Posadas County Mysteries
22 total works
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 Posadas County Undersheriff Bill Gastner has weathered his quadruple bypass and is taking a rare vacation up in New Mexico's northern mountains. He's escaping meddlesome medical providers and small town gossip, but he's looking forward to reconnecting with his former detective Estelle Reyes who is working in San Estevan County. Arriving a day early at the Steamboat Rock Campground, his camping plans are interrupted by sirens. Suddenly, Gastner, Reyes, and her new doctor husband reunite over the body of a pregnant young woman.
At first the detectives assume she was a hit-and-run victim. Then the medical exam reveals she was instead thrown from a moving vehicle after a rape attempt. Gastner's curiosity is piqued but he's on vacation—he should leave the case up to local law enforcement. Then four more deaths follow and the still-to-be-reckoned-with lawman steps in to stop the rash of murders....
He's not in Posadas County, but Undersheriff Bill Gastner can't ignore an unsolved case when a body turns up in the New Mexico mountains. Steven F. Havill's next police procedural finds the aging undersheriff taking on a disturbing case far from home.
Check out the acclaimed series:Perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Michael McGarrityFor readers who enjoy police procedurals and Southwest desert mysteries
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 a concern for the county. Plus, the Posadas High School girls' volleyball team is on a hot winning streak, exciting everyone.
But more news, not good, breaks. Volleyball Coach Clint Scott has been found gunned-down by the high school, a bullet fired nearly point blank into his heart. A partially finished piece of graffiti outside the school implies that there is a witness, but law enforcement has no idea who it could be. And the next morning, a former volleyball star disappears without a trace—the two instances must be connected, but why?
The lead on the murder is Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman, a "lady cop" who's earned the trust of Posadas County. Still, she calls on the retired small town sheriff, Bill Gastner to assist with the baffling investigation. They'll need to track a slippery witness and nab the killer before the town's panic spirals out of control or another person is hurt.
When the murder of one of their own shakes up Posadas County, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman takes on a series of baffling mysteries to make her town safe again.
This acclaimed mystery series is:Perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Michael McGarrityFor readers who enjoy police procedurals and Southwest desert mysteries
First book in the Posadas County Mystery Series
When a series of crimes disrupts the tranquil community in Posadas County, New Mexico, a group of small-town cops will have to fight for their lives to keep the county safe
Posadas County, New Mexico, has very few mean streets and no city-slick cop shop. But it has an earnest, elected County Sheriff and his aging Undersheriff—William C. Gastner. Pushing sixty, widower Bill has no other life than in law enforcement—and doesn't want one, even if he's being nudged gently toward retirement. Then big time trouble strikes.
A car full of teens, running from a stop by Deputy Torrez, goes air-borne into a rocky outcrop, killing all five kids and revealing a package of cocaine under the seat. Has someone brought big-time crime to the small town?
Bill is now dealing with grieving parents—one of whom starts packing a gun. Then a second explosion of violence fells an undercover cop.
Under pressure, local law enforcement pulls together to make a formidable team. Its weak spot may be Bill whose mind is too tough to crumble but whose body, long mistreated, gradually succumbs to stress. Ignoring all advice—and sense—he pilots the case to a final dramatic, midair confrontation where the fate of the killer—and the cop—will be decided....
The first book in Steven F. Havill's Posadas County Mysteries finds aging Undersheriff Bill Gastner struggling against a rising tide of violent crime. Will the burned-out cop be able to handle the heat?
Check out the beginning of the iconic Posadas County Mystery Series:Perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Michael McGarrityFor readers who enjoy police procedurals and Southwest desert mysteries
Former Posadas County Sheriff Bill Gastner, now a New Mexico Livestock Inspector, is enjoying a day on Herb Torrance's ranch - soaking in the sun, counting a small herd of cattle, and thinking about meeting an old friend back in town for lunch. But suddenly a light breeze stirs the dust, a horse spooks, and Bill finds himself ferrying a broken cowpuncher in the back of his SUV, headed out to meet an ambulance.
Moments later, Bill's day goes from bad to worse. He is summoned by undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman to investigate an unattended death. Too impatient to wait for Bill, his friend George Payton decided to eat lunch on his own. A couple of bites later, he collapsed - dead of an apparent heart attack. But something isn't right.
Then the small herd of cattle Bill had just counted is found wandering down a county highway. But there's no sign of cowpuncher Pat Gabaldon or his boss' $40,000 truck and livestock trailer. Forced into two tangled investigations, Bill faces one of the most complex cases in his 35-year career.
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, New Mexico, Undersheriff Bill Gastner knows they're connected somehow. But as the case heats up he may have to call in reinforcements…
Bill Gastner, Undersheriff of Posadas County, may be getting on in years, but he's still as sharp as any other small town sheriff. When he gets a call that an elderly schoolteacher was found dead at the bottom of her basement stairs, he suspects it wasn't an accident. Something strange is going on…
He's also sure that elderly Reuben Fuentes knows nothing about the bodies scattered on his dusty, southern New Mexico ranch. Although the other county sheriffs want to arrest Fuentes and be done with the case, Bill isn't convinced. No spring chicken himself, Bill summons his former deputy, Estelle Reyes-Guzman, from Mexico to help clear the old man of suspicion. She's used to handling people who call her a 'lady cop' and can take anything thrown her way. Eventually this generation-spanning law enforcement team finds a thread tying all the crimes together—a killer with no conscience.
