It is not often that Tribal Chief Lolo Long asks a favour from Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire, so when she catches him at lunch with his longstanding friend Henry Standing Bear, Walt has little choice, but to do as she asks… and bring a focus.

Of immediate concern is that Jaya “Longbow” Long, a rising basketball star who has the potential to be a terrific player and possibly to bring her high school team, the Lame Deer Lady Stars, to a higher level than ever before. She has the talent, except for her anger issues over her missing older sister and her refusal to be a team player.   She also has been receiving over twenty threatening letters and both Walt and Henry believe there is a connection.  Are they on the right trail?

 As Walt and Henry investigate and dig deeper, intriguing connections,  family politics, white supremacists and mystical beings are uncovered. Will Walt and Henry be able to find the real murderer before their own lives as well as others are in jeopardy?

DAUGHTER OF THE MORNING STAR is the 17th mystery in New York Times and internationally acclaimed Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire Series.   I have been a long time Longmire fan (both book and TV series), so I knew I would love this book. Yet, I was unprepared for how utterly captivating DAUGHTER OF THE MORNING STAR   was right from the first page to the last as I followed Walt and Henry on this harrowing and dangerous journey.

 In DAUGHTER OF THE MORNING STAR, I particularly enjoyed seeing how their relationship continues to develop and laugh at their smartass repartee as they are so aware of each other’s strengths, quirks and backgrounds as they work on the search for the missing Native American girl.  While DAUGHTER OF THE MORNING STAR can be read as a stand-alone book, I would definitely recommend reading a few of the previous Longmire books first as the nuances are so much richer as Henry gets in both his digs as well as imparting the sage wisdom and humour of his Elders.

Johnson’s plot development is well-layered and complex with intriguing and realistic nuances. Fans of previous Longmire novels are sure to be thrilled and intrigued by how detailed and thorough Johnson has been in getting the details right and this making the story so real for the reader.   From his own research, Johnson wants to draw attention to how little attention Indigenous people get when their family members go missing, so I have included some resources at the end for those who would like to read more on this travesty of justice.

While mystical events may happen to Longmire and others, there is too much that is truth in the horrible statistics of how many Indigenous people are missing and often murdered in both Canada and the United States as well as in other countries.  I was deeply touched by Johnson’s background story as to how he happened to see a homemade sign for a missing woman while doing a library event in Hardin, Montana on the Crow Reservation. As he looked at the faded photo, he realized what a heart-wrenching event that would be for any family and that proved to be the inspiration for DAUGHTER OF THE MORNING STAR.

If you are a Longmire fan, love police procedurals, or just want a damn fine read, then you will also be thrilled with DAUGHTER OF THE MORNING STAR!  I heartily recommend it!