Steven F. Havill_Posadas County Mysteries #1-8 (EPUB)

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 take Posadas County’s new undersheriff, Estelle Reyes-Guzman, into a case with roots on both sides of the border. Retired Sheriff Bill Gastner, now a livestock inspector for the state, is still close at hand to provide unerring logic and horse sense as 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.



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. This series continues to gain readers, thanks partly to the resurrection of the older books by Poison Penn Press.



An odd thing to do, indeed. To most people, hatpins are vestiges of the past, used now only by elderly ladies who don't leave home without a hat. But recently the notion store in Posadas County has been doing a good business in hatpins to teenaged girls at the county middle school, who sharpen the points and carry the pin hidden in the inseam of their jeans.

There had been a fight - over a boy - after a volleyball game, and the other girl, Carmen Acosta, had been suspended because of it. But her friends were still around, and Deena wanted something to defend herself with.



Things go from bad to worse in Posadas, N.Mex., at the start of Havill's appealing fourth Posadas County mystery (after 2004's Convenient Disposal). First, Chief of Police Eduardo Martinez suffers a heart attack while confronting car thieves on Christmas eve; Sheriff Robert Torrez has a pulmonary embolism Christmas morning; a deputy's fiancée is murdered that afternoon; and former sheriff Bill Gastner is brutally attacked that night. It's enough for under-sheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman to keep up with the medical reports, never mind track down the perps. As Estelle races from crime scene to hospital to home and back again, she's keenly aware of time slipping away and with it the criminals. The initial flood of characters and Estelle having to deal with her musically gifted son, Fernando, may make newcomers feel as if they've walked into the middle of a movie. But once Havill gets into the police work, the story becomes more focused. Descriptions are as spare as the Southwest desert, and the action gallops along to a satisfyingly thrilling ending.



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.



Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is always busy, but more so now 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.

Steven F. Havill paints a vivid portrait of this small New Mexico town in the sixth entry of this atmospheric, entertaining series.



Former Posadas County Sheriff Bill Gastner, now a New Mexico Livestock Inspector, is enjoying a day on Herb Torrances. But Bill soon finds himself ferrying a broken cowpuncher in the back of his SUV, headed out to meet an ambulance.



A rattlesnake fang pegged in a teenager's eye is just the beginning of a spring day for Posadas Undersheriff Estelle 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. Estelle and the now retired Bill Gastner find themselves looking for a murderer altogether too close to home.