Death Without Company

Written by Craig Johnson

Narrated by George Guidall

From Craig Johnson, author of the acclaimed novel The Cold Dish (W1071), comes this enthralling Sheriff Walt Longmire mystery that received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. With a distinctive literary flair, Johnson leads us into the wide open space of Absaroka County, Wyoming. When an elderly local woman is found poisoned, Longmire begins an investigation that soon has him ensnared in a deadly spider's web.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 12, 2007
• ISBN: 9781440781032

Craig Johnson

Craig Johnson es el director principal de ministerios de la Iglesia de Lakewood con Joel Osteen, que supervisa todos los ministerios pastorales y es el fundador de la Fundación Champions y los centros de desarrollo del Club de Campeones para necesidades especiales, con más de 75 centros en todo el mundo. Craig es el coautor de Champions Curriculum, un plan de estudios cristiano de alcance completo para aquellos con necesidades especiales. Es autor de Lead Vertically que inspira a la gente a ofrecerse como voluntario y a construir grandes equipos que perduren y Champion que habla sobre cómo el viaje milagroso de un niño a través del autismo está cambiando el mundo. Craig y su esposa Samantha, tienen tres hijos: Cory, Courtney y Connor.

Reviews for Death Without Company

[linusnc-990618 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this second book in the Walt Longmire series. Had great characters and witty dialogue. Today I laughed so hard in the tractor that I bumped it into gear. I highly recommend this series.

[Linda McGary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Henry the bear, Vic, Lusion Etc. Great narrating, the native American jokes, Vic''s come backs and legendary ghosrs.

[Kipling Cooper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Longmire #2. A terrific novel well narrated. Different from the TV series and well worth the time. Looking forward to #3!

[Scott Cooper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like the characters very much. The descriptions make you feel as if you are right out in the snow with Sherrif Longmire and Henry.

[darcette_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have been dabbling in this Mystery Series, and this Walt Longmire set of episodes has been a source of entertainment and startling revelation. I did not know when starting off that Sheriff Longmire's ability to track a perpetrator through clues that were submerged very deeply within the entire community's long historical crime patterns within certain families could actually build a structural framework to grant predictive ability for the rampaging criminal's next acts. It makes perfect sense that this deep consideration, and the dreams, become the fulcrum for stopping this pathological destruction wrought by the perpetrator in the novel. Footprints, found evidence, play a role, but the story of the community is the determining pattern for unraveling the series of lives that were lost. It's like a wiser and better-seasoned Dog the Bounty hunter has upped his game by bringing responsibility to the table, instead of just the ugly scent of the hunt. Existing entirely within the relationship failures that had beset the wronged murder victim and the wronged suitors of the murder victim, the story brings us all a lot to consider in Sheriff Longmire's travails. This story of Longmire's investigation is tops !

[tsmom1219 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really like this series, particularly the dry humor. In this book, I particularly enjoyed the twisty plot and the addition of the new deputy. I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop in Absaroka County.

[ffortsa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very satisfying mystery that hinges on the real cause of death of an old Basque woman in a nursing home. Someone believes it's murder, and of course other events follow. Passion? Revenge? Money? The unraveling is accompanied by old stories, new recruits, and a frisson of sexual suspense as well. Excellent.

[asxz-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think this was stronger than the first which makes me excited for the next. Lots of cliches but there's humour and it's character-driven and it sucked me in.

[sleahey_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In the second Longmire mystery, the former crusty sheriff Lucas calls on Walt to investigate a death in his nursing home. With many twists and turns, and a return to Lucas's life 50 years earlier, Walt enlists the help of Vic, his daughter, a new deputy, and neighboring colleagues to get to the bottom of old betrayals.

[buffalogr · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An old lady dying in a nursing home is hardly a remarkable event and still, I wonder how a story came of it. Book #2 is enjoyable, getting new characters.... the whodunit was engaging. This book was good, without any big twists, more of a straightforward mystery. These definitely aren't page-turners--yet. After two novels, one wonders what the TV people saw in this series?

