Spirit of Steamboat: A Longmire Story (A Longmire Mystery)

Great story but a bit too unbelievable. The problems the characters never stopped. Also the young girl at center of story had a character that could have been developed more. Still Mr. Johnson has a way with words

Bought used and the book exceeded my expectations. It is clean and really looks brand new. Not only is it a beautiful book, but it is also an autographed copy. I'm a big fan of Longmire and have most of Craig Johnson's books. Thank you very much.

There is no one I would rather spend an afternoon with than Walt Longmire. Every single one of Craig's books bring a new creative look at history and even in this short tale, we learn the back story of the Wyoming bucking horse...Steamboat. All of Craig's books are written with compassion and respect for history, culture and spirituality.Periodically we get to see more of certain characters; this special look at Lucian Connally was poignant. Lucian is a man who lived his younger years in interesting and dangerous times and it shaped who he became later in life. Craig often describes Lucian as having the looks of a matinee idol. In this short story you see he is much more than that.Picture yourself on Christmas Eve. How much would you be willing to sacrifice to save the life of a little girl? Well, in this story four people were willing to gamble it all on a wing and a prayer. A Mitchell B-25 Bomber ready to be scrapped, four people with more will than common sense, a little girl with her life on the line and rapidly running out of time; what could possible go wrong? Well, you will have to read it to find out. But, don't forget the Kleenex because it is a bumpy ride.I put this book right up there with The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth as far as a great Christmas story. I have spent many hours flying in private/corporate aircraft. My late husband had his ATP and was a flight instructor with 13,000 hours of flight time. We owned an FBO in Laramie, Wyoming in the late 80s. One of our closest friends was Skip Glomb. Skip was the artist commissioned by the state of Wyoming to create a bronze of the Wyoming Bucking Horse for their Centennial. He died with that bronze in his yellow Stagger Wing with - yes that very image on his plane's tail - on Memorial Day weekend the same year this story takes place. Skip was inducted into the Cowboy Artist's Hall of Fame. He not only worked in bronze, but was an accomplished painter as well. I am the proud owner of a charcoal he did on a napkin while we were drinking coffee at the FBO and watching the snow fall at the airport in Laramie.I am going to be buying copies of this book for some of my pilot friends for Christmas and maybe for a few friends who just admire the magnificent men in their flying machines. As I said in my title - this is a treasure.

This novel is well written, as are all of the others in the series. Perhaps the story is a bit more improbable than most, but I have no trouble suspending disbelief.

The time is Christmas present, and Sheriff Walt Longmire is sitting in his office reading Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. His secretary lets him know he has a visitor, who turns out to be an Asian woman carrying a garment bag, who speaks with a wheeze in her voice, and is disappointed that he does not know her. She asks after the previous sheriff, who is currently in a local nursing home, so Longmire takes her to see him. The rest is history, as they say. When Longmire first took over as sheriff, the previous sheriff, Lucian Connally, took to playing poker and drinking. On that long-ago Christmas Eve, a traffic accident and the storm of the century coincide, leaving a young girl fighting for her life, a life that can only be saved by flying her to facilities in Denver. No plane is available other than an old WWII bomber that has been salvaged and repurposed as a farm plane, and no pilot is available other than the poker playing Lucian Connally (also a WWII bomber). Longmire locates Connally at a local bar and fills him with coffee and an impossible-to-refuse challenge. Then Longmire joins Connally and others on an incredibly suspenseful flight to Denver. The descriptions of the plane ride are intense, and I found myself routing for the plane in the midst of the danger, even though I, of course, knew that the trip was successful. How else would the Christmas present be taking place? And, as a reader of the series, I knew that Longmire survived beyond that plane ride. Nonetheless, the trials that take place during the trip are extremee, allowing the book to be classified as “suspense.” Longmire’s strength of character is evident in this novella, and the story provides background to his present-day work as sheriff. I enjoyed this very quick Christmas read. It doesn’t require any familiarity with the series, allowing a new reader to meet Longmire without any previous acquaintance. However, it enhances the seasoned reader’s perspective on Longmire. While this book doesn’t have a typical cowboy vibe (horses, guns, etc.), it does showcase the cowboy (i.e., untamed) personalities of lawmen in the West.

Mr Johnson is a very prolific writer a tells great tales, this is one of the best !

Spirit of Steamboat is a fantastic story. I found it really exciting even though I knew everyone survived, as the character Walt Longmire is relating something that happened in the past! I meant to try to make the book last but in the end I couldn't put it down. I felt it was a very uplifting story & was both happy & sad when I had finished reading it; sad because I had read it so fast & it was over. I will be reading it again just as I am with all my Walt Longmire books. If you are a fan of Longmire (or even if you haven't read one of these books before) & you haven't read this book I would highly recommend it.

This is a very different Longmire book in that the whole thing takes part in an old 2nd world war plane attempting to fly through a vicious snowstorm to save the life of a young girl. I have to say that the story Is more than a little farfetched. However it is fiction after all and Craig Johnson really knows how to ramp the tension up. Certainly grabs your attention from first to last and I read it in one day. Loved it as I have the Longmire books.

This story takes place when Walt had not long been elected sheriff. Most of the series books take place over a short time scale and this one is all about a mercy flight being recounted after the arrival of a Japanese woman to see Lucien. The story line is a little weak based on previous books but still very readable with most of the action taking place in an old WWII plain in a really bad snowstorm, as usual Craig Johnson keeps up the pace. I use a Kindle so I am not always aware of how far I am into the story, this one took me three evenings to read. Not the best but well worth reading and it would nice to have more stories from Walt's early days.

Phew! Where did all that come from. I love the Longmire books. This one is bit of a Christmas departure and a bit different to others in the series, but a cracking adventure nonetheless. Call me a sad do but I read it and had to finish it on Christmas Eve, when it is set! Love all the extra detail that Mr Johnson throws in like the information about the horse Steamboat being Wyoming's state logo etc.Unfortunately I am up-to-date with all the books and await Dry Bones with bated breath.

CLASSIC CHRISTMAS STORY. HOWEVER MUSHY AND SENTIMENTAL IT IS THERE IS AN EDGE OF DANGER. 1970's AIRPORT MEETS CLASSIC CRIMBO STORIES LIKE " A CHRISTMAS CAROL" AND ITS A WONDE. RFUL LIFE. CAN'T SAY MORE I'M A YORKSHIRE MAN DONT DO SOPPY.