Unlike the introductory novel, The Cold Dish, Johnson is now working
with some established characters. Sure, there are plenty of new people to
introduce, but the core of the first novel is back: Walt, Vic, Ruby, Ferg, Lucian,
the Bear, Dog, they’re all here. The new novel plays with the idea that this
many murders in this little time means maybe it is time for Walt to retire. This
is a small county in Wyoming, the least populated as well. Yet, here we are a
few months removed from the action of the last book and there is another murder
investigation. Most people seem to think it is actually a matter of old age,
but Lucian claims this is murder. And as a favor to the old sheriff Walt actually investigates.
What I like about Death without Company is that the characters are
consistent. There are no new surprises coming our way as readers. Walt is very
Walt. Bear is very Bear. Ferg is very absent. Lucian is very ornery. This is
not a scenario where the characters are doing something that seems
uncharacteristic. Vic is not all of a sudden this sweet lady trying to get some
guy’s attention. Ruby is not all of a sudden withdrawn. It makes for a stable
universe. Johnson wrote these characters to be consistent. The world may be
changing, but the characters are the same. Also, a few people are introduced
that might be easy to draw in in the future. You have doctors, people who do
autopsies, the staff at the nursing home. There are plenty of people that you
now know that Johnson can draw upon in the future, which is important if there
are going to be a lot more crimes in the series. You can’t claim to have a
small population with murders every week. You eventually run out of people.
I also like that the theme of Walt's healing remains present. Henry isn’t
harping on Walt to get in shape, but at one point Walt laments that he wishes
he had been running more lately. There is another lady interested in Walt. Walt's house continues to be repaired. The
themes from the first book carry through and are not just left hanging out in space. The
relationships between people are real. There are also a couple of new
characters introduced that can bring some depth to the story. Sancho and Double
Tough seem like interesting contrasts to Walt, Vic and Ferg on the force. Lana,
if she stays around is a really interesting character. In other words Johnson
is not doing too much too fast, but letting Durant unfold while presupposing
that Walt has been here most of his life. It is also interesting to finally meet Cady, Walt’s daughter. She
barely figures into the story, but she is back home.
Finally, I love the way
Johnson plays with mysticism. It is really an interesting take to have a White
man communing with Native American spirits in a way that is typically not seen in popular culture.
I look forward to seeing how this plays out in the future. Overall, I really liked the book. I plan on reading the third in the
series. As I look ahead, Johnson’s novels are well liked by critics and fans
alike. That is promising as I agree with their assessments.
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