The Western Star

By: Craig Johnson

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

The 13th novel in Craig Johnson's beloved New York Times best-selling Longmire series, the basis for the hit Netflix series Longmire.

Sheriff Walt Longmire is enjoying a celebratory beer after a weapons certification at the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy when a younger sheriff confronts him with a photograph of 25 armed men standing in front of a Challenger steam locomotive. It takes him back to when, fresh from the battlefields of Vietnam, then-deputy Walt accompanied his mentor Lucian to the annual Wyoming Sheriff's Association junket held on the excursion train known as the Western Star, which ran the length of Wyoming from Cheyenne to Evanston and back. Armed with his trusty Colt .45 and a paperback of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, the young Walt was ill-prepared for the machinations of 24 veteran sheriffs, let alone the cavalcade of curious characters that accompanied them.

The photograph - along with an upcoming parole hearing for one of the most dangerous men Walt has encountered in a lifetime of law enforcement - hurtles the sheriff into a head-on collision of past and present, placing him and everyone he cares about squarely on the tracks of runaway revenge.

©2017 Craig Johnson (P)2017 Recorded Books

Tired

Love this author his ability to write and his added sense of humor.
I am tired of the cliff hanger ending of his latest books to coerce you onto listening to the next.
Don't need the pushing to read the next one. Beginning to resent it actually.

Warning! This ends in a cliffhanger.

What did you love best about The Western Star?

George Guidall.

Would you be willing to try another book from Craig Johnson? Why or why not?

Have listened to them all. But if the cliffhanger becomes Johnson's new 'thing' it will make me very grumpy. I am feeling a little cheated, since the ending of one story line was inconclusive. A cliffhanger, which none of his other Longmire titles have been. The psycho Basque assassin has recurred in the last couple of books, but each book had a more or less satisfactory conclusion. And now, just how long must we wait to see how this turns out in the next volume?

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The Bear's contraction-less speech and dry humor always crack me up.

Any additional comments?

The switching back and forth between timelines required more attention than I usually devote to an audio book. I will need to listen again in a couple of months when I am less distracted.

Very Frustrating and disappointing-

I've always been a big fan of Walt Longmire so I bought this latest book in the series as soon as it was available. I wish I hadn't. For the first time since the series started I have to admit there's a story that i'm sorry I listened to. I hate cliff hangers and without trying to put out any spoilers this is a cliff hanger of the worst kind - a last minute completely unexpected personal crisis with lives at stake. The book ends abruptly with Walt off on a quest- but in my opinion the crisis is too major to leave for the next book whenever that may be. I feel like I've been manipulated to be left hanging like this. Not happy. It seems like the author is trying way too hard to create drama and has turned a solid series into a daytime soap opera. I may quit reading the series at this point.

Boy Howdy! Back with a Vengeance!

In 1972, Walt Longmire boards the Western Star with a copy of Murder on the Orient Express in hand.

And so, our expectations are set. The Star is a legendary steam train on her last, luxurious trip through Wyoming. As on the Orient Express, there are attendants, white-table-cloth-set dining car, brass fittings and overnight carriages. And, eventually, of course, there is murder.

This is the setup of the new Craig Johnson mystery, and it serves him and his readers well. At first, there seems to be little connection between this flash-back story of Walt's early days as Deputy Sheriff and the present-day plot line wherein he, Vic, Lucius, and Henry are paying widowed daughter Katy a visit to help her move into a new apartment with her baby Lola.

Then the connections begin to fall into place, the action picks up, and we are all speeding toward an explosive conclusion to both parts of the plot. It gives away nothing to note that The Western Star answers some old questions, displays a lot of heart, and includes the mother of all cliffhangers!

And yet Walt never actually reads Murder on the Orient Express!

A tribute to Murder on the Orient Express and more

Would you listen to The Western Star again? Why?

Yes. Because I love the series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Western Star?

Can't say, it would be a spoiler.

Which character – as performed by George Guidall – was your favorite?

Walt

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, a few.

