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Posadas County Mystery #19
NightZone
"Gastner's capabilities are plausible for a septuagenarian, and Havill peoples the book with believable characters." ― Publishers Weekly STARRED review What do you do when you inherit $330 million after taxes? If you're New Mexico rancher Miles Waddell, you build a dream. Waddell's dream is NightZone, an astronomy-based theme park complete with giant radio telescope, a bank of smaller scopes linked to a theater, five-star dining in a restaurant with retracting dome ceiling, a hotel/resort, tram car access, and a narrow gauge steam locomotive to carry tourists to the mesa top. But the dream becomes a nightmare when two eco-terrorists chain-saw down power lines that feed the development. One of them is killed by a bucking power pole; the other escapes by car. From 20 miles away, retired Posadas Sheriff William K. Gastner spots a pair of headlights as the dead man's companion speeds from the scene. Soon charges include murder when the fleeing conspirator is stopped by a cop and guns the lawman down. Hours later Gastner stops to assist Sgt. Jackie Taber during an unrelated traffic stop, and 74-year-old Gastner becomes the focus of a second investigation by the District Attorney and Sheriff's Department.
308 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2013
100 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
Steven F. Havill
38 books257 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 51 reviews
November 6, 2014
I love Bill Gastner for his down-to-earth approach to life and getting older, and love Steven Havill for writing good books that not only capture your interest but feature interesting, well-rounded characters and writes about the desert landscape of Southwestern New Mexico in a way that you can almost smell the greasewood.
From Booklist
"When retired Posadas County sheriff Bill Gastner can’t sleep, he drives to a spot outside of town to enjoy New Mexico’s brilliant night sky. One night, he sees two pinpoint pops of light in the distance, but there’s nothing celestial about them. As he learns later that night, two ecoterrorists cut down two power lines that would eventually service a proposed astronomy-based theme park dubbed NightZone. One of the perps is killed by a fallen power line; the other escapes. Heading home after offering testimony to the police, he stops to assist an officer who has drawn fire during a seemingly routine traffic stop. Once a lawman, always a lawman; Gastner returns fire when the shooter levels his shotgun at him, killing the gunman. Gastner soon receives threats from the deceased’s enraged son. The nineteenth Posadas County mystery places the focus back on the retired Gastner after a few episodes in which the mysteries revolved around his successor. No matter the protagonist, Havill’s work is believable and well plotted, and never, ever includes a character who isn’t a viable human being. Another fine book in a terrific series." --Wes Lukowsky --
From Booklist
"When retired Posadas County sheriff Bill Gastner can’t sleep, he drives to a spot outside of town to enjoy New Mexico’s brilliant night sky. One night, he sees two pinpoint pops of light in the distance, but there’s nothing celestial about them. As he learns later that night, two ecoterrorists cut down two power lines that would eventually service a proposed astronomy-based theme park dubbed NightZone. One of the perps is killed by a fallen power line; the other escapes. Heading home after offering testimony to the police, he stops to assist an officer who has drawn fire during a seemingly routine traffic stop. Once a lawman, always a lawman; Gastner returns fire when the shooter levels his shotgun at him, killing the gunman. Gastner soon receives threats from the deceased’s enraged son. The nineteenth Posadas County mystery places the focus back on the retired Gastner after a few episodes in which the mysteries revolved around his successor. No matter the protagonist, Havill’s work is believable and well plotted, and never, ever includes a character who isn’t a viable human being. Another fine book in a terrific series." --Wes Lukowsky --
March 21, 2017
Have read other books by this author...a different series, but this book. I thought it would never, ever end. It begins with the Sheriff sitting on a ledge on top of a New Mexico mesa contemplating the universe in the middle of the night. Then, he sees a couple flare-ups of light about 20 miles away. Then the headlights of a car, speeding towards his little town. One young policeman, sent to investigate, ends up dead. From there, the book just seems to stall, goes in circles for 200+ more pages.
I enjoy the books about his female Undersheriff much more. Those are written in the 3rd person, these are in the 1st person. The main difference is, the Undersheriff's novels are more interesting.
