What's Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire doing alone in the broiler-oven heat of Mexico's northern deserts? Trying to find the international hit man and Mexico drug cartel boss who has kidnapped his daughter, Cady, intending to auction her off to his worst enemies. Next in the New York Times best-selling books that inspired the popular Netflix original series.

In this 14th installment of the "Longmire" series (after The Western Stars), the Absaroka County sheriff is in Mexico searching for his daughter Cady, who was kidnapped by the ruthless head of a drug cartel. The men are not strangers; their history has been bloody and violent, including the murder of Longmire's son-in-law and serious injury to Longmire's undersheriff. Longmire must save his daughter before she's auctioned off to the highest bidder among his many enemies. Without backing from the American or Mexican governments, he's on his own, relying on assistance from people he meets on his journey. These include a physician, a mute young man, a blind legless mystic, and a beautiful woman with nerves of steel. Johnson's descriptions of the desert landscape, the burning heat of the sun, and the celebratory Mexican festivals are vivid and complement the unfolding plot as Longmire penetrates the cartel's headquarters. VERDICT It's a new setting for Longmire, but old scores are settled in this page-turner fans will love. [See Prepub Alert, 3/12/18.]—Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at Illinois Eastern Community Coll., Mt. Carmel

Bestseller Johnson's harrowing 14th mystery featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire (after 2016's The Western Star) takes the Wyoming lawman to Mexico, where ruthless killer Tomás Bidarte holds Walt's grown daughter, Cady, captive in a remote mountain compound in the middle of the Chihuahua desert. The six-foot-four Walt faces formidable obstacles in rescuing Cady, not least being his attention-drawing size. Fortunately, one of his allies on this suicidal mission, a blind man known as the Seer, thinks to pass him off as real-life retired NFL star Bob Lilly, a ruse that works for a while. Once Walt and his team arrive at the compound, the trouble really begins. The tension lets up only intermittently as Walt lurches from one dire situation to another. Humorous asides and witty dialogue provide welcome relief from the often grim circumstances in which Walt finds himself, including a stint in the stocks during a Day of the Dead celebration and the climactic confrontation with Bidarte, who plays matador to Walt's bull. Johnson is in fine form. Author tour. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents. (Sept.)