Any additional comments?

The Western Star is the 13th book in the excellent and beloved Longmire series of mysteries by the bestselling and award winning author Craig Jonson. I’ve posted reviews for a few of them here since I started the blog and with this new one released just last week I think the time has come for a honest and spoiler free article.

Before I get to tell you my impressions let me say that I listened to all of Craig Johnson‘s works in audiobook format, performed by the fantastic George Guidall and that I love each and everyone of the stories. Mr. Johnson is one of my favorites authors out there and his writing style is just perfect for me. The western settings, the clever mysteries, the witty and funny characters makes every second of his books worth the year long wait between installments.

In The Western Star our dear Sheriff Walt Longmire is visiting his daughter and at the same time tries to keep a ruthless criminal behind bars. While at a firing range, alongside some of his fellow sheriffs, one of them, a young one, spots Sheriff Longmire in a picture that will put the listener or reader on the right track for a mystery that will keep everyone tight in there seats for the, 7 hours and a half, thrilling train ride of their life.

You could guess that there is a train, a murder, or two, a mystery, guns, intense action, a journey through the mountains and an imminent danger, but you will never figure out who did it, why and what this has to do with Walt in present days since all that happened over 40 years ago. All you can do is to find a nice place, I suggest a cosy train ride :), and wait for it all to end…

Craig Johnson is giving tribute to Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express with The Western Star, but he delivers also a story that spans over 40 years. I loved the way the plot was revealed, I enjoyed the Younger Walt Longmire and I cared deeply for some of the characters. This book should be made into a movie after Netflix finishes with the last season of Longmire later this fall.

The much loved actor and award winning narrator George Guidall returns once again for the audiobook and gives life to all of Craig Johnson‘s characters. He is funny, compassionate, scary, terrifying or gentile. He can do all sorts of voices and accents, from the easy going Sheriff Longmire, to a lady on the train, to a mad inmate in a facility for mental patients.

George Guidall paints a beautiful picture in the listener’s mind, a vivid picture in which the narrator takes whoever is listening to an entirely new level of immersion and narrative depth. For me he is perfect for this series and he shows his love for the characters with every new performance.

Fans of Craig Johnson or the Mystery genre should already have this audiobook In their Audible Library, but if by chance they were waiting for more impressions let me assure everyone that The Western Star delivers another great and unpredictable story.

Please vote Yes below if you found this review helpful and find more of them here and on theAudiobookBlog dot com.

Thank you,

Victor

I am a huge Longmire fan...

But not big fan of "to be continued" books. Cliffhangers are for shorter form vehicles and the fact that this story is "unfinished" is not a good thing IMHO. I know others are not as put off as me - and I certainly liked this a lot - 4 stars worth. But it could have been 5 stars and the the best Longmire ever if the author had written another 100 pages or so,

Confusing timline

I had to listen to this book twice due to the sometimes confusing timeline which without warning would shift back 20 yrs. The relationship between Walt and Vic was not developed further, which was disappointing.. Considering what Vic has sacrificed, her character needs to be developed in depth.

Well, Boy Howdy as Walt would say

Finally and I DO mean finally Craig Johnson has gotten back to writing the way those of us who have read all the books know and love.. Most of our 'ol fridends are here Again! I didnt have any problems with the division of past and present. A cliffhanger is a good thing at times but what this one seems to imply would be a total disaster for this series. . Geo Guidall was spectacular as usual. Any other narrator just would not bring our old friends to life. So go ahead Mr. Johnson and spin us another tale. We will be here waiting.

A Big Fan of Craig Johnson's Early Works

It's sad how far this series has fallen from the first 5 or 6 books. The Western Star was formulaic, stupid, and sloppy. The reveal at the end was a let down of the Nth degree. Don't waste your money or a credit. This series has jumped the shark.

Couldn't Stop Listening!

I chose this rating because it held me from the minute I started listening. George Guidell is an awesome narrator and the ending held some unexpected surprises. Can't wait for the next one!