I enjoy the books about his female Undersheriff much more. Those are written in the 3rd person, these are in the 1st person. The main difference is, the Undersheriff's novels are more interesting.
August 3, 2019
This is another wonderful addition to this already great series. I love this narrator! The plot is interesting & suspenseful. The best thing about the series-other than the great plots & writing-is the relatively clean language with no embarrassing sex scenes-important when you’re listening to audiobooks.
January 15, 2026
The Mysteries are well crafted, but some issues exist
Well written prose, mostly well charactered, characters you can like and root for. However the 'hero' and 'heroine' are much less likeable than the other characters in the books. The books are a bit sloppy with timelines, and some of the opinions shared by the author for his 'hero's are detrimental. Examples are below:
"My four kids, now grown and deep into middle age, were scattered across the country, doing their own thing. One of them, my oldest daughter Camille, managed to call me too often, fretting that I was not doing enough to reach some ridiculous benchmark of old age." (So amazed at the callousness to his children, so he can shine like sunshine on these 'other' children. Incredibly sad that the author wrote him this way. Could have been a decent guy, but...)
"It was the sort of prairie fire you could fight with a garden hose. It didn’t need most of the county’s emergency services resources. I slowed, peering this way and that into the night. Surely this show of emergency support didn’t leave the scene of an officer down to respond to a grass fire—" (Same guy as the clip above. Seems incredibly stupid for a western state cop. 1 - Get the fire when its small so the whole state doesn't burn. 2 - No one knew what they'd find, or how many lives endangered.)
"My favorite had been a report written after an intoxicated prisoner punched Deputy Torrez while being led to an upstairs cell. “Prisoner struck deputy. Prisoner fell down stairs.” Fortunately for us, the prisoner had been so intoxicated that he remembered nothing of the episode," (another very troubling passage, for very obvious reasons.)
"Adults have a marvelous capacity to screw up, and it would not be me, or Mr. Shotgun, who suffered the most from all of this. It would be the tiny three-year-old, who had huddled in terror, while her captor pulled her world down around her terrified little head." (Her captor? Don't even know their names yet, but deciding its her captor rather than family?")
“And so your actions yesterday were based entirely on what you saw as you drove by, and then by the events that transpired after you stopped.” (Not yesterday, this morning. - sloppy.)
"The State Police or the Department of Game and Fish had well-established guidelines. But I always had the feeling that the folks at Homeland Security were making it all up as they went along, with no clearly apparent limit to their authority. And when the agent in question was a kid without the wisdom of the ages, that made me very nervous indeed." (Wow!! Simply amazing author opinion sharing!)
She patted my arm and winked at Estelle. The conversational noise in the library rose as if someone had turned a rheostat." (I don't understand the use of words if dubious definition, to that readers won't be able to use in conversation, other than to confuse the narrative)
“We found ’em in Finnegan’s barn, and from the looks of things, she was giving it her all.” (That must have been left out of my book. She relieved herself, and later got in her car to drive away.)“No. If I had to guess, I’d say they might have been having a pretty good time in there.” “No arguing?” (a couple pages later and she wasn't giving bit her all to stop him...)
Well written prose, mostly well charactered, characters you can like and root for. However the 'hero' and 'heroine' are much less likeable than the other characters in the books. The books are a bit sloppy with timelines, and some of the opinions shared by the author for his 'hero's are detrimental. Examples are below:
"My four kids, now grown and deep into middle age, were scattered across the country, doing their own thing. One of them, my oldest daughter Camille, managed to call me too often, fretting that I was not doing enough to reach some ridiculous benchmark of old age." (So amazed at the callousness to his children, so he can shine like sunshine on these 'other' children. Incredibly sad that the author wrote him this way. Could have been a decent guy, but...)
"It was the sort of prairie fire you could fight with a garden hose. It didn’t need most of the county’s emergency services resources. I slowed, peering this way and that into the night. Surely this show of emergency support didn’t leave the scene of an officer down to respond to a grass fire—" (Same guy as the clip above. Seems incredibly stupid for a western state cop. 1 - Get the fire when its small so the whole state doesn't burn. 2 - No one knew what they'd find, or how many lives endangered.)
