Book Review: The Cold Dish [5 stars]

I recently finished reading The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson.

Craig Johnson was recommended to me as an author whose books contain 2 key elements:

1. Murder mysteries that contain lots of twists and keep you guessing to the end.
2. Stories set in the Western U.S. with the plots taking advantage of the rugged outdoors of the Rocky Mountains.

Being a fan of the outdoors & Rockies (and murder mysteries), I decided to give The Cold Dish a try. The result was a resounding 5 stars. The book interleaves two interesting backdrops throughout: (1) the challenges any murder brings to a small town Western sheriff; and (2) the rich Indian history & culture still prevalent across the Rocky Mountain states.

The only negative comment I have about The Cold Dish is the number of characters Johnson introduces throughout the story. A few times, I had to flip back to refresh myself on who certain characters were (as Johnson's introduction of a character contains lots of info you want to remember throughout the book). Nevertheless, this was a minor detraction in the book - all the "important" characters came together as the story progressed and those introduced briefly became unimportant to tracking the mystery.

The book's ending caught me completely by surprise. After finishing any mystery, I think through the foreshadows that could have lead me to guess the ending. Johnson's foreshadows where there, but they were wonderfully inconspicuous and set against many "trick foreshadows" intended to keep the reader guessing.

Next on my Craig Johnson reading list is Junkyard Dogs which is supposed to be Johnson's best yet - that should be fun to read!