The Dark Horse

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Walt doubts a confession of murder in this novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Western Star

Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love The Dark Horse is the fifth installment in New York Times bestselling author Craig Johnson’s Longmire Mystery Series, the basis for LONGMIRE, the hit Netflix original drama series. Wade Barsad, a man with a dubious past and a gift for making enemies, burned his wife Mary’s horses in their barn; in retribution, she shot him in the head six times, or so the story goes. But Sheriff Walt Longmire doesn’t believe Mary’s confession and is determined to dig deeper. Unpinning his star to pose as an insurance investigator, Walt visits the Barsad ranch and discovers that everyone in town–including a beautiful Guetemalan bartender and a rancher with a taste for liquor–had a reason for wanting Wade dead.  

Praise for Craig Johnson and the Walt Longmire Mystery Series

“It’s the scenery—and the big guy standing in front of the scenery—that keeps us coming back to Craig Johnson’s lean and leathery mysteries.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Johnson’s hero only gets better—both at solving cases and at hooking readers—with age.” —Publishers Weekly

“Like the greatest crime novelists, Johnson is a student of human nature. Walt Longmire is strong but fallible, a man whose devil-may-care stoicism masks a heightened sensitivity to the horrors he’s witnessed.” —Los Angeles Times

“Johnson’s trademarks [are] great characters, witty banter, serious sleuthing, and a love of Wyoming bigger than a stack of derelict cars.” —The Boston Globe

“The characters talk straight from the hip and the Wyoming landscape is its own kind of eloquence.” —The New York Times

“[Walt Longmire] is an easy man to like. . . . Johnson evokes the rugged landscape with reverential prose, lending a heady atmosphere to his story.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Stepping into Walt’s world is like slipping on a favorite pair of slippers, and it’s where those slippers lead that provides a thrill. Johnson pens a series that should become a ‘must’ read, so curl up, get comfortable, and enjoy the ride.” —The Denver Post 

“Johnson’s pacing is tight and his dialogue snaps.” —Entertainment WeeklyCraig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction, the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for fiction, the Nouvel Observateur Prix du Roman Noir, and the Prix SNCF du Polar. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population twenty-five.

1. Who is the novel’s dark horse?

2. Is Walt willfully trying to lose his reelection campaign? Would his life be easier if he were no longer sheriff of Absaroka County ? Why do you think he chose to become a lawman instead of a rancher?

3. If Cady marries Michael Moretti, Walt and Vic would find themselves in an even more complicated relationship. Does Walt owe it to Cady to break things off with Vic?

4. Do you agree with Walt’s prediction that the potential jurors for Mary Barsad’s trial would find her guilty because she shows no repentance?

5. In what way does Absalom’s bloody past affect the course of the novel? How would you answer Bill Nolan’s question to Walt: “If nobody remembers the history, did it still happen?” (p.131).

6. Does the Powder-River-Pound-Down-Tough-Man Contest help Walt work through his anxiety about Cady? Is physical violence simply an inextricable part of male genetics?

7. For a Wyoming lawman, Walt’s distrust of horses comes as something of a surprise. How does it affect your opinion of the good sheriff? Do you believe that animals have an intuitive sense of human intentions?

8. Walt remembers his father saying “the outside of a horse is always good for the inside of a man” (p. 296). What do you think he meant?

9. How much responsibility does Walt bear for Hershel’s death? Did his actions needlessly endanger Benjamin’s life?

10. Do you approve of the witness protection program? Is it fair that criminals—perhaps murderers themselves—can escape punishment for their crimes by testifying against more serious offenders? Is Cliff Cly’s behavior acceptable for an officer of the law?

11. Do you think Wade’s brother invited his fate? Why or why not?

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