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Posadas County Mystery #4
Statute of Limitations
A call to her doctor husband is Estelle Reyes-Guzman's unwelcome reminder that it may be Christmas Eve, but it's still her job as undersheriff to deal with things not as pleasant as welcoming friends and relatives and listening to her two small boys put their storybook tales to music. Shortly after her husband hurries off to see the patient, Estelle gets a call of her own from the dispatcher at headquarters. An anonymous person has called the emergency line to report seeing two men fleeing a motel where another is lying dead on the ground. It is the patient who called, and he is now Estelle's responsibility.
The information relayed to the police was incorrect, though; the man is not dead, although he is close to it. On top of that, the sheriff, still recovering from injuries from a previous encounter with a criminal, is threatened with an embolism and must be flown to Albuquerque for investigation and treatment, and the fiancée of one of Estelle's men has gone missing. When her body is found on Christmas Day, this tops the alarming combination of events that have Estelle and Bill Gastner, former sheriff of Posadas County, spending their Christmas "holiday" chasing through the countryside to find the young woman's killer and remove the suspicion that hovers over the young deputy.
The information relayed to the police was incorrect, though; the man is not dead, although he is close to it. On top of that, the sheriff, still recovering from injuries from a previous encounter with a criminal, is threatened with an embolism and must be flown to Albuquerque for investigation and treatment, and the fiancée of one of Estelle's men has gone missing. When her body is found on Christmas Day, this tops the alarming combination of events that have Estelle and Bill Gastner, former sheriff of Posadas County, spending their Christmas "holiday" chasing through the countryside to find the young woman's killer and remove the suspicion that hovers over the young deputy.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Steven F. Havill
35 books263 followersSteven F. Havill is an American author of mysteries and westerns.
Havill lives in Raton, New Mexico, with his wife Kathleen. He has written two series of police procedurals set in the fictional Posadas County, New Mexico; along with other works.
Havill lives in Raton, New Mexico, with his wife Kathleen. He has written two series of police procedurals set in the fictional Posadas County, New Mexico; along with other works.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
March 18, 2018
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Pos...
The story begins with this scene:
"Estelle Reyes-Guzman scrunched down into the sofa, a large pillow clutched to her chest, face buried in the pillow's soft corduroy to stifle her laughter. Across the room, her two small sons sat on the piano bench, elbow to elbow, creating a remarkable coordination of sound and story. The oldest, six-year-old Francisco, provided the music as his nimble fingers danced on the keyboard. Four-year-old Carlos narrated. He held a large children's book open on his lap, and even though he couldn't read the words, Carlos had heard the story so often that he knew it by heart, using the pictures as his cue.
"In the story, a sweaty, dejected javalina--the ubiquitous wild pig of the southwest--shuffled across the bleak desert at high noon. Even the towering cacti provided no shade from the sun that blistered his tender hide. The plodding monotonous bass notes of the piano accompanied the little pig as the scene unwound in Francisco's head and through his brother's narration.
"The little pig looked up, squinting into the sun. As he did so, a triplet of high piano notes, as light and quick as the wink of sun reflecting from a discarded can, made him flinch. He wiped his brow with a colorful bandana and heaved a great sigh, and even as Carlos said the words, 'I'm soooo hot and tired,' Francisco's fingers executed a weary glissando that wandered down the keyboard. Both boys giggled. ...
" ... There were no telephones in the desert world of the storybook javalinas that Christmas Eve. When the phone jangled, it wasn't a sound effect. Estelle groaned and refused to move. By the second ring, six-year-old Francisco Guzman had interrupted the story flow, matched the telephone's pitch on the piano, and mimicked the jangling telephone with a trill in unison."
The story begins with this scene:
"Estelle Reyes-Guzman scrunched down into the sofa, a large pillow clutched to her chest, face buried in the pillow's soft corduroy to stifle her laughter. Across the room, her two small sons sat on the piano bench, elbow to elbow, creating a remarkable coordination of sound and story. The oldest, six-year-old Francisco, provided the music as his nimble fingers danced on the keyboard. Four-year-old Carlos narrated. He held a large children's book open on his lap, and even though he couldn't read the words, Carlos had heard the story so often that he knew it by heart, using the pictures as his cue.
"In the story, a sweaty, dejected javalina--the ubiquitous wild pig of the southwest--shuffled across the bleak desert at high noon. Even the towering cacti provided no shade from the sun that blistered his tender hide. The plodding monotonous bass notes of the piano accompanied the little pig as the scene unwound in Francisco's head and through his brother's narration.
