama, the book series that begins with The Cold Dish is a western mystery that includes all of the above, but that is geared toward, and I feel would be highly enjoyed by, mature adult readers. The primary character Walt Longmire is in his 50's as is his close friend and fellow investigator in many of the crime mysteries, Henry Standing Bear. Additionally many of the secondary characters that populate Walt's life in Wyoming's Absaroka County where the series is set are also mature adults. There is one main character in her 30's, Walt's Under-sheriff Victoria Moretti, and a few secondary characters, including deputies and Walt's daughter Cady. So, if you prefer to read stories with younger central characters this book and series may not be for you.

The mystery in The Cold Dish is excellent and the western atmosphere is flawless! I love Walt as the narrator with his self-deprecating wit and the overall humor that carries the reader through some seriously dangerous action. The close relationship and interactions between Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear provide some of the best moments of the story, as Henry helps Walt navigate personal problems brought about by the death of his wife, but Henry also serves as a sort of liaison between the Sheriff and the Cheyenne reservation when political or human issues arise. Walt's close friendship with Henry keeps him grounded, but it also brings a spirituality and a touch of mysticism to his life that adds much to the series as a whole. Obviously, Henry is a favorite character.

Robert Taylor as Longmire

In comparing the book to the television program, both my husband and I agree that Walt's quick, dry wit and self-deprecating humor is sorely missing from the television program. The TV Longmire is a depressed rough, tough, stoic man who cares deeply for his daughter Cady. He's not charming to others and often looks grim. Yet in the books, although Walt is coming out of a depression after losing his wife to cancer and definitely drinks too much, he is very much admired for his past and present deeds and liked by the town's population. Walt tries to be charming and often uses his sense of humor to win people over. Most importantly, he is ready to move on after having lost his wife four years earlier. Walt's wit and self-doubts make him quite human and the reader connects with this rough and tough man who on the inside is really a marshmallow -- everyone knows that! To me, this character became Walt in the books, a man I would love to know better, but he is the somewhat intimidating Longmire in the show. I think that says a lot.

Katee Sakhoff as Vic

The other difference I found is in how Walt's female deputy Victoria Moretti is portrayed in the show as opposed to the books. In the books, as the series begins, Vic has been working with Walt for two years and they know each other pretty well. She came to Absaroka County from Philadelphia's Police Department when her husband transferred to a new job in the area. She is not really happy to be stuck in the middle of nowhere and the contentious and dying relationship with her husband doesn't help, but that is kept off the pages. Vic is a foul-mouthed intelligent woman, a straight shooter so well-versed in new police procedures and forensics that she basically runs the Sheriff's office for Walt who is old school. Walt wants her to replace him when he retires. She thinks of Walt as her only friend and there is obvious care and affection between the two. I really love how Vic is characterized in The Cold Dish, and the respect and care that exists between her and the other characters in the story. Later on her relationship with Walt grows and moves in unexpected directions, but her direct approach never changes.

On the television program Vic's background is the same. She is still smart but works closer with Walt than in the first book or even in subsequent books, however, she somehow doesn't come off as knowledgeable, and although she is still tough there is a "lightness" about her that is not part of her character in the first book, but that can be found sparingly in some of the other installments. She is a much tougher and rougher character in the books. Additionally, in Longmire Vic plays Walt's partner and seems to spend time trying to set up Walt with women (in other words taking Henry's role), and secretly acting possessive of Longmire. Vic is not secretive, she says what she thinks. I see pieces of the Vic I love in the books in the Vic portrayed on television, but she's definitely not the same.

Lou Diamond Phillips as Henry

Overall, though, both the television program and the books are excellent and recommended. The crime mysteries and western atmosphere are excellent in both, and although I prefer the characterization in the books and the fact that the deep relationship and partnership between Walt and Henry drive many of the plot points with Vic serving as a central secondary character, I think the television program definitely draws viewers for a reason. I enjoy it, even if I find myself looking for those moments when Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips) makes a longed for appearance. The Cold Dish I recommend to anyone who loves to read westerns and excellent mysteries. The series is addictive as I soon found out when I found myself reading Death Without Company, #2, Kindness Goes Unpunished #3, Another Man's Moccasins #4, and the latest release A Serpent's Tooth #9. I will definitely be going back to read the books in between!

