The Highwayman by Craig Johnson

The Highwayman
by Craig Johnson

 This novella is part of the Sheriff Walt Longmire series, and is inspired by “The Signal-Man,” an 1866 ghost story by Charles Dickens. A patrol officer claims to hear a radio call nearly every evening during specific hours from an Arapaho patrolman who died in a fiery crash on that stretch of road fifty years earlier.
I expected a straight-forward, updated retelling of a ghost warning travelers of danger. Oh so wrong. Johnson is such a rich storyteller and adds so much layering to his tales that this story went in directions and possessed depth that I hadn’t anticipated for a tale of this length.

Being a novella, I would call it #12.5 in the series – in between #12 “Dry Bones” and #13 “An Obvious Fact.” One doesn’t need to have read the previous Longmire books, nor have watched the A&E or Netflix series to follow the events or the characters, and of the series regulars only Longmire’s best friend, Henry Standing Bear, makes an appearance. This is simply a well-written ghost story and mystery with well-developed characters.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the rest of the Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson, or the TV series based on those novels.] [ official Craig Johnson web site ]

Recommended by Charlotte K.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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