Steven Havill
1) Double Prey
"Havill is a master at using procedural details to expose the complexities of small-town relationships, but he also excels at drawing meaning from landscape." —Booklist
A rattlesnake fang pegged in a teenager's eye is just the beginning of a spring day for Posadas County Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman. The injured lad's older brother goes missing, and is found dead in an arroyo, apparently killed by his cartwheeling ATV.
..."If what you're hiding is motive, Gastner will ferret it out and do what needs to be done. An outstanding mystery." —Booklist starred review
Posadas Register reporter Linda Real barely survives her nighttime patrol with one of Undersheriff Bill Gastner's deputies. He is killed by a more accurate shotgun blast than the one that ruins her face. Teamed with his intuitive, observant detective Estelle Reyes-Guzman and her usual
...The rugged Cat Mesa country north of the village of Posadas is hosting the first annual Posadas 100, a cycle-cross bicycle race that promises to attract more than 140 competitors. Despite enough injuries during the pre-race practice to promise a spectacular and dangerous race, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman has even more pressing concerns on her mind. Someone has been using Jerry Turner's big Cessna 206 and then returning it to its hangar at
...4) Come Dark
Next book in the Posadas County Mystery Series
When a series of minor crimes culminate in murder, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman will have to partner with a retired sheriff to get to the bottom of the case
Posadas County, New Mexico, is in the news.
NightZone, a mammoth astronomy theme park, is bringing in jobs, media, and much-needed new infrastructure. The property's recently been vandalized, but that's hardly
...Another Posadas County mystery with Estelle Reyes-Guzman as the undersheriff, but with the ever more popular Bill Gastner peering out of the wings to which he dispatched himself upon retirement. Estelle's new job continues to be far from easy, and now she is faced the death of a young woman on a motorcycle—a death that could have been caused by improper driving from one of the county's traffic officers when he tried to stop her for speeding.
...6) Twice Buried
Third book in the Posadas County Mystery Series
"Gastner is an incisive investigator whose two most valuable qualities are compassion and insomnia. Unlike other fictional detectives who approach murder as a personal affront, Gastner sees himself as the victims' advocate, striving to even the scales of justice for those no longer able to do it themselves."—Booklist
When two baffling crimes strike Posadas County,
..."Havill...quietly continues a project virtually unique in detective fiction: anchoring his tales of crime and punishment as closely as possible in the rhythms of small-town friends, routines, and calamities." —Kirkus Reviews
Rolling stone Wesley Crocker seems a harmless enough free spirit when Posadas County Undersheriff Bill Gastner offers him a lift on the road and spots him a free dinner. Crocker beds down for the night
...Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is always busy, but now more so than ever. The sheriff is still not completely recovered from his stay in the hospital, and she is recovering from a hospital stay herself. After a long day at work, Estelle is happy to clear off her desk and drive home where her beloved family waits. She hears her cell phone ringing as she pulls into the driveway. A truck has gone off the road and the driver's body found near the
...Sheriff Estelle is called to teenager Carmen Acosta's home. When she arrives, Carmen's father, Freddie, is in police custody and an unconscious Carmen is on the way to the hospital "beat to a pulp." There has been a fight over a boy, but it is hard to believe that the also young Deena is responsible. Estelle has many other suspects to choose from, since the Acosta family holds the record for the number of domestic violence calls the police have
..."In close-knit Posadas County, where everyone knows everyone's business, it turns out that some people can bury secrets, and some secrets are murderous."—Kirkus Reviews
It's Christmas in Posadas County. Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is settling down to a quiet evening with her family, until her doctor husband gets a call from the retired chief-of-police: he's at a nearby motel, having pains. Then Estelle gets a call herself.
...11) Blood Sweep
Next book in the Posadas County Mystery Series
Posadas County Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman has a lot on her plate—but when her family is threatened by a criminal underworld, she'll stop at nothing to protect her own
Gifted fifteen-year-old Francisco Guzman has become an internationally renowned concert pianist, touring the world under the auspices of his music conservatory. That gives his mother, Posadas County
...12) Bitter Recoil
Second book in the Posadas County Mystery Series
"Havill delivers an evocative tale of hard lives on the edge of society. His portly detective is a genuine low-key pleasure."—Publishers Weekly
When Undersheriff Bill Gastner heads to New Mexico's mountains for some respite, the last thing he expects to find is a dead body. But he's a cop through-and-through, and he can't let a criminal walk...
Aging
...Parked high on a side road on the flank of the second highest peak in the San Cristobal mountains, peacefully surveying what soon would no longer be his responsibility as a sheriff, almost-seventy Bill Gastner could think that the night would be without incident. He'd be wrong. He doesn't foresee that a car full of alcohol-inspired adolescents would run into his automobile. Nor that the driver would take off and disappear in the nearby woods. Far
...14) Scavengers
The acclaimed New Mexico mystery series continues as a former deputy leads an investigation into a series of perplexing murders.
A man’s body is found in the unforgiving New Mexico desert, his face so smashed that identification is impossible. It’s the beginning of a brutal murder spree that will soon take Posadas County’s new undersheriff, Estelle Reyes-Guzman, into a case that has roots on both sides of the border.
...A New Mexico border town reckons with a shocking shooting and a dead developer in the “consistently excellent” police procedural series (Booklist).
When a developer shows up in Posadas County, the locals get nervous. The small town along the southern border of New Mexico has enjoyed a surge in visitors, jobs, and prosperity since rancher Miles Waddell opened an eco-friendly complex. But then the developer
16) No Accident
Good cops have no use for coincidence
When a driver slams his pickup truck—twice—into a tandem bike being ridden by Carlos Guzman and his fiancée, Tasha, in Briones, California, it's more than a simple hit-and-run; the driver clearly intended to harm them. Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman gets the call with the news of her son's accident and wastes no time racing to his side. She is greeted by Police Captain Eddie Mitchell, formerly
...17) Lies Come Easy
Next book in the Posadas County Mystery Series
"If you haven't yet discovered these wonderful mysteries, you are in for a treat!"—Anne Hillerman, New York Times bestselling author
One blizzardy New Mexico night, Posadas County Deputy Pasquale picks up a toddler abandoned along the shoulder of State 56... And as more disturbing cases pile up, the Sheriff's Department find themselves caught in a dangerous web
...“Immensely likable” New Mexico sheriff Bill Gastner returns in a tale of suspicious deaths and dirty politics (Publishers Weekly).
A well-seasoned sixty-nine, Sheriff Bill Gastner knows his Posadas, New Mexico, territory as well as he understands the foibles of the human condition. So when a backhoe crushes a man to death, it’s more instinct than fact that leaves him feeling there’s more
Savvy storytelling infused with a spicy Southwestern setting.
"Not only does Havill offer a melancholy reinterpretation of that grand western myth of the slow-talking, fast-thinking lawman, he also writes crisp, marvelously detailed police procedurals in which a mix of technical know-how and informed common sense gets things done."—Booklist
Bill Gastner is going crazy recuperating from heart surgery. Dreaming of green
...20) One Perfect Shot
When a county employee is found shot to death in broad daylight while sitting in his county road grader, Undersheriff Bill Gastner is faced with puzzling questions. The simplest explanation - that an errant bullet from a careless target shooter's rifle blew out Larry Zipoli's brains - is soon discarded. The fatal bullet shows no rifling marks, and investigation reveals that the shooter walked directly toward the road grader, in full view of the
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