Walt Longmire heads south of the border in Craig Johnson's 15th book about the sheriff from the least populated county in the least populated American state. A black-hearted hitman and drug lord with a serious grudge has kidnapped Walt's daughter, Cady, and is holding her in a lawless Mexican desert town. Red tape and politics seem to have rendered the Mexican and U.S. governments helpless, but Walt is not about to sit and wait. As he explains, "to save my daughter, I'll go as far as hell and back and never blink an eye."
Johnson's series has been growing darker with each book, and Depth of Winter may be the darkest yet. The evil perpetrated on characters is chilling, including skinning faces to stitch onto soccer balls. The intensity of the action ratchets up as well, with daring escapes, chemical explosions, car chases, even a bullfight.
Long-time fans of the series can rest assured that while this one has a different feel from previous books, there's still plenty of the Johnson signature present: crack dialogue, smart humor, mystical realism, strong sense of place and colorful, complex characters. Most of the regular cast remains in the U.S. for this outing, so Johnson offers up a slew of new faces--the blind and legless Seer, an Apache/Tarahumara sniper, a Mexican doctor and some mules. So grab your literary passports and prepare for an unforgettable trip to Mexico. --Jen Forbus, freelancer