"My favorite had been a report written after an intoxicated prisoner punched Deputy Torrez while being led to an upstairs cell. “Prisoner struck deputy. Prisoner fell down stairs.” Fortunately for us, the prisoner had been so intoxicated that he remembered nothing of the episode," (another very troubling passage, for very obvious reasons.)
"Adults have a marvelous capacity to screw up, and it would not be me, or Mr. Shotgun, who suffered the most from all of this. It would be the tiny three-year-old, who had huddled in terror, while her captor pulled her world down around her terrified little head." (Her captor? Don't even know their names yet, but deciding its her captor rather than family?")
“And so your actions yesterday were based entirely on what you saw as you drove by, and then by the events that transpired after you stopped.” (Not yesterday, this morning. - sloppy.)
"The State Police or the Department of Game and Fish had well-established guidelines. But I always had the feeling that the folks at Homeland Security were making it all up as they went along, with no clearly apparent limit to their authority. And when the agent in question was a kid without the wisdom of the ages, that made me very nervous indeed." (Wow!! Simply amazing author opinion sharing!)
She patted my arm and winked at Estelle. The conversational noise in the library rose as if someone had turned a rheostat." (I don't understand the use of words if dubious definition, to that readers won't be able to use in conversation, other than to confuse the narrative)
“We found ’em in Finnegan’s barn, and from the looks of things, she was giving it her all.” (That must have been left out of my book. She relieved herself, and later got in her car to drive away.)“No. If I had to guess, I’d say they might have been having a pretty good time in there.” “No arguing?” (a couple pages later and she wasn't giving bit her all to stop him...)
June 9, 2022
From the Goodreads Blurb: What do you do when you inherit $330 million after taxes? If you're New Mexico rancher Miles Waddell, you build a dream. A flat-topped mesa and a third of a billion dollars equals NIGHTZONE, an astronomy-based theme park, complete with giant radio telescope, a bank of smaller scopes linked to a theater, five-star dining in a restaurant with retracting dome ceiling, a hotel/resort, tram car access, and a narrow gauge steam locomotive to carry tourists to the mesa top. Glorious. And too ambitious for many residents of Posadas County. Waddell's dream begins to sour as one night two "eco-terrorists" make an opening statement by chain-sawing down power lines that feed the development. One of the terrorists is killed by a bucking power pole. From 20 miles away, former Posadas Sheriff William K. Gastner spots a pair of headlights as the dead man’s companion speeds from the scene. (I added the quotes around "eco-terrorists".)
Gastner is a good character. A tough old bird. A bit impulsive. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but Havill does a good job of keeping the reader in the loop. I am a bit confused about the numbering in the series... Goodreads says NIGHTZONE is book #9, but another list has it as #19; in any case we have a lot of history already behind us going into to this one, and a lot of the book has to be dedicated to visiting the "family". I couldn't find a good copy of the first book in the series, but I have the second one, BITTER RECOIL; I will check that one out before deciding whether to suggest adding this collection to our Read-alouds pile.
Gastner is a good character. A tough old bird. A bit impulsive. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but Havill does a good job of keeping the reader in the loop. I am a bit confused about the numbering in the series... Goodreads says NIGHTZONE is book #9, but another list has it as #19; in any case we have a lot of history already behind us going into to this one, and a lot of the book has to be dedicated to visiting the "family". I couldn't find a good copy of the first book in the series, but I have the second one, BITTER RECOIL; I will check that one out before deciding whether to suggest adding this collection to our Read-alouds pile.
May 20, 2025
Former Sheriff Bill Gastner can’t sleep, and he’s out driving around to see whether that will ultimately let him go home tired. With his binoculars, he notices a fire several miles away. The fire began when two ecoterrorists brought down a powerline, which sparked a grass fire. Soon, they find the body of presumably one of the terrorists dead at the scene. His companion darted off to anonymity before the cops got there.
A local rancher has come into a lot of money, and he wants to build a radio telescope observatory on an elevated piece of his property. Because rural New Mexico has limited light pollution and limited radio frequency saturation, a radio telescope seems to make a lot of sense. But the conspiracies surrounding the installation are amazing. Folks are sure the installation will allow nefarious people to listen in on homes and in cars and who knows wherever else.
