Hell and Back - (Longmire Mystery) by Craig Johnson (Paperback)

About the Book

"What if you woke up lying in the middle of the street in the infamous town of Fort Pratt, Montana, where thirty young Native boys perished in a tragic 1896 boarding school fire? What if every person you encountered in that endless night was dead? What if you were covered in blood and missing a bullet from the gun holstered on your hip? What if there was something out there in the yellowed skies--along with the deceased and the smell of ash and dust--something the Northern Cheyenne refer to as the âEveohtsâe-heâomçese, the Wandering Without, the Stealer of Souls? What if the only way you know who you are is because your name is printed in the leather sweatband of your cowboy hat, and what if it says your name is Walt Longmire--but you don't remember him?"--

Book Synopsis

The eighteenth novel in the beloved New York Times bestselling Longmire series

The hit drama Longmire is now streaming on Paramount+

What if you woke up lying in the middle of the street in the infamous town of Fort Pratt, Montana, where thirty young Native boys perished in a tragic 1896 boarding-school fire? What if every person you encountered in that endless night was dead? What if you were covered in blood and missing a bullet from the gun holstered on your hip? What if there was something out there in the yellowed skies, along with the deceased and the smell of ash and dust, something the Northern Cheyenne refer to as the Éveohtsé-heómese, the Wandering Without, the Taker of Souls? What if the only way you know who you are is because your name is printed in the leather sweatband of your cowboy hat, and what if it says your name is Walt Longmire . . . but you don't remember him?

In Hell and Back, the eighteenth installment of the Longmire series, author Craig Johnson takes the beloved sheriff to the very limits of his sanity to do battle with the most dangerous adversary he's ever faced: himself.

Review Quotes

Praise for Hell and Back

"Solid . . . Longtime fans will relish Johnson's new insights into Walt's character . . ." --Publisher's Weekly

"A mystical thriller that offers a wild ride through a thoroughly altered reality." --Kirkus Reviews

". . . those happy to bend crime fiction in the direction of horror will find a smorgasbord of supernatural delights." --Booklist

"This book will keep Longmire fans coming back for more." --The Spokesman-Review

"Johnson has plumbed the past and formed a fascinating, compelling and mythic tale, taking Walt to the edge of his ability to survive. 'Hell and Back' is a riveting read." --The Durango Herald

"Craig Johnson consistently, intelligently and with customary dry humor, melds literary fiction with western crime fiction... His breadth of knowledge and the meticulous attention to detail adhered to in crafting, rewriting, and polishing his novels and their sheer readability puts him among the great western writers like Wallace Stegner, Ivan Doig, Norman Maclean, and John McPhee... Hell and Back is a stand-out work." --BookTrib

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 Weekly

About the Author

Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit drama 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-six.