Kirjahaku

Praise for the Race for the Dying..."Havill sets up a number of colorful dramatic situations that ought to please readers who take their westerns neat." -Publishers Weekly A newly minted graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1890, Dr. Thomas Parks heads to the big timber country of Puget Sound to practice trauma medicine. An hour after stepping off the boat he's nearly crushed to death by a less-than-surefooted mule and finds himself a patient rather than a physician. As he convalesces, he discovers that his host, an aging and venerable physician friend of his father's, is running an elaborate medical scam, selling worthless concoctions nationwide, with enormous sales. Limited to practicing medicine with one functioning eye, one hand, and one leg, Thomas grapples with exposing the old family friend. To make matters worse, an epidemic threatens the town and surrounding area. Will the young doctor's first trip to the Northwest be his last? Steven F. Havill is the author of 25 titles, including four westerns, 19 Posadas County Mysteries, and the second Dr. Thomas Parks Mystery, Comes a Time for Burning.

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 authorOne 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 of deceitDeputy Pasquale is horrified, but it seems like a cut and dry case: the father is arrested, and that should be that. But when the man is later found murdered, it's clear something is afoot. Meanwhile, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman's search for a missing US Forest service range tech results in the discovery of a corpse on the county line.With one person still missing and two dead, it's clear there are dark powers at play. And the irony of so much wickedness at the holidays is not lost on anyone. The Sheriff's Department is stretched to its limits as its dedicated personnel juggle working cases and wrangling their own relationships and families.In this addition to the Posadas County Mysteries, family dynamics heighten the tension of a dangerous criminal case as Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman and the whole department work to pull the right threads out of a tangle of seemingly small lies. And as harrowing details come to light, it becomes apparent that justice for all will prove elusive.Steven F. Havill's acclaimed series is:Perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Michael McGarrityFor readers who enjoy police procedurals and Southwest desert mysteries

Good cops have no use for coincidenceWhen 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 of Posadas County, who allows Estelle to "consult" on the investigation—but only to a point.While Carlos struggles with critical injuries, an employee at the bike shop where Carlos bought the tandem is found shot dead in a dumpster—the same man who had borrowed the truck that mowed down Carlos and Tasha. The local cops aren't convinced there's any connection between the two crimes. Not a believer in coincidence, Estelle pursues every possible angle with a cop's determination to solve the case, and a mother's resolve to keep her son safe at any cost.

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

1892: Busy stitching and bandaging lumberjacks' injuries, young Dr. Thomas Parks has no idea that his worst enemy is lurking in the sleepy village of Port McKinney.When one of the working girls at the Clarissa Hotel is brought to the Clinic desperately ill, Thomas' newly arrived associate wastes no time in making the diagnosis - Asian Cholera has somehow found this backwater near Puget Sound. The cholera strikes viciously and kills in days, sometimes even hours. It soon becomes apparent that Thomas and his clinic have neither the supplies nor the means to provide effective treatment for the outbreak, and in hours, they are swamped.Afraid for the safety of his wife and daughter and all those close to him, Thomas is still driven by professional curiosity about the contagion's origins, especially when it appears that one of his own nurses is in some way responsible. Before he can mount a truly effective defense, the battle spreads, threatening the very life of the village...

First book in the Posadas County Mystery SeriesWhen 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 safePosadas 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

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 WeeklyWhen 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

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."—BooklistWhen 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

Praise for Dead Weight..."Havill is every bit as good at evoking procedural detail as he is at capturing small-town ambience...a vivid picture of change in rural America: small-town values under siege from within and without as a big-hearted sheriff tries to keep the peace one day at a time. Quiet yet powerful human drama." -BooklistA 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 to this "accident" than meets the eye. Adding to his problems, anonymous letters charging his best deputy, Tom Pasquale, with hustling Mexican nationals for cash are being dispatched around town. Gastner takes this one personally; he's fond of his deputy, but he does want the truth. He also knows it's an election year and dirty politics can happen anywhere. So can murder. Soon he's got not just one, but two dead bodies. And a strong desire to make sure that when he does retire, it's not by way of a well-aimed bullet....Steven F. Havill lives with his wife of 40 years, Kathleen, in Raton, New Mexico. The author of 21 novels set in the American West, he taught secondary school for 25 years and recently earned an AAS degree in gunsmithing.

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.

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.