An Obvious Fact

by Craig Johnson
317 pgs  (Longmire series #12)

Chief William Nutter is the police chief of Hulett, Wyoming, a small town with about 400 residents that once a year is overrun by 50,000 bikers, who come to town for a motorcycle rally. hen alt Longmire arrives in town to support his friend Henry Standing Bear, who has come to try to win a race he won several years ago, Nutter immediately calls on him to help with an investigation.

Bodaway Torres, a young member of a biker gang, lies in critical condition in the hospital, and it appears as though someone ran him off the road. His mother, Lola Wojciechowski, is an old "biker chick," who has a history with Henry. In fact, she's the woman he named his car after. Both men are reluctant to get involved, until Lola hints at the possibility that Bodaway could be Henry's son.

Walt's investigation leads him to Bob Nance, a wealthy businessman in town, whose daughter has both romantic and criminal ties to Bodaway, and to Brady Post, an undercover ATF agent currently riding with the motorcycle club. Things quickly escalate into chaos, but fortunately, for both Walt and the reader, Walt's undersheriff Victoria Moretti arrives in town to further agitate the situation.

An Obvious Fact is another solid book in Craig Johnson's increasingly entertaining mystery series. I don't know of another author who is as consistent in the quality of the books he puts out, especially not at the frequency he does. I'm often asked for reading recommendations by people who know how much I enjoy reading, and I've recommended Johnson's Longmire books numerous times. Of those who have taken my advice and tried one, I have yet to hear back that they were disappointed. Something I can't say about my other recommendations.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