Worse still, the rancher wants to create amenities like a gift shop and a narrow-gauge railroad that would bring people to the top of the mesa. He begs Bill Gastner to do security for the company, and Bill refuses.
Before the book ends, Gastner shoots a man in self-defense, and Estelle Reyes-Guzman’s oldest son will perform in a concert that will rock his hometown and nearly end badly for the 74-year-old Gastner.
This is an excellent book; reading the prior books in the series will add much to the enjoyment of this one.
A local rancher has come into a lot of money, and he wants to build a radio telescope observatory on an elevated piece of his property. Because rural New Mexico has limited light pollution and limited radio frequency saturation, a radio telescope seems to make a lot of sense. But the conspiracies surrounding the installation are amazing. Folks are sure the installation will allow nefarious people to listen in on homes and in cars and who knows wherever else.
Worse still, the rancher wants to create amenities like a gift shop and a narrow-gauge railroad that would bring people to the top of the mesa. He begs Bill Gastner to do security for the company, and Bill refuses.
Before the book ends, Gastner shoots a man in self-defense, and Estelle Reyes-Guzman’s oldest son will perform in a concert that will rock his hometown and nearly end badly for the 74-year-old Gastner.
This is an excellent book; reading the prior books in the series will add much to the enjoyment of this one.
April 21, 2018
My first foray into Havill's Posadas County Mysteries, I picked up a copy of this book for 50 cents at a Goodwill store. The first paragraph sucked me in. Havill's style is comfortable and enticing. I found the book to be charming, and felt Havill develops characters well. As with his first book - "Heartshot" - the only other Posadas County Mystery book I've read, the solution to the crime is not at all transparent, which kept my interest, yet the solution makes sense and is not at all far-fetched. I hate it when the solution to a mystery makes me say, "Seriously? You've got to be kidding."
The problem I had with "Nightzone" is that Havill spent a little too much time developing side characters. There is a full chapter on a music concert at the local school which really has nothing much to do with the mystery.
The problem I had with "Nightzone" is that Havill spent a little too much time developing side characters. There is a full chapter on a music concert at the local school which really has nothing much to do with the mystery.
February 9, 2023
It’s a good question: What would you do if you inherited $300 million? Rancher Miles Waddell decides to spend it on creating an astronomy-themed park on his mesa. However, not everyone is in favor of the idea and the construction proves to be a magnet for conspiracy theorists. It’s a fun read and the description of the concert is a delight. However, the real mystery is why would anyone choose a violin concerto for a piano and flute performance. It’s a pleasure to have Rusty Nelson back as reader for the audio version. I only wish they had gotten a performer of this caliber for all the books in the series.
July 9, 2019
July 2019. Many plot threads to keep it interesting. Of course, where would you be without at least to murders and a death or two for flavor? Then you have the musical prodigies.... As a retired person keeping his hand in his former profession, I can relate doing so with mounting aches and pains. Gastner was asked to jump up to the rear of a pickup truck. He just laughed. Not going to happen!!!! But it is the character building and sustaining feature that appeals to me most. Terrific read!!!
August 25, 2023
While I do normally enjoy listening to the old sheriff’sPOV, I got tired of his boring interest in a Colt gun and the background story. Also, I am glad Francisco gets to play for his hometown, but I didn’t really care about the chapter-long description of the pieces he played. I did enjoy getting to know Myles Waddell a bit more.
January 1, 2025
Read all.about it he dealt with bad guys again!
Descriptions done of places or musical experience utterly amazing..brings everything to life. I am so in love with this series and its characters....makes an ole gal like me want to go find me a place with desert stars and green enchiladas!!
Descriptions done of places or musical experience utterly amazing..brings everything to life. I am so in love with this series and its characters....makes an ole gal like me want to go find me a place with desert stars and green enchiladas!!
March 9, 2022
This is a terrific book in one of my favorite series! A wonderfully written threat about a concert that Francisco and one of his classmates are putting on is a delightful counterpoint to the mystery that ends in a hair-raising car race.
