THE DARK HORSE

Craig Johnson's cowboy sheriff, Walt Longmire, returns, investigating a suspicious murder on a hunch that the wrong suspect may have been condemned. George Guidall sets the mood from the opening moments with an ambling, pastoral narration that walks this modern Western through its desolate setting. Speaking with an almost tactile drawl, Guidall sounds as if he's relaxing in an easy chair as he tells the story. The barren Wyoming prairie is an apt backdrop for Guidall's pitch-perfect Western twang and effective assortment of Native American accents. The characters are somewhat indistinguishable initially, but the lazy pace of the story and Johnson's descriptive writing make for an entertaining yarn. A.P.C. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2009]