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Mari Baroja is found dead at an assisted living facility in Absaroka County. Sheriff Walt Longmire does not see anything suspicious in the death, but former sheriff Lucian Connally feels differently. At one point, many years before, the two of them were married. Her parents annulled this marriage and Mari ended up marrying an abusive man. Connally and Mari reconnected after her husband's death so he feels that he knows her better than anyone else. Connally is unwilling to believe that she simply died of old age. Longmire gives into Connally's demands and has an autopsy done. From the autopsy, they are able to determine that Mari was murdered and that Connally's suspicions were correct. In order to find a motive and a suspect, Longmire must investigate Mari's family and her past. Somewhere hidden from sight there must be a reason to kill her. In addition, to this murder investigation, the police department is short-staffed and the winter weather has produced a series of accidents and traffic violations that must be monitored. As Longmire attempts to keep everything under control, he discovers that someone wants Mari's past to remain secret. If he is not careful, he might become the killer's next target. While the story of Mari Baroja is supposed to be the drive of this book, I must admit that the characters stick in my mind more. DEATH WITHOUT COMPANY is a very well written character-driven story. All of the main characters are well developed and interesting. All of them also have faults and frailties. Sheriff Longmire is a good detective and a nice guy but is not perfect. His daughter is flying in for Christmas and he wants to be with her, yet he also feels as though Mari deserves some justice. His relationship with the former sheriff is mostly positive but both Longmire and Connally understand that everything is temporary. The realism of the characters and their sense of community is what makes this book so enjoyable to read. DEATH WITHOUT COMPANY is the second mystery to feature Sheriff Longmire and the town of Absaroka County.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, June 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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