Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire is called in to investigate threats against native basketball star Jaya Long. Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long is worried about her niece, especially after Jaya's sister went missing a year ago. Walt and Henry Standing Bear have to contend with strange, dark supernatural forces, cults and dysfunctional families while trying to keep Jaya safe as a rebellious teenager and sullen basketball star. They investigate those who might hurt Jaya and try to determine if these same people could be connected to the disappearance of Jaya's sister. The plight of these two ladies is connected to facts regarding assaults and murders against Native American women. An entertaining read and great chemistry between the great Walt and Henry...as always.
Thanks to Penguin Group Viking, Craig Johnson and NetGalley for this ARC.

I always love the Longmire series! Johnson does a great job with creating new entanglements for our characters while maintaining a thorough overarching plot line for the series. I've read this one a few times now and am ALWAYS ready for the next book in the series!

Walt Longmire may be one man but he carries the responsibility for the entire community of Absaroka County on his shoulders. Craig Johnson has developed Walt and his surrounding characters layer by layer so that it feels as if we have known them and watched them on their life journey for so many years. Since we first met Walt and Henry in THE COLD DISH in 2004, we've watched life.....and death.....change them and Absaroka. In DAUGHTER OF THE MORNING STAR, Walt steps outside his Sheriff duties to assist in the investigation of a missing Native woman and the threats being leveled against her sister. At the request of the tribal leaders, Walt and Henry will face this challenge in the same manner they have faced all others. Another great read from Craig Johnson.

loved it! Walt is brought in on a missing persons case and for threats against a star basketball player. As always, Johnson's dry humor had me chuckling through most the book.

The story was good enough, for the most part. I very much appreciate that there was more of Henry Standing Bear, and must less of Vic, of whom I've grown very tired. The story is certain current in its theme. It truly is infuriating that this issue has been completely ignored for so long.

But then we came to the end. Really, Craig? A cliffhanger? It's not as though he's a new writer who needs to push readers to his next book. It is a cheap gimmick which should be beneath him.

This may be my last Craig Johnson book. We'll see.

Through this series, the author provides staggering statistics on the number of Native American women who are murdered, abducted, assaulted, and/or raped
every year. This mystery novel reads quickly as it searches for the truth behind the disappearance of a high school basketball star.

Thanks to NetGalley and Viking/Penguin/Random House for the ARC to read and review.

Jaya Long is the Lame Deer High School basketball superstar. She leads the Lady Stars in nearly every category and the team is on the road to a State basketball championship, thanks to Jaya's play. But Jaya is receiving death threats - threats which are taken seriously since Jaya's older sister went missing a year earlier.
Jaya's aunt is Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long, who calls for Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear to help keep an eye on Jaya. This isn't easy when her home life can be every bit as dangerous for the teen. Even her team proves a challenge as Jaya has no respect for the other girls and the feeling is mutual.

I really appreciate seeing Johnson tackle the theme of missing Indigenous women. This is an incredibly serious issue that is only marginally mentioned by the media. Johnson really only brings up the topic however, focusing this book more on Jaya and the threats against her than on the tragedy of missing women on the Rez. There is a strong suggestion that the issue will come up again, and I look forward to seeing Walt delve a little deeper into this.

One of the things I really like about the Longmire series is the really strong supporting cast of characters and in this book we really don't see many of the usual characters. Henry Standing Bear plays a significant role, as usual, but we hardly see Vic - which is a bit of a surprise - and we don't see Kady at all (which is not a surprise).

The other thing I've really come to like about the Longmire novels is Walt's run-in with the supernatural. Vision quests and the spirit world are important to many Native tribes and Walt, who is generally skeptical, has come to realize there are things that are not easily understood by 'normal' world explanations. Walt experiences such an event more than once in this book and again there is a strong suggestion that this isn't the end of these events.

In multiple ways, Walt Longmire is in new territory in this book.

As a parent of three children who played high school basketball for at least some portion of their school years (one of them in a State tournament run), it was fun to relive the energy and excitement of such an event, and Johnson writes this well. It was a bit of a stretch to have one girl (no matter how well she played), from a very tiny school, and who did not play well with teammates, be courted by big-league schools to play ball for them. Other than that, I enjoyed this quick read.

Looking for a good book? Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson is the 17th book in the Walt Longmire series. It is a quick read and Walt is finally being exposed to a series issue facing many Indigenous women.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 17th in Craig Johnson's spectacular series set in in Absaroka, Wyoming and starring veteran sheriff Walt Longmire.

Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long calls on both Walt and Henry Standing Bear after her niece Jaya receives death threats. Jaya's older sister Jeanie disappeared the year before, one of way too many missing indigenous women.

They do save Jaya, both her life and her future. In the process, Walt encounters 'a black spiritual hole that does nothing but devour souls' - it's unlikely that it's finished with him!

Our customers love the Longmire series and they basically sell themselves. Sometimes an established author like Johnson will have a dud or two, but this one doesn't disappoint. This novel gets in to the plight of Native American women and how they are abused and treated. I hope the book draws attention to what these women are facing.

Craig Johnson once again delivers an episode in the Longmire series rich in a sense of place and character, exploring enticing issues and delivering suspense an action. A suspense series which never fails the reader has another enticing addition. Highly recommended!

I love the Walt Longmire series! Longmire is truly a 'good' man, but a human one. He really strives to do the right thing, has a great respect for nature and for native American culture.
He makes mistakes along the way, but always tries to right a wrong.
As in all the previous Longmire books, the plot is fresh, the journey is difficult and the ending is satisfying. I highly recommend this book.

I am a long time fan of this series, featuring Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire. I always think the best books are the ones where Walt's old friend Henry Standing Bear plays a big part, and this one features the two of them throughout.

The two are investigating threats against a high school basketball player. The action takes place in Montana and Walt and Henry are involved (not too plausibly) because of friendships and favors being called in. Jaya Long is an extraordinary athlete, but she is selfish, undisciplined, and unfocused and she has a bad attitude. The fact that her younger sister disappeared a year or so previously and was never found is a central tenet of the book and there are hints that mystery carry over into the next book.

They have to look into the disappearance in order to try and solve the threats. The background is that the basketball team is in the hunt for a championship title. Jaya's family is a hot mess with addictions, felons, and secrets. There are, as always, a lot of bad actors here and a white supremacist gang is involved -- armed to the teeth and bunkered up.

There is a lot of humor, a lot of action and a spotlight on the largely unknown phenomenon of indigenous women disappearing. The statistics presented are sobering and discouraging. A mention is made of the Indian boarding schools from the earlier 20th century. There is a supernatural thread running through of disappearance and sort of ghostly presences. Even Henry warns Walt to steer clear but it's obvious from the ending of the book that this is going to be taken up again in future stories.

The culmination features not only the standoff with a killer but also a championship sporting event. This one was a great ride and hard to put down. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A new Craig Johnson book is always something to look forward to and Daughter of the Morning Star doesn't disappoint. It brings up difficult subjects that need to be brought out in the open but with Mr. Johnson's flair for telling a good story and characters we know and love this book is a winner.

Daughter of the Morning Star: A Walt Longmire Mystery
By Craig Johnson
Viking
September 2021

Review by Cynthia Chow

“I am a young woman in modern America, living on the Rez – my life is always in danger.” When Jaya “Longbow” Long says this to Absaroka Sheriff Walt Longmire, the high schooler is only speaking the truth. Native women are murdered at a rate ten times higher than the national average, yet the numerous reasons linked to racial and economic disparities are often ignored by the general media. Jurisdiction miscommunications and confusion play a large role in this as well, which is why Lame Deer, Montana Chief Lono Long has requested/ordered a favor from the Wyoming sheriff. Absaroka may be the least populated county in the least populated state in America, but Walt has encountered and survived more than his share of criminal investigations. He’s in the town of Lame Deer with his sizable best friend Henry Standing Bear, aka the Cheyenne Nation, to look into who has been sending over 30 written threats to the promising basketball star Jaya. Walt can’t help but connect the hostility to the disappearance of Jaya’s older sister Jeanie, the “good” sister last seen on a van trip with friends over a year ago.

With his unassuming but still very large presence, Walt begins following the trail that leads from Jaya to the last sighting of Jeanie. With a mother in prison and an ex-con father now associating with white supremacists, the cascading tragedies seemed to doom Jaya’s prospects for a future. That’s where the rest of the Native community steps in though, not only with the coaches but with Walt and Henry. Inadvertently finding themselves as occasional drop-in girls’ basketball coaches, they humorously yet compassionately deliver sound advice and an occasional kick in the butt. As they question those who were friends with Jeanie and a part of her complicated life, they all are unable to ignore the repeated sense and presence of the something…dark. Walt feels it as an ominous void, but the Native people know it as the Éveohtsé heómėse, the Wandering Without that devours souls.

