Today we talked with Wyoming-based writer Craig Johnson, the New York Times bestselling author of the Walt Longmire mystery novels, which are the basis for "Longmire," the Netflix series.
His latest novel in the "Longmire" series, the 20th, is "First Frost." It’s the summer of 1964, and recent college graduates Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear read the writing on the wall and enlist to serve in the Vietnam War. As they catch a few final waves in California before reporting for duty, a sudden storm assaults the shores and capsizes a nearby cargo boat. Walt and Henry jump to action, but it’s soon revealed by the police who greet them ashore that the sunken boat carried valuable contraband from underground sources.
"Tooth and Claw," a novella, will be released on Nov. 19.
Craig Johnson is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction, the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for fiction, the Nouvel Observateur Prix du Roman Noir, and the Prix SNCF du Polar. His novella "Spirit of Steamboat" was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population 26.
