2 Bloggers 1 Series - Another Man's Moccasins

So Stormi and I are continuing our series read of the Longmire this month with the fourth installment. I'm sad to say that this series isn't doing it for us and we've decided to move on.  Now I do think each of us plan to read more Longmire books in the future but the pressure of reading one each month is wearing on us.  Don't fret though because we have a new series next month so stay tuned!  So read on to see what I thought of Another Man's Moccasins and then make sure you visit Stormi @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

TITLE: Another Man's Moccasins (Longmire #4)

AUTHOR: Craig Johnson

PUBLISHER: Penguin Books

PUBLISHING DATE: May 29, 2008

FROM GOODREADS: 

A murder victim might connect to Walt’s past in the fourth novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire series, the basis for LONGMIRE, now on Netflix.

When the body of a young Vietnamese woman is discovered alongside the interstate in Wyoming's Absaroka County, Sheriff Walt Longmire finds only one suspect, Virgil White Buffalo, a Crow with a troubling past. In what begins as an open-and-shut case, Longmire gets a lot more than he bargained for when a photograph in the young woman's purse connects her to an investigation that Longmire tackled forty years ago as a young Marine investigator in Vietnam. 

In the fourth book in Craig Johnson's award-winning Walt Longmire series, the though yet tender sheriff is up to his star in a pair of murders connected by blood, yet separated by forty haunted years.

MY THOUGHTS: A young Vietnamese woman is found brutally murdered in a country ditch.  Nearby, a Native American, Virgil White Buffalo, is found living in a tunnel.  A man of little words who is quite intimidating by his size along, Virgil offers little information on what has happened.  However, in his possession is the woman's purse, which actually contains a picture of a woman Walt knew while fighting in Vietnam.  And in the background of the pictures sits a young Walt Longmire. 

While the reader is learning all about the present day murder, Johnson offers extensive flashbacks which tells of a murder Walt investigated while station in Vietnam.  The stories go back and forth and in the end, intersect in dramatic fashion. 

I have to admit that I wasn't wholly invested in the mystery in this installment.  I think the flashback sections became too much for me as I've never been a big fan of war movies or books.  What I did like about the book was all our familiar characters are back in full force.  Vic is present once again and she and Walt are trying to figure out where to go after the events in the last book.  Henry once again is helping Walt with both investigations, and Ruby is still holding down the fort manning the sheriff's office.  I do enjoy the banter between Walt and Ruby.  For example, when he calls her on the radio, he starts singing songs with "ruby" in them to much of her disdain.  And once again, Dog makes a brief appearance and Walt finally admits that he's never going to name him anything else. 

I enjoyed the ending but had figured out a piece of the mystery before it happened.  However, Johnson did manage to throw a few curve balls.  As I mentioned, reading one of these books each month is seeming too much like a chore so I'll be moving on to another series next month for the project between myself and Stormi.  However, I still think from time to time I'll pick up a Longmire book knowing there's no real pressure to finish it on a deadline.  I also still think part of the problem is that I enjoyed the TV series much more than the books and it is kind of interfering with my reading progression.

RATING: 3 PAWS