February 16, 2023
Again, it was OK that is why I keep reading them but it’s not like when they first started. They talked a little too much on things that just make the book longer. I do like the characters but again they just elaborate a little too much on them.
December 7, 2023
The characters are old friends to me. I always enjoy the stories and this one was kind of a back fill of what happening in the area. The end was kind of rushed (I thought). But a lot of back stories of the neighbors and previous episodes. (I’ve read the previous 18 books).
February 12, 2018
This series kept me up till I finished each book
July 29, 2018
slow with gastner as mc.
January 28, 2019
Good to have Bill Gastner back telling the story!
May 22, 2020
So happy Steven Havill continues to write these Posadas County modern westerns. The main characters are welcomed friends, the New Mexico landscape is beautiful and the stories detailed and engaging.
March 13, 2022
This one was terrific! I especially loved the thread of the concert that was woven through a really interesting mystery.
July 23, 2022
There were parts that were just boring but the ending was worth getting there.
February 15, 2023
A good story. Will keep you on your toes.
June 2, 2023
Wonderful mystery, and scenery
February 20, 2014
Known for his legendary insomnia it would surprise no one to learn that retired Posadas County sheriff Bill Gastner is out and about somewhere in the county in the long hours of the night. This February night at one in the morning finds him on a rim rock of Cat Mesa wrapped up in a blanket looking at the stars and thinking about Bennett's Trail and his recent discovery of a Colt single action revolver lodged in a nearby crevice. Along with the possible history of a legendary weapon, also on his mind is the upcoming concert by one of the children of Undersheriff Estelle Reyes Guzman and the fact that his small adobe home is going to serve as the host for the traveling faculty and stage crew in just a few days.
His thoughts are interrupted by two flashes of light far to the south more than at least 20 miles away. Over the next few minutes, Gastner sees what appears to be the start of a prairie wildfire as well as a pair of headlights going north on County Road 14. Whomever is on that stretch of gravel road seems to be fleeing where the building prairie wildfire started. Bill Gastner calls it in and then, like the police officer he was and to a certain extent still is, is drawn to where the action is as things rapidly escalate. Before long, Gastner is being second guessed by those who should know better, is a target of a psycho, and a wealthy rancher wants him for a job. Everybody wants a piece of him while all Gastner wants to do is stay out of it and listen to the music.
Steven F. Havill's latest in the series now branded as The Posadas County Mysteries is another good one. Gastner takes primary stage, as he used to when this series first started with Heartshot, and reminds loyal readers just how good he can be. Much like Sheriff Dan Rhodes as envisioned by Bill Crider or Sheriff Walt Longmire by Craig Johnson, Bill Gastner is an old friend and very much welcome companion.
Nightzone: The Posadas County Mysteries reflects an author at the top of his game in a story that is full throttle from start to finish. Featuring a number of characters long familiar to series readers, the tale is of family just as much as crime. As always, the author's love for the New Mexico landscape depicted in the fictional Posadas County is clear and detailed in yet another simply great read.
Nightzone: The Posadas County Mysteries
Steven F. Havill
Poisoned Pen Press
http://www.poisonedpenpress.com
October 2013
ISBN# 978-1-4642-0069-4
Hardback
305 Pages
$24.95
Material courtesy of the good folks of the Haggard Branch of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
His thoughts are interrupted by two flashes of light far to the south more than at least 20 miles away. Over the next few minutes, Gastner sees what appears to be the start of a prairie wildfire as well as a pair of headlights going north on County Road 14. Whomever is on that stretch of gravel road seems to be fleeing where the building prairie wildfire started. Bill Gastner calls it in and then, like the police officer he was and to a certain extent still is, is drawn to where the action is as things rapidly escalate. Before long, Gastner is being second guessed by those who should know better, is a target of a psycho, and a wealthy rancher wants him for a job. Everybody wants a piece of him while all Gastner wants to do is stay out of it and listen to the music.
Steven F. Havill's latest in the series now branded as The Posadas County Mysteries is another good one. Gastner takes primary stage, as he used to when this series first started with Heartshot, and reminds loyal readers just how good he can be. Much like Sheriff Dan Rhodes as envisioned by Bill Crider or Sheriff Walt Longmire by Craig Johnson, Bill Gastner is an old friend and very much welcome companion.
