book club

Craig Johnson's Another Man's Moccasins

When the body of a young Vietnamese woman is found alongside the interstate in Absaroka County, Sheriff Walt Longmire is determined to discover the identity of the victim and is forced to confront the horrible similarities of this murder to that of his first homicide case as a Marine investigator in Vietnam.

To complicate matters, Virgil White Buffalo, a Crow Indian, is found living in a nearby culvert and in possession of the young woman's purse.

There are only two problems with what appears to be an open-and-shut case. One, the sheriff doesn't think Virgil White Buffalo—a Vietnam vet with a troubling past—is a murderer. And two, the photo that is found in the woman's purse looks hauntingly familiar to Walt.

In the fourth book in Craig Johnson's award-winning Walt Longmire series, the man with a star on his chest and a heart underneath is back, along with good friend Henry Standing Bear and Deputy Victoria Moretti, as they try to solve two murders tied in blood but separated by nearly forty years.

(thanks to his website)

I liked reconnecting with Walt and his posse while they solved their murder case. It was different with the addition of Walt's  Vietnam War past thrown into the mix and how it all related. I am still not a fan of Walt and Vic together but thankfully that wasn't too big of a deal in this book. I give it an A.

Kristina McMorris' The Pieces we Keep

Two years have done little to ease veterinarian Audra Hughes's grief over her husband's untimely death. Eager for a fresh start, Audra plans to leave Portland for a new job in Philadelphia. Her seven-year-old son, Jack, seems apprehensive about flying - but it's just the beginning of an anxiety that grows to consume him. 

As Jack's fears continue to surface in recurring and violent nightmares, Audra hardly recognizes the introverted boy he has become. Desperate, she traces snippets of information unearthed in Jack's dreams, leading her to Sean Malloy, a struggling US Army veteran wounded in Afghanistan. Together they unravel a mystery dating back to World War II, and uncover old family secrets that still have the strength to wound - and perhaps, at last, to heal. 

(thanks to her website)

I love WWII fiction and this beautiful story of loss,love and reconnection was no different. Audra, Jack and Vivian are strong characters and their stories stayed with me even after the last sentence. I would have like to hear more about Audra and Sean's future though...and I thought the solution to Jack's night terrors was solved rather speedily.especially after it takes up a lot of the overall story. I give this a B.

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Happy Friday!!