"The little pig looked up, squinting into the sun. As he did so, a triplet of high piano notes, as light and quick as the wink of sun reflecting from a discarded can, made him flinch. He wiped his brow with a colorful bandana and heaved a great sigh, and even as Carlos said the words, 'I'm soooo hot and tired,' Francisco's fingers executed a weary glissando that wandered down the keyboard. Both boys giggled. ...
" ... There were no telephones in the desert world of the storybook javalinas that Christmas Eve. When the phone jangled, it wasn't a sound effect. Estelle groaned and refused to move. By the second ring, six-year-old Francisco Guzman had interrupted the story flow, matched the telephone's pitch on the piano, and mimicked the jangling telephone with a trill in unison."
February 2, 2023
I feel the plot and the endings are not that great in this series so far. Robert “Bobby” Torres should not be sheriff, maybe Mitchell be the sheriff and Robert be the captain. I know I probably been reading this series a little too long and I am catching myself rolling my eyes too many times. I think it would be nice if they had the ex sheriffs family involved a little more or a spinoff into their families.
February 24, 2018
Ok for a quick read. Not my style.
October 28, 2017
3.5*
When Havill’s books set in Posadas County shifted from Bill Gastner to Estelle Reyes Guzman as protagonist a few books back, I was concerned I might be disappointed with future books in the series. Silly me. Guzman is certainly worthy of carrying both the sheriff’s department and
this series, especially when the recurring characters of her family and colleagues continue to be reliably real and interesting, as does Havill’s obvious affection for his Posadas setting and understanding of how a small town functions.
Having Gastner play a large role in this particular book also brings joy to those of us who learned to love him in Havill’s earlier books. Havill also focuses a good amount of time in this book on development of the characters in Estelle’s family and her dual role as Undersheriff and mother, which has not been highlighted very deeply in other books. Combined with her ongoing mentor/father relationship with Gastner, these elements give this book a great warmth and depth, as well as a strong plot.
When Havill’s books set in Posadas County shifted from Bill Gastner to Estelle Reyes Guzman as protagonist a few books back, I was concerned I might be disappointed with future books in the series. Silly me. Guzman is certainly worthy of carrying both the sheriff’s department and
this series, especially when the recurring characters of her family and colleagues continue to be reliably real and interesting, as does Havill’s obvious affection for his Posadas setting and understanding of how a small town functions.
Having Gastner play a large role in this particular book also brings joy to those of us who learned to love him in Havill’s earlier books. Havill also focuses a good amount of time in this book on development of the characters in Estelle’s family and her dual role as Undersheriff and mother, which has not been highlighted very deeply in other books. Combined with her ongoing mentor/father relationship with Gastner, these elements give this book a great warmth and depth, as well as a strong plot.
February 3, 2020
This is one of my favorites of the Posadas County series. I could hardly put it down even though it's my third time reading it here in 2020. And I'm sure I'll read it again and again.
February 23, 2025
The Guzman kid is six, and he’s already playing Bach? Well, that happens, but not often in tiny New Mexico towns. Nevertheless, that’s the situation Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman and her family find themselves in as Christmas approaches. The kid is indeed a music prodigy.
But don’t read this if you want an account of a picture postcard family Christmas. The criminals aren’t going to let Estelle enjoy that kind of holiday. Early in the evening of Christmas Eve, she gets a call from a fellow cop who went into a hotel in hopes of finding Aspirin in its vending machine. He reluctantly thinks he’s having a heart attack. Estelle agrees to come to him, and she leaves immediately.
When she gets there, she finds the cop slumped against the building, and a group of men have stolen his car.
Thing spin increasingly out of control when state cops apprehend the car thieves. This could be about things that involve federal law-enforcement officials.
Before the book ends, someone will murder a cop’s fiancé, and beloved former Undersheriff Bill Gastner will fall victim to a vicious attack with a piece of rebar.
The denouement is awash in heart-pounding suspense and action, and this is another successful addition to the series. I’m already looking forward to the one I’ll read next month.
But don’t read this if you want an account of a picture postcard family Christmas. The criminals aren’t going to let Estelle enjoy that kind of holiday. Early in the evening of Christmas Eve, she gets a call from a fellow cop who went into a hotel in hopes of finding Aspirin in its vending machine. He reluctantly thinks he’s having a heart attack. Estelle agrees to come to him, and she leaves immediately.
When she gets there, she finds the cop slumped against the building, and a group of men have stolen his car.
Thing spin increasingly out of control when state cops apprehend the car thieves. This could be about things that involve federal law-enforcement officials.