Nightzone: The Posadas County Mysteries reflects an author at the top of his game in a story that is full throttle from start to finish. Featuring a number of characters long familiar to series readers, the tale is of family just as much as crime. As always, the author's love for the New Mexico landscape depicted in the fictional Posadas County is clear and detailed in yet another simply great read.
Nightzone: The Posadas County Mysteries
Steven F. Havill
Poisoned Pen Press
http://www.poisonedpenpress.com
October 2013
ISBN# 978-1-4642-0069-4
Hardback
305 Pages
$24.95
Material courtesy of the good folks of the Haggard Branch of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
November 2, 2013
#19 in the Posadas County mystery series. In my review of #17, Double Prey (2011), I suspected that Havill might have written himself into a corner, as to advance his training, Undersheriff Estelle Guzman-Reyes' musical prodigy older son, Francisco, will have to leave his close-knit family or the family will have to move from Posadas County. #18, One Perfect Shot (2012), was a prequel and avoided the issue. Now we get the answer as a fait accompli. Francisco, ex-Sheriff Bill Gastner's godson, is now 13 and a senior piano student at a music conservatory in MO and is returning to Posadas County as the featured performer in a concert. This series has been running since 1991 and just as interesting as the mystery solving is the growth and interaction of the series characters. Series fans will not be disappointed with this entry.
Posadas County mystery - New Mexico rancher Miles Waddell wants to build NIGHTZONE, an astronomy-based theme park. Glorious. And too ambitious for many residents of Posadas County. Waddell's dream begins to sour as one night two eco-terrorists make an opening statement by chain-sawing down power lines that feed the development. One of the terrorists is killed by a bucking power pole. From 20 miles away, former Posadas Sheriff Bill Gastner spots a pair of headlights as the dead man's companion speeds from the scene. Charges quickly include murder when the fleeing conspirator is stopped by a cop and guns the lawman down. Hours later a second shooting occurs when Gastner stops to assist Sgt. Jackie Taber during an unrelated traffic stop. Always the last to pull a trigger, the now 74-year old Gastner becomes the focus of a second investigation by the over-stressed District Attorney and Sheriff's Department. Meanwhile, Waddell's troubles with rumor-mongers and anti-government thugs continue.
Posadas County mystery - New Mexico rancher Miles Waddell wants to build NIGHTZONE, an astronomy-based theme park. Glorious. And too ambitious for many residents of Posadas County. Waddell's dream begins to sour as one night two eco-terrorists make an opening statement by chain-sawing down power lines that feed the development. One of the terrorists is killed by a bucking power pole. From 20 miles away, former Posadas Sheriff Bill Gastner spots a pair of headlights as the dead man's companion speeds from the scene. Charges quickly include murder when the fleeing conspirator is stopped by a cop and guns the lawman down. Hours later a second shooting occurs when Gastner stops to assist Sgt. Jackie Taber during an unrelated traffic stop. Always the last to pull a trigger, the now 74-year old Gastner becomes the focus of a second investigation by the over-stressed District Attorney and Sheriff's Department. Meanwhile, Waddell's troubles with rumor-mongers and anti-government thugs continue.
February 11, 2017
This series is spectacular.
September 30, 2013
I have enjoyed Steven Havil's Sheriff Gastner novels since I met the author and bought two of his books in Aztec, New Mexico.
This novel starts with the now retired Sheriff Gastner on a mesa top in the middle of the night. Two flashes of light catch his attention, then he noticed a fire has started and alerts the SO. As well he sees a vehicle leaving the area and relays this information. When a deputy is killed confronting the fleeing car the story takes on darker undertones.
Rumors abound on a local ranchers construction project. Is it the target of these misdeeds?
Sheriff Gastner just wants to enjoy his retirement finding the answers to who, why and how an ancient Colt 45 he found on the Bennett trail came to be there. It doesn't seem to be in the cats for him as his insatiable need for answers and trouble finding him keep getting in the way.
A great story for mystery lovers with an enchanting look at the beauty of New Mexico.
