A Discount for Death

Posadas County Mystery #12

by Steven F. Havill

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.

Genres: Mystery, Procedural, Fiction, Crime, Westerns, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

288 pages, Hardcover

First published November 10, 2003

About the author

Steven 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.

Reviews

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of this book is mainly to warn listeners of the Books in Motion audio version, read by Stephanie Brush. The story itself is another good one by Steven Havill. It turns away from Bill Gastner as the main character (first person account as written in the first 9 books of the Posadas mysteries), and appropriately focuses on following the actions, thoughts and involvements of Estelle Reyes-Guzman after Gastner's retirement.

Readers may continue to enjoy Havill's unusual mysteries, but this audiobook narrator is almost intolerable. First of all, I have to think Havill had no say in the acceptance of this narrator. Her pronunciation of Spanish words are often absolutely wrong. One word, in particular, slaps me in the face every time I hear it - and it is used frequently. That is the Spanish word "hijo" meaning boy. Stephanie Brush always says "hee-yo". It's a good thing there is no character named Juan, because she'd probably say "yew-ahn".

This narrator seems to give a northeastern "yankee" accent to most of the female characters. In Book 10, Scavengers, even Estelle's character voice was harsh, definitely not Mexican and not the quiet, thoughtful, clever young woman I felt her to be in the first nine books of the series. Thankfully, in this reading Estelle's voice was nicer (except for the hijo thing). It seems that Stephanie Brush felt that the best way to portray a male character voice was to either sound like someone had hands squeezing her throat (as in Sheriff Robert Torrez) or like someone was punching her in the stomach to force out the words (as in Bill Gastner). Gastner, through the reader's voice and not because of the author's writings, has lost his kindly character, and comes across as a highly sarcastic curmudgeon. Even his frequent use of "sweetheart" when talking to Estelle whom he loves like a daughter, sounds so sarcastic that one would think he can hardly stand her.

I have found each of these Posada County mysteries available as free OverDrive MP3 audiobooks through my local library, and I have seen them also available at Audible. Don't waste your money buying the audiobooks. Be prepared for this less-than-stellar reader if you prefer to listen, but definitely look for the books in print if you want to follow the series in a more comfortable way. The 4-stars are for the story. I give the narrator 2 or less.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Steve Havill can write a bad book, I've never read it. That said, my favorites are those who feature Bill Gastner, now retired as sheriff of Posadas County. The focus in this one is his former assistant, undersheriff Estella Guzman, happily married to a local doctor with two delightful little boys. While Gastner does make a few appearances, he's far from the main character, and darn, I miss him! Estella must first deal with the apparent suicide of a local insurance agent who was due to be indicted by the grand jury for fraud, and also with the untimely death of a young woman--a local police officer is involved in that one, as his his hard-case brother. The cases are not connected, but they both mean trouble for the sheriff's stretched-thin staff. Those who enjoy westerns as well as mysteries may like this series for its take on the modern west.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I've discovered another good author. Of course, a lot of this series is going to be hard to find because they were written at least 15 years ago. Good characters, good writing. Looking forward to finding the other books.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rusty Nelson is quickly becoming one of my favorite readers and he's perfect for the Posadas County police procedurals by Steven Havill. I have read a couple of these now and they are excellent.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written but disappointingly predictable

[Andy Plonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drug smuggling across the border can be a lucrative but dangerous proposition. Adequate but no surprises.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m so relieved that former Undersheriff Bill Gastner still makes an appearance in this series. It’s his 72nd birthday as the book opens, and he’s at the Guzman house hoping Estelle will be able to set aside her duties as the current undersheriff to come home and eat some cake with him and the kids. She doesn’t make it, of course, and that’s because a local traffic cop seems to have caused the death of a motorcyclist. His story seems to fly in the face of the facts. Worse still, she must appear before a grand jury the following day to testify against an insurance agent gone rogue.

The insurance agent case is by far the strongest of the two, but I enjoyed this installation of the series, and I’m looking forward to the next one.

My only problem with the book was I figured out early what the story was behind the fake insurance policies the rogue agent wrote.

