FICTION: THRILLER
Hell Is Empty by Craig Johnson (Viking Adult)
Craig Johnson’s seventh Walt Longmire mystery, “Hell Is Empty,” showcases the skills of a writer who is willing to dive off the high board into previously uncharted waters.
Johnson takes his hero, Sheriff Walt Longmire of Absaroka County, Wyo., a self-deprecating and experienced lawman, onto a path that conjures up otherworldly support to help him survive this latest adventure.
Utilizing Dante’s classic “Inferno,” Johnson crafts a chilling, allegorical tale of resolve and endurance. What starts as a seemingly simple prisoner transport evolves into a grueling physical and mental trial where Walt doggedly pursues an escaped psychotic murderer.
It is early May in the Bighorn Mountains, and Walt and his deputy, Sancho, are meeting two sheriffs from neighboring counties and the FBI to hand over three convicted killers. The FBI is also looking for the remains of the first young victim killed by Raynaud Shade, one of the prisoners. Walt learns the boy’s name and realizes he was related to someone Walt knows. This makes it personal.
Shade, a Canadian Indian and an adopted Crow, is a true psychotic schizophrenic with visions. Shade calls his visions “the Seldom Seen,” and he suggests to Walt that he shares his ability to hear voices. “Who will they send for you?” he asks Walt. As if that isn’t enough to unnerve the steadiest of lawman, one of the other fellow murderers describes Shade to Walt in this way: “We’re the kinds of guys that give people nightmares . . . He’s the kind of guy that gives us nightmares.”
Johnson’s usual cast of main characters — best friend Henry Standing Bear, undersheriff “Vic” Moretti and Walt’s daughter Cady — are almost relegated to walk-on parts here, though they provide important supporting roles and motivation. Especially important is Henry, a Cheyenne with strong spiritual ties to the “Old Cheyenne.” These spirits guide people who may be dying to the Camp of the Dead or the Beyond Country. During Walt’s previous trip to the Bighorns, they helped Walt get Henry to safety.
In Dante’s “Inferno,” the spirit of Roman poet Virgil claims that all the horrors are horrors of the mind. During Walt’s journey to Cloud Peak, the highest point in the Bighorns, in pursuit of Shade and his grisly baggage, he must deal with his own feelings of failure and guilt. Ironically, it is another Virgil who appears to guide Walt to salvation.
Virgil White Buffalo, a 7-foot giant of an Indian, was introduced in 2008’s “Another Man’s Moccasins” as a wrongly accused murder suspect. After that adventure, Virgil disappeared into the vast wilds of the Big Horn National Forest, where Walt is now locked in a mortal battle with Shade. Virgil suddenly appears, wearing the head and skin of a grizzly, and begins offering Walt cryptic advice on how to deal with a killer who seems to know what Walt thinks and what actions he will take.
This being mountain country, Ma Nature throws another wrench in the lawman’s path. A late spring storm swirls in, spitting ice, snow and winds of over 40 mph, intensifying Walt’s torment. Johnson uses his intimate knowledge of the landscape and wildlife of Wyoming to full advantage, making them characters in the action.
Despite the dire situation, Johnson continues to employ gentle, wry humor and an authentic, no-nonsense Western voice in his dialogue, especially in Walt’s thoughts. And the immediacy of Walt’s peril pulls readers into the complex plot. Good stories that take place in the West are in short supply these days, and Johnson’s latest is the real deal with literary clout.
Both Walt and Shade are on missions fueled by internal fires. Shade’s mission is unknown, but Walt’s is to catch a murderer, even if it kills him — and it just might.
Leslie Doran is a freelance writer in Durango.