This 17th of the series resembles the novellas the author has written over the years, shorter tales that highlight the spiritual sides and myths of the Native people. Yet while Walt and Henry feel guided and haunted by inexplicable forces, they both track down very real threats that have long jeopardized Native women. Poverty, substance abuse, and systemic racism linked back to the taking of their lands has led to higher rates of teenage suicide and violent crimes against the women. This novel seems so timely considering the national attention recently given to the disappearance and murder of a white woman, while thousands of Native women go missing or are victimized regularly. Readers should be reassured though that the author skillfully and masterfully weaves this information into an undoubtedly funny and wry mystery. The trauma of the Native People seems to have led to the development of a clever and understandably dark sense of humor. Walt and Henry’s conversations are always a delight, with their dry wit often cynical but based in a long friendship. Being in Montana means that profane Undersheriff Victoria Moretti only makes brief appearances, but enough to delight longtime fans invested in her and Walt’s relationship. The compassion of this novel, mixed with the fascinating depiction of life on a Cheyanne reservation, make this another entertaining entry in one of the best mystery series being written today.

Book 17 in the Longmire Mystery series. Can be read without reading others in the series, but you should read them all. Longmire is out of his jurisdiction , doing a favor for the local rez. police chief. Their top female basketball star is receiving threats which might lead back to her sister's disappearance a year ago. Lots of Native American mysticism, which is one of the things I like about these books.

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. Craig Johnson, why must you leave me wanting more like this? Walt Longmire is back, this time investigating on behalf Lolo Long, whose teenage niece has received threatening notes. Jaya has had a rough life so far, including the loss of her sister the year before, and Walt quickly began to believe that the two events were connected. With the help of Dog and Henry, he delved deep into the mysteries.
With his trademark hints of mysticism, Johnson crafted a compelling mystery, but the dang cliffhanger left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. I love this series, so I would have read the next book regardless, but I am still a little miffed at the end. This is definitely not a stand alone, but it is a good addition to the series.

Craig Johnson's Longmire series has been mostly fabulous, with a few spotty books in the mix. This was one of the better ones, with one exception that keeps it from my highest rating. At the very end, I felt as though a crucial aspect of the story was left hanging to make sure that we purchase the next in the series. I don't accept that strategy as one that a truly wonderful writer needs to resort to. Johnson is a truly wonderful writer, so it disturbed me quite a bit.

Two Cheyenne teenage sisters, both basketball players, are plagued by nasty notes. Then one goes missing. Is she dead, is she captured by some sort of mystical force, or is she somewhere in the corporeal world? Longmire is hired by the reservation police to investigate. He works with his longtime Cheyenne friend, Henry, to find the answers, and their search takes them into a very dark place. At the same time, Jaya, the remaining sister, needs guidance as does her basketball team, and somehow Longmire gets involved in this as well. The book is a great story of growing up strong against all odds, at the same time that it delves into racism in the West and, yes, even supernatural influences. As always with this series, the characterization is incredibly strong. And this time around, even in the midst of violence, there are some extremely amusing scenes.

I loved the book, and I will certainly watch for the next in the series, but I would have liked to not have been left hanging.

Another great installment of the Longmire series. As usual, whip-smart dialogue; especially between Walt and Henry. This book also touches on the disproportional abuse, murder, and missing persons associated with Native American women. As well as the dubious history of "Indian Schools." The plot brings Walt and Henry to Montana and two different Reservations. Walt is assisting "Rez" law enforcement in the case of a missing girl and threatening notes being sent to her sister, a basketball star with a chip on her shoulder. The good sheriff even takes a whirl at coaching girl's basketball! I hope Craig Johnson continues to write these books with their great characters!

This latest Longmire mystery does not disappoint. The combination of Indian legend, current events, basketball competition, women's issues, and suspense makes this a thoughtful page-turner. Johnson's heartfelt introduction about the historical and contemporary tragedy of Indian women's rampant victimization sets the tone. Readers will not be surprised by the events that take place, but they will be moved. The familiar characters of Longmire and Henry Standing Bear are front and center, but others such as Vick and Katie remain on the sidelines this time.

The latest Longmire story finds the good sheriff assisting the tribal police chief in investigating threats to Jaya, a teenage native american star basketball player whose sister disappeared under mysterious circumstances a year earlier. Walt winds up investigating both situations and along the way helps Jaya come to grips with herself and her situation. A very spiritual aspect to the story and the investigation leaves Walt with unanswered questions at the end which will hopefully be resolved in the next book.