Excellent story and character development
587016
When a book is made into a movie or TV show, there is often much debate by the book's fans on whether or not the movie is as good as the book. Most often the answer is, "no."

But for me, it happened the other way around. I first met Walt Longmire in the AMC/Netflix series "Longmire". I loved not only the main character, but his supporting staff - Vic, Ferg, Branch, Henry, Locian, etc. So I was excited to find out the show is based on a book by Craig Johnson. I bought the book for the Kindle when it went on sale, and dived in. Since I loved the show so much, I actually thought the book couldn't be as good. But I was wrong, the book is exceptional.

Johnson does a great job of building the characters, and you quickly grow fond of each one. The book is infused with large amounts of subtle humor, which nicely balances the heavy subject matter of rape and murder.

Speaking of murder, there is very little actual violence in the book. And what there is, is not gratuitous. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the language. About 120 instances of the F- and S-words. That quantity of foul language is unnecessary.

The plot is terrific, and should keep you guessing until the very end.

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I think people tend to rate books higher than they should, so I try to rate books on a harder scale, while being consistent over time. Jerry Foster's book rating scale:

5 - Fantastic. Life-altering. Only 10-20 books in a lifetime.
4 - Very good.
3 - Worth your time.
2 - Not very good.
1 - Atrocious.
521742
Enjoyed the story and character development.  Many unexpected developments in what, at first, appeared to be a predictable story.

Liked it enough o eagerly anticipate the second book.
2669516
Great story and characters. The sci-fi aspect was a great vehicle for the author to explore the characters. Really believable and so well crafted. I don't read this genre but took a chance and so glad I did. Loved the station eleven thread through the book. Hated to see the book end. Highly recommended!
296623
Great story. Excellent character development. Much better than the movie.
1070576
I loved this book.  Although I had several strong suspicions at various stages of the story, I never guessed who the culprit was.  The story is loaded with lots of good detail and has excellent character and plot  development.  While I found the early love scenes to be irritatingly  frustrating, it was definitely worth it to keep reading.
The cover image  is excellent of him, but not of her, whom the story describes as having  always-mussed waist-length hair and wearing no makeup.
689972
I really enjoyed this story.  The characters development was done very well and kept you engaged throughout.  I am looking forward to the next book and journey.
3233363
This book kept me up for two nights reading.  Excellent story and characters.  Great read.

I would strongly recommend thinking ,,!
2658190
The storyline and character development is intriguing from cover to cover. I highly recommend this book and series. It is one of my favorites.
2588221
Excellent read. Very good character and story development . I look forward to her next book!
4645003
Very well written story and excellent character development.  Not your typical survival story and you'll enjoy it more because of that!
267543
This is a well written story but not the usual murder mystery. Excellent character development and thoughtful plot line. I couldn't put it down.
1106458
I loved the development of the characters and the story line.  The characters and plots were well written.  I was captivated from beginning to.  I have read many variations and am truly enjoyed this one.  I hope for a continuation.
4239524
Well written;great character development; a compelling read.
4723305
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the development of the story. It is a great read, enjoyable for all ages.
4517782
Very hard to put this story down for any length of time. Thought-provoking with excellent character development. Such a genuine, utterly human story. Can't wait to read the next two books in the series.
1103601
Excellent character development. I ended up caring deeply about characters who actually did not have any spoken dialog in the book. That takes true skill.
3949139
Excellent character development. A worthwhile read!