In this thrilling addition to Steven F. Havill's posadas County Mystery Series, Undersheriff Bill Gastner will have to rely on former deputy Estelle Reyes-Guzman to help him unravel a harrowing case that spans all of Posadas County.
Check out the iconic series:Perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Michael McGarrityFor readers who enjoy police procedurals and Southwest desert mysteries
"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 sharp eye for physical evidence, Bill implicates Tammy Woodruff, the thrill-seeking daughter of the local Republican County Chairman, in the brutal assault. Before he can interrogate her, though, Tammy hightails it. Soon she is found crushed to death after her truck goes off the road while she's loaded with booze - in fact, far too much alcohol, for anyone to have consumed....
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 from uneventful, this night turns out to be one of the toughest in Bill Gastner's many years as undersheriff and then sheriff in this sparsely populated border area of New Mexico. Gastner knows the young driver and his family - including the soon-to-be-sheriff, Bobby Torrez. Taken into custody from his home, the prisoner seems far too upset about being arrested. During the trip to the jail he makes a desperate attempt to flee again, an attempt that ends in his being hit and killed by an oncoming truck. Gastner has to dig deep to learn what is behind this tragic overreaction to a serious but unfortunately common DWI arrest. With the imminent election, the visit of Gastner's former deputy with her surgeon husband and their two very active young ones and the near riot the dead youth's neighbors stage when his father dies suddenly, the sheriff's last few days in office are not as uneventful as he had hoped. But Gastner stoically retrieves the law-enforcement tools he has packed away, including his talent for detection, his diplomacy, and his just plain common sense. He has used them all successfully for many years, and it's a joy to watch him use them one more time.
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. But there is more than meets the eye. Gastner is there to help, but Estelle can go far to cope.
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 received. The question is, which of the other four children or two parents is responsible? Or is it someone else entirely?
Havill draws his readers into the life of this small border county in New Mexico. Estelle is not only an undersheriff, she is the mother of two delightful little boys, the wife of a warm and likeable surgeon, Mexican-American like herself, and the daughter of a wise old woman whose life has been spent south of the border. But the threats from Havill's fans would have been dire if he had dispensed with Billl Gastner, the dearly loved former sheriff. Bill may officially be retired, but he's quick to give Estelle the value of his experience when she needs it, and proud to have been chosen by the Guzman boys to be their surrogate abuelo--grandfather.
"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. But most puzzling is what the dead boy found moments before he was killed...an astonishing discovery that takes deputies back to a five-year-old killing. Soon Estelle and the now-retired Bill Gastner find themselves looking for a murderer altogether too close to home.
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 the Posadas airport. Did the airplane end up in Mexico?
Estelle has worries at home as well. Facing his first public piano recital, her prodigiously talented seven-year-old son is stubbornly refusing to tell anyone what he plans to play, and it's making everyone, including his music teacher, very nervous. The day of the big race brings a tragedy that doesn't look like an accident, and as the investigation continues, puzzling connections surface deep in Mexico.
No crime is forgiven, and no mistake overlooked in this new addition to the critically acclaimed Posadas County Mystery series…
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 buys land just next door, with plans for a project that will threaten the county's newfound success.
Tension is at an all-time high when someone shoots up the newsroom—and then the developer is found dead at the base of a cliff. Sheriff Bob Torrez and Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman know these events are all too convenient and bloody not to be connected.
With support from Bill Gastner—an old Western sheriff straight out of the movies—the partners dive into a heated investigation. But as the case gets personal, the two will have to untangle a web of convoluted evidence before the community turns on itself.
Readers of C. J. Box and Anne Hillerman will be riveted by this female protagonist thriller set in the rural, rugged Southwest. The newest of Steven F. Havill's Western mysteries and thrillers will lead you down trails of danger and deceit… But will one of these paths lead to justice?
"The Posadas County that Havill has created is so tangible, you feel that if you walked down its streets, you would be greeted by old friends."—Bookreporter
"Less Than A Moment reveals Posadas' sense of small-town life through the conversations of multiple characters and by rolling them into the narrative, whether they're related or unrelated to the crimes."—Albuquerque Journal
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 victim - who did nothing to defend himself.
In addition to the demands of the investigation, Gastner learns that Sheriff Eduardo Salcido has hired a new deputy without discussing the matter with his undersheriff. And Gastner learns that the new hire is destined to be the fi rst female road patrol deputy in the history of Posadas County.
Thus begins Gastner's relationship with Estelle Reyes, whose shrewd observations shed important light on a crime that rattles all kinds of skeletons lurking in Posadas County closets.
"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. She and ex-Sheriff Bill Gastner, who was visiting the Guzman home at the time, arrive at the motel parking lot. It appears that Eduardo had an exchange with two men and then collapsed, the men taking off in his car. An out-of-town couple, the woman on the verge of giving birth, were the only ones to witness the encounter, but something seems off in their story. This is the fourteenth in Havill's Posadas County mysteries.
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.
With retired Sheriff Bill Gastner -- now a livestock inspector for the state -- still close at hand to offer unerring logic and horse sense, Reyes-Guzman attempts to identify the "Juan" Doe. Another body turns up in a shallow grave, revealing little about the killer, but more about the victims. And when a suspicious fire takes a third life, the terrible twist finally offers the break Estelle has been looking for, one that will lead her back into a harsh, merciless desert where death welcomes all.
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 wreck. Back on the job, Estelle drives to the scene, where she finds more questions than answers. Was the truck’s going over the hill really an accident? And why was there a single footprint on the man’s body? An autopsy spurs further puzzles. The sixth in the Posadas County Mystery series.