It helps to read prior books in the series, but it’s not crucial to your success if this is your first exposure to the fictional New Mexico county where this occurs.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estelle Reyes-Guzman has settled in as the Undersheriff of Posadas County. Her husband and his partner are very busy with their new clinic. Many of their patients are from over the border in Mexico and have little money to pay for medical care. Estelle is not only the investigator, but also a witness to the death of a young woman on her motorcycle while being pursued by one of the Posadas police. Much more challenging to her investigative skills is the death of a real estate broker against whom she was about to testify to the grand jury. For both cases the procedure is dominated by interviewing witnesses and suspects. The author chronicles the interviews in meticulous detail, which considerably slows down the story. I like this series very much but this is not one of the stronger entries.

[Kit Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bigger They Are.....

A motorcycle accident starts a chain of events.that leads to the most trusted professionals in town being involved in a scheme of lies. The middle school takes Christmas to a little town south of the border, an act of good will. Allowing trusted community members to duped. Unknowingly people place their health care in the hands of most evil professionals in town. Where will it end?

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes it’s a stand alone but not if you read the earlier books and now feel whiplash at what time and many volumes have wrought to the main characters. The best part of the author’s writing is his vignettes of small town New Mexico with its weirdos and gossips and salt of the earth types. Oh, and the mysteries aren’t bad either.

[William Crough-Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice, tight little mystery.

Just discovered Havill and am delighted to add him to my regular reads. Guy knows how to spin a yarn that is technically very sound from a law enforcement perspective. He also imparts enough technical accuracy in his stories that it is obvious he did his research. Makes for a very satisfying reading experience.

[Steve Rooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story

What sets this addition to the Posadas series apart is the interweaving of two plotlines to create a story that reveals. the stresses on Undersheriff Estelle. As with other books in the series, characters are believable and memorable. This is a fine addition to the series. Highly recommended.

[Richard Guerrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy it, I have been between a 3 and a 4 on the ratings for this series but gave the the latter because I do enjoy the characters and I am continuing with the series. It does Get a little boring at times and beats up on on points a little too much at other times, but again, I continue.

[Rosemarie Bellanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an interesting series! Really gives me a taste of Southwestern life and the weather people have to live with. Different from the Southern East Coast that I know. The characters are very well developed with particular emphasis on their differences. Really enjoyable.

[Mark Mehlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic crime mystery series in the Southwest!

Tremendous writing, character development, plot, research and a wonderful wry sense of humor.

Highly recommended and I almost never recommend online.

[Nyssy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. 💊

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent plot & characters. I’m still trying to get used to the new female narrator on the audiobook.

[Mhd · Rating 4 out of 5]

\Interesting characters, nice milieu, an easy & enjoyable read. I will definitely read #13 soon and someday, may even go back and start with #1.

[Dave Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posodas county is going to run out of innocent citizens before Havill finished his mystery series. Lots of plot twists and turns.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow-paced, not very enjoyable, predictable solutions to the entangled storylines. Not as good as #1 in the series. Main character was almost psychic in her investigations.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a small town there is always something happening. Seemingly more crime in this tiny New Mexico city than Detroit.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent mystery complete with a complex twisty plot. Estelle uncovers a scheme that comes a little to close for her peace of mind.

[Karen Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series a lot - the characters, the story line, and the way things develop. Read every one of the Gastner books, and it's a pleasure to see he's still a part of this series.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting fast-paced book. I am really enjoying the series.

[Maureen Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful twisty case.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just not digging the Estelle POV, maybe it is all of the filler that is in the book. I will try to read the next one just to see.

[Elaine H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book unfortunate choice of narrators, sounds like a Brooklyn accent trying to sound like a Spanish speaker.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

a rollicking good read!

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished 04/26/2014. Estelle Reyes-Guzman is now undersheriff in Posadas County & Roberto Torrez is sheriff. Bill Gastner is a livestock inspector. E RG has been working on an insurance fraud case headed to the grand jury. While she is testifying to the gj, the defendant is found shot to death in his office. He had called the DA earlier & said "I can give you Guzman". Turns out a group of CoC members have been running false & illegal drugs into the US from Mexico & are working for the local, & only prior to the clinic, pharmacist in town. There is also a case of vehicular manslaughter and child custody involving a town policeman. #12 +

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Undersherriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman has her hands full when the investigation of an insurance agent’s death leads close to home. While trying to piece together a puzzle, she also has to deal with the accidental death of a young woman with two children and two men who might be their father.

Set in fictional Posadas County, New Mexico, Steven F. Havill’s mysteries are always a satisfying read. Mr. Havill’s storytelling skills have made his characters old friends and I usually pick up his books and don’t put them down until I’m done. Highly recommended.

Published by St. Martin’s Minotaur in hardcover.