Review: Taking the Reins by Kat Murray

Taking the Reins by Kat Murray

Taking the Reins by Kat Murray in a contemporary romance set in a ranch with a feisty heroine and a loner for a hero. This is my kind of romance.

Peyton Muldoon has been working the M-Star all her life. She inherits when her mother dies only to find out that her long absentee siblings Trace and Bea each co-own one-third of the ranch. She must get in touch with them to make big decisions but needs a horse trainer now. Redford Callahan is that man.

Red's reputation with ranch owners as a horse trainer is impeccable and now that he is free to accept a new contract he can pick and choose. His head tells him that accepting a job at the badly mismanaged M-Star is a mistake and shouldn't even consider it, not with the beautiful Peyton as its manager, but when Peyton personally offer him the job, his gut tells him otherwise. Red accepts, but knows he is in for a bumpy ride.

Peyton is one of those feisty heroines with a stubborn streak a mile long. She carries lots of personal baggage caused by neglect from a mother with a reputation too busy sleeping around with anything wearing pants and no knowledge of how to run a ranch, and a loving father who died too soon. To Peyton the ranch and family always come first and her needs come last, if that. She is attracted to Red big time! And slowly that attraction turns to lust and need. But she's not willing to trust or better yet place her reputation and that of the M-Star on the line for whatever it is that is going on between them. The ranch comes first.

Red on the other hand can't help but admire Peyton's hard work and business sense as well as her beauty. He lusts after her, yes, but everything about Peyton seems just perfect to him, even her feisty and sometimes over the top pride and stubbornness. Red falls in love with Peyton. He is a sweet and sexy man memorable for his patience and heartwarming nature -- because believe me, Red had to be patient with Peyton! The thing is that while working the ranch Peyton is the boss who rules (sometimes she's a bit too insecure about this point), but in bed Red and Peyton together are hot! I like how by the end this relationship slowly balances itself out in and out of bed.

Murray's conflict in this romance is mostly internal between the two protagonists, but aided in part by external circumstances. The internal conflict is excellent, creating the necessary push and pull or tension that makes the happy ending worth it at the end of a romance. The external conflict although used as a device to advance the storyline seemed weaker throughout with a predictable resolution.

Murray creates great atmosphere in this story by providing the necessary ranching details that place the reader right there on that barn with the horses. I really enjoyed that aspect of this novel. The secondary characters are also a contributing factor, although they do not take the focus away from the main couple. The ranch hands become more than just characters as do some of the townspeople, and Peyton's siblings Trace and Bea are key figures in this story that stay enough of a mystery in preparation for their own upcoming romances.

Taking the Reins by Kat Murray is a solid contemporary romance read. I enjoyed the pacing and writing style, but most of all the atmosphere and characters that Murray creates in this romance. Now I'm really curious to find out how cowboy Trace really ended up as a single father, and why Bea left behind her career as an actress and is now sneaking out on those midnight rides!

Category: Contemporary Romance/Western
Series: Roped & Wrangled #1
Publisher: Brava/January 1, 2013
Source: Kensington Publishing
Grade: B

Visit Kat Murray here.

Review: The Last Renegade by Jo Goodman

SHE HIRED HIM TO PROTECT HER TOWN

As the owner of the Pennyroyal Saloon and Hotel, Lorraine Berry is privy to almost everything that goes on in Bitter Springs, Wyoming—including the bloodshed plaguing its citizens. With all of the good men dying at the hands of a local rancher and his three sons, Raine hires a shootist to be the town's protector. But her handsome new employee is more than a hired hand; he's a man that keeps his guns close and his secrets closer.

BUT NOTHING COULD PROTECT HER HEART


After a chance encounter on a train, Kellen Coltrane travels to the Pennyroyal to carry out a dying man's last wish. But once he meets the hotel's fiery-haired proprietor, Coltrane finds himself assuming the role of the shootist's accomplice and agrees to protect Bitter Springs. And as he learns more about Raine's own tragedy, Coltrane can't deny his growing desire for the courageous
widow, or the urge to protect her from the threat that draws near…

I tend to enjoy Jo Goodman's western historical romances, but with The Last Renegade she definitely penned a favorite.