Before the book ends, someone will murder a cop’s fiancé, and beloved former Undersheriff Bill Gastner will fall victim to a vicious attack with a piece of rebar.
The denouement is awash in heart-pounding suspense and action, and this is another successful addition to the series. I’m already looking forward to the one I’ll read next month.
February 2, 2022
The worst Christmas ever for Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman. First, long time character Eduardo Martinez, retired Posadas chief of police, collapses in a motel parking lot under suspicious circumstances. Then Janet Trip, fiancée of Deputy Mike Sisneros, is found shot in the head. Estelle has little in the way of leads and no one in sight as a suspect. Meanwhile, Estelle’s son Francisco is showing signs of being a musical prodigy, but how can his talent be developed in tiny Posadas, New Mexico? An excellent police procedural in a vividly evoked setting. I am mystified by the ratings, which range all over the place from one to five stars. I don’t think I have ever seen a set of ratings with such wild fluctuations.
September 27, 2024
I really like these stories. Since they became available through Libby/Overdrive I have been working my way tholroufh them.
Alas, some of them are only available in audiobok. I hate, hate, hate the narration. It is supremely awful. Just terrible. If I were not invested into he series I would not listen, it's that bad.
Alas, some of them are only available in audiobok. I hate, hate, hate the narration. It is supremely awful. Just terrible. If I were not invested into he series I would not listen, it's that bad.
January 30, 2024
Honestly, this book drug in far too long. There was too much extraneous stuff going on throughout the storyline. And then the ending was a little predictable. Overall though it was a decent story with strong characters.
September 19, 2024
I like this series and liked it's predecessor about Bill Gastner. This one's well-written but the premise for the crime is really far-fetched and the sequence of events (as "solved") is illogical. The author should have thought this one through or taken a different tack. Sorry.
July 25, 2025
Enjoyed !
I'll definitely be reading more from this author. I've lived in southern New Mexico since 1979 and consider it home so the setting is familiar. The characters are perfect for the plot.
I'll definitely be reading more from this author. I've lived in southern New Mexico since 1979 and consider it home so the setting is familiar. The characters are perfect for the plot.
May 24, 2026
Another Great Story
I really enjoy this series. I love the characters, their interaction with each other, as they advance the storyline. The author has created a town where people care about each other and the law. Thanks.
I really enjoy this series. I love the characters, their interaction with each other, as they advance the storyline. The author has created a town where people care about each other and the law. Thanks.
February 3, 2018
I love these characters!!!
March 29, 2019
A deputy’s girlfriend is killed, the former sheriff is injured. Is it all connected? Not real interesting to find out the answers.
June 9, 2019
As far as I’m concerned this guy doesn’t write anything but good books! This is another good one.
June 19, 2019
June 2019 Another good plot. The ending seemed quite abrupt.
November 28, 2019
Kept my attention 🧐
November 17, 2020
Nice characters
December 14, 2020
The book has a good flow of intertwined crimes, all taking place as Christmas arrives and passes.
March 3, 2021
Another enjoyable entertaining read.
July 31, 2021
Excellent series continues.
October 17, 2021
Ah yes, the drunks in a small town and the well meaning law enforcement trying to rehabilitate them. It doesn’t always work.
December 17, 2021
Would have appreciated less hanging threads at the end of the story.
September 7, 2023
I found this to be an interesting mystery, however the introduction of family issues in the life of the police woman detracted from the story and seemed unneeded. Still, it is a book worth reading.
December 2, 2024
Motive doesn't make a whole lot of sense. At least not to me. Just kind of ends. Flat characters.
December 7, 2020
New Mexico
September 26, 2025
Wonderfully intriguing. Glad to see Bill Gastner play a big part again.
January 23, 2026
Not a Bad Mystery
Interesting and filled with events to keep Christmas hopping. As seems to be usual, discrepancies paragraph to paragraph and book to book. Just some of what I noticed are listed below, things that stop the flow of the book and confuse the mystery:
Her mother and Sofía Tournál would be returning shortly from the early Christmas Eve service at the tiny mission in Regál, a stone’s throw from the Mexican border twenty-five miles southwest of Posadas." (Distances are not exact in Posadas, but very fluid. In many books the Broken Spur is 28 miles from Posadas and Regal something like 13 miles further on.) "If they’d been called to the saloon, that was twenty-eight miles. They’d drive out there, then drive back with a patient—or patients." (from Easy Errors)
"Teresa Reyes, childless and a widow, had adopted her through the church in Tres Santos when Estelle was not yet two years old." (Sloppy. The last book said four years old, others say just one.)
