The Moretti crew is in law enforcement, and is readily supportive when things go south for the Wyoming contingent. Vic Moretti, Longmire’s deputy, is from Philadelphia and her family wants to touch base with him and Cady during the visit. His anger is palpable and he puts it to work to discover the multi-layered truth about Cady’s accident. We feel the distress that a parent would have when facing the possible loss of a child, no matter how old that child is. With Cady near death, Walt is pushed to the breaking point with worry.

The case central to the story is complex and dangerous, the bad guys are mean, arrogant and devious, the cover-ups clever, and we are not sure which people can be trusted. Sounds much simpler than it turns out to be, because the first time Walt actually sees his daughter, she’s in intensive care at a Trauma Center. Why would Walt leave the safety of Wyoming to visit Philadelphia, the supposed City of Brotherly Love? His best friend, Henry Standing Bear, has been asked to lecture about his collection of photographs at a prestigious Fine Arts Academy and Walt decides to tag along, visit his daughter, Cady, and get a look at the new boyfriend. It’s a LOL funny scene for any reader who works with young children and Johnson is pitch perfect with both the children and Longmire’s reactions. Brutal questions and critiques about his reading-aloud skills strike fear in his heart, making him long for backup. He is most comfortable chasing the bad guys and getting justice for the victims in fictional Absaroka County, but when he faces twenty-three 5 year olds, he is decidedly out of his element. “Kindness Goes Unpunished” opens with an elementary school classroom scene – Walt is doing his bit in a pre-election campaign stop. There’s a quote near the beginning of the book: 'Philadelphia, where no good deed goes unpunished…” (Steve Lopez, The Philadelphia Inquirer) that sets the tone for the case in this third book in the Walt Longmire series. Philly may have the best cheese steak sandwiches in the world, and some great universities, but it also has a mean street or two.

When considering “Kindness Goes Unpunished” for my next book to read and review, the fact that Craig Johnson included a road trip to Philadelphia cinched the decision for me.

Longmire kindness goes unpunished