This novel starts with the now retired Sheriff Gastner on a mesa top in the middle of the night. Two flashes of light catch his attention, then he noticed a fire has started and alerts the SO. As well he sees a vehicle leaving the area and relays this information. When a deputy is killed confronting the fleeing car the story takes on darker undertones.
Rumors abound on a local ranchers construction project. Is it the target of these misdeeds?
Sheriff Gastner just wants to enjoy his retirement finding the answers to who, why and how an ancient Colt 45 he found on the Bennett trail came to be there. It doesn't seem to be in the cats for him as his insatiable need for answers and trouble finding him keep getting in the way.
A great story for mystery lovers with an enchanting look at the beauty of New Mexico.
December 27, 2013
Smell the Desert, Taste the Burrito.
This long-running series about Bill Gastner and Posadas County in Southwestern New Mexico is the closest thing to a trip home. The people, landscape, prejudices and pride are clearly and lovingly portrayed. As the series has developed, the characters have deepened, and so has the emotional content of the story.
Reading this book, I could smell the desert at night, feel my bones shaken by the rough rides over primitive roads, and taste that breakfast burrito at the Don Juan de Onate restaurant.
The emotional climax of this book is the long awaited concert by Francisco Guzman, and his conservatory classmate. Sneaking this well-wrought scene into a murder mystery is seamless Havill style. Subplots are numerous, and each one contributes to the main story line.
I read this book slowly, and loved every page.
This long-running series about Bill Gastner and Posadas County in Southwestern New Mexico is the closest thing to a trip home. The people, landscape, prejudices and pride are clearly and lovingly portrayed. As the series has developed, the characters have deepened, and so has the emotional content of the story.
Reading this book, I could smell the desert at night, feel my bones shaken by the rough rides over primitive roads, and taste that breakfast burrito at the Don Juan de Onate restaurant.
The emotional climax of this book is the long awaited concert by Francisco Guzman, and his conservatory classmate. Sneaking this well-wrought scene into a murder mystery is seamless Havill style. Subplots are numerous, and each one contributes to the main story line.
I read this book slowly, and loved every page.
November 23, 2015
The material is always topical - this time the action centres around a wealthy rancher building a private observatory on top of a mesa on his property, the paranoia and government-is-watching activists who oppose it. Of course there is murder to solve. Bill Gastner somehow takes centre stage shooting all and sundry, upstaging undersheriff Reyes Guzman even though he is 74. His exploits - jouncing around in the back of a vehicle handcuffed to his friend then throwing himself over the side still handcuffed, having the friend land on top of him stretchy credibility to the limits. 74 year olds do not survive that kind of thing with a limp and a stitch or two. ASgain it felt like the author galloping to the end to get it done. But having read every single Bill Gastner and Reyes-Guzman novel in the space of 9 months I guess I am at saturation point. Good New Mexico mystery genre reads.
January 10, 2014
Another solid entry in Havill's Posadas County series set in Southwestern NM, featuring retired sheriff Bill Gastner and undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman. These books are more like folksy, slice-of-life police procedurals than mysteries however, with the characters figuring out who-dunit fairly early on here. The pacing of this one is a bit uneven; starting with lots of action, spending most of the middle on piano recital from Estelle's son, then kicking back into high gear for a slam-bang finale. Bill is such a wonderfully lovable curmudgeon that even the slow parts are fun though, thanks to his delightful observations of life around him. I will also forgive that Estelle's role in this one is much smaller than the last entry. This tale is all Bill's and it's a good one.
December 24, 2013
Night-Zone returns the Posadas County Mysteries to their origin. The main protagonist is former Sheriff Bill Gastner. He's retired now and wants nothing more than an occasional walk-about. But, things happen and Gastner finds himself up to his neck in murder and domestic terrorists. The book is fast-moving and exciting - even the parts about Under Sheriff Estelle Guzman and her family. Normally, a change of pace like talking about kids in an exciting novel hurts the flow, but Havill keeps things moving. If you've read any of the Posadas books you'll know the characters and none of them disappoint. Havill's books are well-written and you'll get the feel of the New Mexican landscape just the way the characters experience it.
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