[jbreedlove_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great start and good end and a bit slow in the middle. Better than the first book but he still can be lose me in his writing. Still a good story that looked like he was not going to need a villain, but alas, he had to bring one in.

[kmajort · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Still enjoyable, getting new characters in dribs & drabs.... the whodunit got me - I had a suspect, but picked the wrong one (thank heaven!)

[joanaxthelm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps it is a sing of my age that I appreciate a book that links the wrongs done in the past with the wrongs done in present. Or perhaps it is simply the weight this method gives this quiet mystery. Either way, I enjoyed Longmire's continuing saga.

[reading_fox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Entertaining continuation of the series. Not exactly believable, but then that's hardly the point.An old lady dying in a nursing home is hardly a remarkable event, and wouldn't normally have come to Walt's attention, even in this small town, other than his retired sheriff raised a ruckus asking for an autopsy. It turns out she was briefly his wife and he had suspicions (exactly what was never stated) about her death. The lady had various children all of whom turn up to hear her Will - Somehow Walt had missed that a massive methane extraction was happening in the region, and the family stood to profit extensively from it. Nearly all the women seem magnetically attracted to Walt, which remains very odd. Walt eventually tracks down the suspect, through some routine police work, which is good to see. It leads him out into a blizzard again, and you'd have though he'd have learnt better from his previous escapade only a few weeks ago. Doesn't america have summer? There is some but limited Native Indian involvement, and so probably easier for non-USians to follow this time.Enjoyable.

[bicyclewriter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked this second book in the series almost as much as the first. Really excellent characters. What I like most is the descriptive and poetic nature of how Mr. Johnson uses words. Very nice.

[labdaddy4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With the second novel in his Walt Longmire series of western crime novels, Craig Johnson does another excellent job with the plot, character development, pacing, and beautiful descriptions of Wyoming.Most of the character development in this novel is focused on Lucien Connoly - one of Walt's predecessors in the sheriff's office. Also expanded upon are the descendants of Basque settlers (sheep herders) in this area of the Rockies.Johnson expands the cast of characters in the sheriff's office with Ferg and a Basque deputy.The action is well paced, the mystery is well written, and the sense of place the reader gets is second to none.Next up - #3 in the series !!

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is the second of a series featuring Walt Longmire, the wise, gnarled sheriff of (fictional) Absaroka County, Wyoming. This one follows an elaborate series of plot twists after the death of Mari Baroja, an elderly Basque woman living in an assisted living facility. Her next door neighbor, Lucian Connally, who happens to be Longmire’s predecessor as sheriff, suspects her death was the result of foul play. Soon, attempts (some successful) are made on the lives of other people who played a part in Mari’s early life.Walt Longmire eventually solves the mystery with the help of his faithful Indian companion and semi-superhero, Henry Walking Bear, but not without a few close calls and a great deal of discomfort. The action takes place in the winter, which in Wyoming can be exceedingly cold, a fact that the author never lets us forget. The characters in the sheriff’s department are uniformly quirky, interesting, and lovable. I liked this book quite a bit and plan to read others in the series. (JAB)

[rbeffa_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Death Without Company is the second book in Craig Johnson's "Longmire" series and I liked it better than "The Cold Dish," the first entry in the series. Improvements: The snarky style humor is dialed down a notch and the character of the foul-mouthed deputy is broadened a bit. We still get a sense of humor. I think the "woo-woo" mysticism and dream sequences are also a little better here, though they still bother me a bit. Downside: I thought a budding romance in the first novel was well done, but in the second it seemed to be included almost as an afterthought - it started off intriguing and then really fell by the side. The other downside to me is having Longmire, not a young man, be a bit too much of a superman.The mystery in here is intriguing, but what really is the charm of the books are the characters and setting. This novel really builds off the characters we met in the first novel, adds a couple new ones and broadens the depth a lot, especially with the former sheriff Lucian Connelly. The people here have some pretty interesting pasts. The rural nature of the Wyoming country is brought to life vividly. I listened to nearly half the story as an audiobook, but the pace was a little too slow for me and without close focus on listening I felt like I was missing a few bits. I ended up re-reading most of what I had listened to with a paper copy and finished the novel up that way. The narration of the audiobook is well done, I'm just not a good audiobooker I think. I read here there and everywhere.

[berly_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really do love this series! The cast of characters in Powder Junction is growing and I like them all: Lucian, the grumpy retired Sheriff; Vic the foul-mouthed deputy; Ruby at the front desk; Henry The Bear, the wise Indian friend; the newbie deputy whose name I can't pronounce (Saizarbitoria); Dog, who is, well, the dog; and finally Walter Longmire, our hero Sheriff. This one starts off with the death of a senior citizen, Mari Baroja, at a nursing home and Lucian thinks that there was foul play. Secrets from the past emerge, people contest Mari's will, lives are threatened, some people die. The usual murder mystery formula, but there is humor and compassion in these books. An understanding of the lost and forgotten in life. It is fast-paced, endearing and fun. 3.8

[viviennestrauss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Never would have thought I would enjoy western crime stories but love the characters and dark humor. I just watched the first 2 seasons of the show inspired by the books and couldn't get enough! Now I have around 9 more books to read, hope I can stretch them out a bit though not likely as I read this one in roughly 24 hours.

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The four stars I have given the second Walt Longmire mystery are devoted to the sarcastic sheriff himself; I love his droll humour, weak attempt at a gruff demeanour, and endearing community of friends and colleagues. The plot, however, was completely formulaic, and I'm only two books in. Stop with the death-defying action sequences and near-death, spiritual experiences! I was hard pressed to decide which character deserved the nickname 'Rasputin' most - Walt or the killer he was chasing. I know the sheriff is modern day cowboy, but even John Wayne would have stayed down after the beating he takes in this adventure (especially following on from the equally inventive trauma of the first novel). Great character, beautifully atmospheric descriptions of local scenery, well paced mystery - just please hold off on the violence in book three!

[samsattler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm coming late to the Walt Longmire mystery series - and, of course, this is actually the second book in the series, not the first. Somehow, not having seen any of the TV shows, I knew absolutely nothing about the series and its characters before stumbling upon a copy of "Death Without Company." All that said, Walt Longmire was a pleasant surprise.Set in a sparsly populated county, in a sparsly populated state (Wyoming), "Death Without Company" is long on small town atmosphere and characters with a shared history. The "mystery" in the novel, in fact, involves a family feud that goes back three generations and is still capable of getting people killed. Oil and gas is making millionaires out of a few, select families and, to some people, the money is big enough to kill for. Walt Longmire, sheriff of little Absaroka County, finds himself trying to solve a murder at the Durant Home for Assisted Living, a facility that will soon be keeping him a bit busier than he imagined could be possible. But, along with a wonderfully interesting group of deputies and friends, Walt will somehow manage to identify the bad guys and bring them to justice - if they don't kill him first.Among my favorite characters are: Victoria Moretti, the beautiful deputy with Philadelphia policing experience; retired sheriff, Lucian Connelly; and, of course, Walt's best friend in the world, Henry Standing Bear. Absaroka County is heavily populated by American Indians and a prominent Basque population, adding lots of color and ethnic culture into Craig Johnson's mix.I'm looking forward to catching up on the series and have already watched the pilot episode of what has become a very successful television series (thank you NetFlix, for that). Yes, I'm hooked now.

[gbelik_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second Walt Longmire mystery and, I thought, was even better than the first. It centers on the death of an elderly Basque woman in a nursing home, but then ranges far afield and involves events and relationships from the long distant past. I love the characters in this mystery series, not only Walt, but his deputy Victoria, a recent emigre to Wyoming from big-city Philadelphia, his wonderful office manager Ruby, his new deputy Sancho and many others.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When a woman dies at the assisted living facility where former sheriff Lucien Connolly lives, current sheriff Walt Longmire is asked by his friend and mentor to investigate the death as a murder. Much to Walt's surprise, it does appear that the woman has been murdered. The motive seems to have roots reaching back 50 years or more, but no one seems to want to talk about the past. As the body count mounts, Walt must uncover long-buried secrets in order to stop the killings. In addition to the murder investigation, Walt also has remember to do his Christmas shopping and worry about whether the snow storms will prevent his daughter, Cady, from coming home for Christmas.As in the first book in the series, the characters and setting are more interesting than the crime being investigated. A couple of new characters are added to the mix in this installment, and it appears that readers will see more of them in the future. There seems to be a growing attraction between Walt and his much-younger, newly single, attractive but foul-mouthed deputy. It looks like there will continue to be mystical elements in this series as well, with some emphasis on Native American spirituality. This book is set just a few weeks after the events of the first book in the series, and it's assumed that readers are familiar with those events. This is a series that is best read in order, so new readers should start with The Cold Dish

[stevealdous · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great follow-up to THE COLD DISH. Whilst the mystery may be basic fare, although not without its complexities, it is the characters that demand our time. Craig Johnson has sketched out a group of likable and real heroes and their bantering dialogue is both witty and spontaneous. The action sequences are well written too and Johnson manages to build the tension as he unpeels the layers from his mystery.

[luvamystery65 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

[Death Without Company] is the second book in the Longmire series. I loved the first book, but I am only in like with the second book. The plot was a little much for me but I really enjoy the characters in this book. Walt has another experience from another dimension. This one was a little different than the first book with the dead woman coming to him in his dreams. I don't think I learned anything new about Walt in this one. Maybe the next. I will be reading the third.

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One of my book clubs read the first Walt Longmire book, A Cold Dish, and I was ambivalent about the book. You can imagine my chagrin when the second Walt Longmire book was chosen. Of course, I was mildly surprised that I enjoyed reading this book, but feel that Walt encounters too many brushes with death. I liked the premise of this story and the secret of love the spans decades. The love between Mari Baroja and Lucian Connally reminds me of the love in The Secret of the Nightingale Palace between Goldie and Henry Nakamura. That love can endure separation and hardship and still remind poignant after decades shows that life is amazing. The characters in this second novel jump off the page as more dimensional individuals. In closing, I have decided to give Craig Johnson a second chance in hopes of reading the third Walt Longmire book

[bookswoman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sheriff Walt Longmire is back, along with his cast of co-workers and friends. Craig Johnson continues to hit all the right notes. The characters are human and sometimes make mistakes, the place is so real that you know this author lives where he writes and loves what he sees. Highly recommended

[fiberfool · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An older woman dies in an assisted living facility. An equally old, retired sheriff insists it is murder despite little to no evidence of foul play. Turns out it may be and it may be tied to a 50+ year old murder that had been undiscovered until now. Complicate that with a reduced workforce, a Wyoming winter, two different and distinct ethnicities, and you get a really interesting procedural mystery plot. Add in well drawn characters who are unique with distinctive voices and you have a fabulous read.This second book takes place only weeks after the first book which kind of surprised me. While it may be a tad crazy to think of yet another murder in such a short time span in rural America, I kind of enjoyed the proximity to the previous book (Johnson did kind of poke fun at such a think in the dialogue as well). It allowed some of the unresolved issues brought up to be carried into this one which lent a bit more depth to the series I think.This is only my second Walt Longmire book that I’ve read. I’m a bit of stickler for reading series in order. I was in some ways quite surprised to be as drawn into this book as I was the first. I’m not a huge procedural fan so it takes a really well done one to keep me reading. Keep me reading it did. I’m definitely looking forward to jumping into the next title before too long.

[chrisconway_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An appealing entry in the Longmire series, set in Wyoming and full of characters you want to take home with you. I found this second book to be a bit weaker than the first mainly because of how certain personal relationships and characters were handled. The plotting was not as tight as in the first. Still, I liked it and plan on coming back for me.