It all begins with Kellen reading a dime novel while riding the train to Salt Lake City, but when a man dying of knife wounds calling himself Nat Church walks up to him that destination changes. Out of curiosity, impulse, or simply to carry out Mr. Church's last dying wish, Kellen finds himself at the Pennyroyal Saloon and Hotel in Bitter Springs, Wyoming with two guns that don't belong to him hidden in his valise and letters from a Mrs. Berry.

At the Pennyroyal Saloon and Hotel, Kellen meets the Widder Berry as she's known in town. Raine hired Nat Church, a shootist she believes will protect the good people in her town from the powerful rancher Uriah Burdick, his three sons Eli, Clay, and Isaac, and his hired hands. Good people have died or disappeared and there's a possibility that more will suffer the same fate. Raine can't stand by and watch it happen, not when she wants revenge against these men, and not when deep down she feels responsible for what is happening. Kellen Coltrane is not Nat Church, but Raine needs help and comes to believe the new handsome shootist can do just that. After meeting Lorraine Berry and finding out the extent of the town's troubles, Kellen allows her to assume that he was Mr. Church's assistant and takes on the role of protector.

The Last Renegade is tough to review only because I want to let you know how much there is to love about the story, but don't want to give too much away about the plot while doing so. I guess that right there is something to like about the book, there are surprises and revelations along the way about Raine, Kellen and the plot that keep the reader intrigued about both characters and interested in the story. Both characters are full of personal secrets, even as they are quite open about their mutual attraction and desire for each other.

The romance spans the whole book, and it's a wonderful romance. Raine and Kellen make a great couple. They are upfront about desires and feelings, and there's chemistry between them, but there's also a certain connection that the reader feels through the pages that makes this a great read. However, although there's honesty about desire and feelings in this relationship, there are personal facts they keep from each other. Some of those personal facts are revealed throughout the course of this romance while others are kept secret even from the reader until the very end. Goodman sets the stage for a few different mysteries in this western, there's a who-dun-it with a why-dun-it incorporated into it, as there are murders that take place beginning with Nat Church's on the train and continuing with others at Bitter Springs, and then we have those personal secrets kept by Raine and Kellen.

Kellen plays our sleuth in this piece and he works out the why-dun-it beautifully. The who-dun-it is also very well done. The reader may have an idea as to who is involved, but there are many gray areas in this story. The characters, the good people and even the villains of this piece, are not all portrayed as being black and white/good and bad. I think that's where Goodman really shines because you'll find that even the villains have depth of character. And the secondary characters? They really round up this story as only well developed secondary characters can do. And, I wonder if there's anyone out there who is not going to fall in love with Finn and Rabbit! (Talk about memorable characters) These two boys steal every scene where they appear. What a pair!

But this is a western, did it project that western atmosphere? Yes, it did. There are the good people of the town being bullied by the powerful local rancher and his men. Goodman captures the fear, constant anxiety, and sense of danger felt by men, women and children when those men ride into town. These sections, however, are not done in an overly gritty style, but fit the story. Yet, there are also moments when the reader understands why these people love living in the lovely little town that is Bitter Springs, Wyoming. The beauty of the landscape is there, as is the struggle to make a living from ranching, farming and other endeavors in a small, isolated western town.

All in all The Last Renegade is a very satisfying western historical romance. There is a well developed and sexy romance in the middle of what I think of as a mystery in this western historical, but there's also that undeniable western atmosphere throughout the story. Both central and secondary characters are well rounded so and there's a great sense of balance to the story with gray areas and minimal black and white moments. I absolutely recommend it as a favorite read.

Oh, and now I can't wait to read True to the Law, the next installment in this series (Finn and Rabbit appear there too!).

Category: Western Historical Romance
Series: Bitter Springs #1
Publisher/Release Date: Berkley/September 4, 2012
Grade: A-

Visit Jo Goodman here.