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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Murder investigation; a gang rape is backstory to the central crime; hunting violence; Western confrontations
Language
Some
Moderate language; Longmire's laconic voice; some profanity
Sexual Content
Barely any
Gang rape is the crime that sets the story in motion; not depicted graphically but central to motive
Substance Use
Some
Moderate; Longmire drinks beer throughout; the Wyoming bar culture is part of the setting
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Strong; the slow burn of a community's failure to protect a vulnerable girl; what justice looks like when the law already failed; the weight of small-town memory
What this book is about
Craig Johnson's debut novel introduces Walt Longmire, the sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming — the least populated county in the least populated state. When a young man convicted of gang-raping a Cheyenne girl is found shot dead with an antique Sharps rifle, Longmire investigates with his Cheyenne friend Henry Standing Bear. The Cold Dish is a Western mystery with the patience and landscape of the best Western fiction, and Longmire became one of the most beloved mystery protagonists in the genre. The basis for the Netflix series Longmire.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Gang rape as backstory/motive
Murder investigation
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