"Perrone arrived at 5:43 that afternoon, the light already failing enough to make work difficult. Estelle didn’t hear his car, and turned with a start when his shoes crunched the gravel of the arroyo to her left." (sloppy. page 104) “We’ll see,” Estelle said. “Have you fixed a time of death?” “I examined her at four forty-five. I would guess that she had been dead less than an hour.”(page 117)
“We found out why Janet didn’t want to spend Christmas with Mike’s mother and stepfather.” “No shit?” “It looks like years ago, Eduardo cut a deal with Hank Sisneros, back in 1990. The chief caught Hank and young Janet together, half sloshed." (I grow tired of the leaps and bounds of unsubstantiated statements that fill the pages, that make it appear that most investigators just make it up as they go along, and it doesn't even have to make sense! She didn't go to dinner, 15 years later, because of something that might have happened with her (even at that time ex) ex-husband???)
“Or more likely,” she said, “he was trying to talk Janet into one last favor for him. It’s a possibility that Brent or one of the other dispatchers wouldn’t pay a whole lot of attention to her if she came into the building.” (What?? She died 6 hours before he got the key. Does the author think no one notices these things?)
Interesting and filled with events to keep Christmas hopping. As seems to be usual, discrepancies paragraph to paragraph and book to book. Just some of what I noticed are listed below, things that stop the flow of the book and confuse the mystery:
Her mother and Sofía Tournál would be returning shortly from the early Christmas Eve service at the tiny mission in Regál, a stone’s throw from the Mexican border twenty-five miles southwest of Posadas." (Distances are not exact in Posadas, but very fluid. In many books the Broken Spur is 28 miles from Posadas and Regal something like 13 miles further on.) "If they’d been called to the saloon, that was twenty-eight miles. They’d drive out there, then drive back with a patient—or patients." (from Easy Errors)
"Teresa Reyes, childless and a widow, had adopted her through the church in Tres Santos when Estelle was not yet two years old." (Sloppy. The last book said four years old, others say just one.)
"Perrone arrived at 5:43 that afternoon, the light already failing enough to make work difficult. Estelle didn’t hear his car, and turned with a start when his shoes crunched the gravel of the arroyo to her left." (sloppy. page 104) “We’ll see,” Estelle said. “Have you fixed a time of death?” “I examined her at four forty-five. I would guess that she had been dead less than an hour.”(page 117)
“We found out why Janet didn’t want to spend Christmas with Mike’s mother and stepfather.” “No shit?” “It looks like years ago, Eduardo cut a deal with Hank Sisneros, back in 1990. The chief caught Hank and young Janet together, half sloshed." (I grow tired of the leaps and bounds of unsubstantiated statements that fill the pages, that make it appear that most investigators just make it up as they go along, and it doesn't even have to make sense! She didn't go to dinner, 15 years later, because of something that might have happened with her (even at that time ex) ex-husband???)
“Or more likely,” she said, “he was trying to talk Janet into one last favor for him. It’s a possibility that Brent or one of the other dispatchers wouldn’t pay a whole lot of attention to her if she came into the building.” (What?? She died 6 hours before he got the key. Does the author think no one notices these things?)
November 15, 2017
Actually finished this book ~01/19/2015, then checked it out again by mistake. It is Christmastime in Posadas and the Guzman boys are entertaining their elders with stories recited from memory by 4 year old Carlos, set to piano music by 6 year old Francisco when the telephone interrupts and Dr Guzman is summoned to the local motel by ex-chief of police Eduardo Martinez. That is only the beginning of dire happenings around Christmas day. The body of a girl who had been the fiance of one of the shefiff's officers is discovered, Bill Gastner is assaulted & left for dead at his own front door, Sfheriff Roberto Torrez has been emergency airlifted to an Albuquerque hospital and Estelle Reyes-Guzman is left holding the bag with her husband Francis Guzman, MD.
January 17, 2013
#13 in the Posadas County series. Talk about a perfect storm - Estelle Gusman-Reyes is now the Under-sheriff of Posadas, replacing retiring Bill Gastner - and if anything could go wrong for the law enforcement community, it does.
Posadas County mystery - 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 fiance is murdered that afternoon; and former sheriff Bill Gastner is brutally attacked that night. Estelle Reyes-Guzman investigates.
Posadas County mystery - 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 fiance is murdered that afternoon; and former sheriff Bill Gastner is brutally attacked that night. Estelle Reyes-Guzman investigates.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews