An Obvious Fact

By: Craig Johnson

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the 12th novel in the New York Times best-selling Longmire series, Walt, Henry, and Vic discover much more than they bargained for when they are called in to investigate a hit-and-run accident near Devils Tower involving a young motorcyclist.

In the midst of the largest motorcycle rally in the world, a young biker is run off the road and ends up in critical condition. When Sheriff Walt Longmire and his good friend, Henry Standing Bear, are called to Hulett, Wyoming - the nearest town to America's first national monument, Devils Tower - to investigate, things start getting complicated. As competing biker gangs; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; a military-grade vehicle donated to the tiny local police force by a wealthy entrepreneur; and Lola, the real-life femme fatale and namesake for Henry's '59 Thunderbird (and, by extension, Walt's granddaughter) come into play, it rapidly becomes clear that there is more to get to the bottom of at this year's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally than a bike accident. After all, in the words of Arthur Conan Doyle, whose Adventures of Sherlock Holmes the Bear won't stop quoting, "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact".

©2016 Craig Johnson (P)2016 Recorded Books

No brainer. Use the credit.

I love this series and bought the book without a second thought. Craig Johnson and George Guidell are a match made in heaven! This addition did not disappoint!!

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Treading Water

I love Longmire and George Guidall.

That said, I am getting the teensyest, tiniest feeling that I'm being strung along here. Though this is an OK installment in the Series, it's rather short, and the major, continuing story of recent books gets short shrift.

On the (plausible) theory that any Longmire book is better than no Longmire book, we loyal readers will take what we can get. This story about bikers in the Black Hills and around the Devil's Tower has the humor and the characters we have come to love, but the overall impression is of the "where's the beef?" sort. What we really want is a resolution to the son-in-law matter (fans will know what I mean here), and much more avoidance of this mystery becomes so much treading water.

Writers need money like the rest of us and time to develop their plots. But I can't help wondering how long we must wait (and how many more credits we must spend) to move the arcing story along.

46 of 49 people found this review helpful

good book.... blend of funny serious situations

Henry is back with Lola, Walt is funny, Local situation with giant motorcycle rally just confounds the situation.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Having coffee with old friends.

This was not a great book. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hanging out with Walt Longmire and George Guidall is like having coffee with old friends, picking up where you left off the last time you were together. Thank you Craig Johnson!

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Easy Setting Makes for Easy TV Plot

Stugis, the center of the motorcycle universe, is the backdrop for this novel. And…therein lies the problem. Longmire novels are usually long on setting, where characters adapt to landscape, shaped by more than the mere antagonist criminal exploits of bad guys/gals. I remember when Walt, Vic and the "Cheyenne Nation" used to transform with your Wyoming settings and situations seamlessly towards a crescendo of bullets and personal epiphanies (not any more). And definitely not in this novel! In this novel nobody transforms…they just crack jokes…lots of them…most are mundane and puerile.

So what we have here is a novel where comedy and banal quips replace solid plot and compelling setting as if Craig Johnson just plain got bored feeding us (the reader/listener) with solid, tight, and sequential story lines that keep us riveted to our earbuds. Sort of like, "Hell, I got my TV gig so I am going to churn out a novel that's easy so I can keep my loyal readers watching my show." Feh!

I'll be blunt. The Longmire series is not even a close approximation of the novels. It's Bosch with a six gun and a big fat star on Robert Taylor's chest. The characters are too young and do not reflect the wisdom and personal experiences of the Vietnam Veteran Walt and Henry Standing Bear.

This Novel, "An Obvious Fact," is written for TV…flashy women, shiny motorcycles, fast car chases and weirdos of every stripe. We've been punked.

Goodbye Craig Johnson. Peddle this stuff in "Bring Cash Alley," where Dave Robicheaux's found his (and Walt, probably his) big .45. It's pulp.

35 of 39 people found this review helpful

Love the series, but this isn't his best.

This is one of my favorite series and as always George Guidall brings stellar narration. If you are a fan of the series, then it's worth a credit, but I have to say I didn't find this novel up to par. I think he lost me a little in the over-the-top feats of Henry Standing Bear and Vic. Johnson is taking their "awesomeness" a little too far. I can't quite put my finger on why this one didn't quite work for me - but I guess not every novel in a series can be winners. The mystery seemed a little weak in this one. Still, I'll look forward to the next novel.

18 of 20 people found this review helpful

These people are good old friends.

I note that several reviewers are a bit disappointed by this book, as it is less "meaty" than the others plot-wise. This is true; however, the overall delight one feels at a reunion of Walt, Henry and Vic is so pleasurable that I don't mind the "road trip" aspect. As others have said, George IS Walt. I could not say it better. And the humor is ramped up to the point at which I find myself softly giggling on almost every page, so to speak. The motorcycle rally does provide good backdrop for the mystery. The question of The Bear's possible paternity of a young man who dies in the book is a fine teaser. Is this why Lola is so ferociously mad at him? And is this why The Bear has named his car Lola? Craig J gets us interested in a number of questions like these, as he involves us further with the characters he and we definitely love. His continuing accomplishment in this series is some thing to behold. It is much better than the TV series, as it has to be given the relative lengths alone. [I deeply apologize to my faithful readers for my error in the review of a CJ Box book, in which I called Walt "Whitmire." We all make dumb mistakes.]
I truly hope that this series goes on for at least the rest of my time on this earth. I can't imagine life without the remarkable company of these people, without the terrific humor, Walt's pathos, Vic's fiery and fierce love for Walt, Henry's refusal to use contractions, etc. There are so many creative achievements here that I will gladly forgive the slightness of a couple of the books. Not all books in a series need to be full novel length, nor do they need to propel the lives of the characters in a significant way. Sometimes they are just fun, and fun is its own justification in life. I encourage you to have fun.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Another great Longmire mystery

Any additional comments?

An Obvious Fact is the 12th novel in the much loved and highly appreciated Walt Longmire series of mysteries by New York Times best-selling author Craig Johnson. I listened to all of them on Audible after I discovered the TV Series on Netflix and I can say that I love Walt, Henry Standing Bear and Vic like they were my treasured and trusted friends. In May I reviewed The Highwayman and now I will tell you my thoughts on Walt‘s latest adventure…

Craig Johnson‘s writing is nothing short of amazing! He creates memorable characters, weaves mystery with interesting facts and wraps it all up in humor to deliver a fantastic narrative experience. For me, Mr. Johnson is one of the best writers out there…

In An Obvious Fact Sheriff Walt Longmire has taken a short vacation and he ends up in Hulett, Wyoming, alongside his best friend Henry Standing Bear a.k.a The Bear. As the two of them are well known by the local law enforcement community, Walt is asked to help with an ongoing investigation of a hit and run incident. Their task is not easy since at that time, Hulett is full of bikers that take part in the largest motorcycle rally in the world… Was it an accident or a deliberate crime?

I won’t tell you anything more about the plot, you know very well that I hate spoilers as much as the next guy… All I add is that An Obvious Fact is one of the funniest books I listened to in a long while. Vic will make her appearance as well and she is as feisty as ever.

Narrator of the Year 2015, George Guidall is back in Walt‘s shoes and as always, he brings all the characters to life with ease and passion, delivering a fantastic listening experience. I wasn’t able to stop listening, I kept the EarPods in for the entirety of the audiobook and when it was over I was left craving for more!

George Guidall is one of my favorites narrators and I love the way he delivers the Longmire series especially. He has a warm voice, like a good and wise grandfather, he reads, he acts and combined with Mr. Johnson‘s smart and funny writing he will make you laugh out loud.

I hope to see the main story of the Longmire series as it moves forward in the next novel, but, for now, I’m very happy with the two books released this year by Craig Jognson. If you are a fan, you’ll love An Obvious Fact and if you are not a fan yet, you will become one!

Find more of my reviews at theAudiobookBlog dot com and please Vote Yes below if you find this one helpful.

Thank you,

Victor

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Great Book!!

Like the rest of the Walt Longmire books and short stories, this one was full of humor and intrigue. AND to top it off - George Guidall does another great performance in its reading!!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Better and better

I keep fearing that the series will become predictable and formulaic, but it just gets better and better.
Craig Johnson always introduces some esoteric topic, too, thoroughly researched and presented seamlessly as part of the story, something I enjoy.
These characters are so real, so distinct... and George Guidall is the perfect Walt Longmire.
This is a book I truly could not put down. And although the ending is quite satisfactory, it leaves enough unsettled that we know we haven't heard the last of Lola and hopefully, we will hear from her son again.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful