This 18th book in the 'Walt Longmire' series, which has a strong metaphysical aura, is a departure from other Longmire novels. The story can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.
*****
As the book opens, Walt Longmire - who's the sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming - wakes up on a snow covered road, with his hat beside him and no memory of who he is. Walt wanders into the nearby town and discovers he's in Fort Pratt, Montana.
As Walt wanders around Fort Pratt, he meets a waitress named Martha, a movie theatre employee named Jeanie One Moon, a bartender called Tomas Bidarte, a highway patrolman called Bobby Womack, and other people whom Walt finds vaguely familiar. (Loyal readers will recognize these characters.)
Walt also comes across a tall imposing Indian called Virgil, who wears a bearskin cloak and carries a six-foot-long, obsidian-tipped spear.
To add to the oddness, all the clocks in town permanently read 8:17 and the number 31 keeps coming up.
Chatting with people, Walt learns that Fort Pratt was once the location of the 'Fort Pratt Industrial Indian Boarding School', where Indian boys - taken from their families - were (supposedly) taught a skill while being inculcated into White culture. Sadly, the school experienced a tragedy in 1896, when a fire engulfed the structure and 31 boys and several staff members died.
As Walt continues to meander about Fort Pratt, he wanders onto the Indian boarding school property, and is suddenly transported back to 1896, when the school was in operation. Walt observes a new boy called Marcus being 'enrolled' in the school.
This procedure involves cutting off Marcus's hair, giving him cheap clothes, and assigning him to a bed. Marcus is the only person at the school who can see Walt, so phantom Walt is able to amble about and see what goes on out of the public eye.
As Walt hangs around, it's clear the 'students' aren't taught anything, and are merely free labor for the school administrator.
Oddly enough, the tall Indian Virgil shows up here as well, and it appears Walt and Virgil have a mission. This turns out to involve a Cheyenne entity called the Éveohtsé-heómése (the Taker of Souls that waits in the wilderness), which feeds on living (or newly dead) creatures.
While Walt is in the mysterious/historical version of Fort Pratt, his undersheriff Victoria Moretti.....
......and his best friend Henry Standing Bear are in the MODERN/REAL Fort Pratt, searching for Walt.
It seems Walt chased a criminal called Artie Small Song to Fort Pratt, and subsequently vanished. Now Vic and Henry have caught Artie, and they mean to squeeze Walt's location out of the miscreant by any means necessary.
The book toggles back and forth between Walt's adventures in metaphysical Fort Pratt and Vic and Henry's exploits in current/palpable Fort Pratt. The story is complex but compelling, with a satisfying finale.
This addition to the Walt Longmire series contains interesting snippets about Cheyenne culture, and sadly, also highlights the horrible Indian boarding schools that tried to wipe out the lifestyles and language of Indian tribes.
I liked this book, but I'll be glad to see Walt back to being the sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming in future books. (I have to say, whenever I read the Walt Longmire books, I get an urge to move to Wyoming. 😀)
Rating: 4 stars
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