Before She Dies

Bill Gastner Mystery #4

by Steven F. Havill

"If what you're hiding is motive, Gastner will ferret it out and do what needs to be done. An outstanding mystery." -- Booklist starred review Posadas Register reporter Linda Real barely survives her nighttime patrol with one of Undersheriff Bill Gastner's deputies. He is killed by a more accurate shotgun blast than the one that ruins her face. Teamed with his intuitive, observant detective Estelle Reyes-Guzman and her usual sharp eye for physical evidence, Bill implicates Tammy Woodruff, the thrill-seeking daughter of the local Republican County Chairman, in the brutal assault. Before he can interrogate her, though, Tammy hightails it. Soon she is found crushed to death after her truck goes off the road while she's loaded with booze - in fact, far too much alcohol, for anyone to have consumed....

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

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steven Havill writes a wonderful series​​​​ about law enforcement in fictional Posadas County, New Mexico. Under-sheriff Bill Gastner is overweight, out of shape, loves Mexican food, and is one of those people you would just love to know. He's empathetic and kind, intelligent and tenacious and he knows the county better than the back of his hand. As someone who lives in a sparsely populated county, I really respect the difficulties faced by the sheriff's deputies. At any given time they might be responsible for patrolling 900 square miles and there might only be 3 or 4 available at any one time. They have to know the area and the people and it's not an easy job. You get that sense from listening to these books. (Another very good series about the particular problems of county policing is Donald Harstad's)

The whole series has been recorded by Books in Motion and released as well on Audible read by Rusty Nelson whose gravelly voice is perfect.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

These Posadas County mysteries are little gems. All about family and friends and support and compassion, when something bad happens to one of them, everyone is galvanized to do something to help. The elements in this series that keep me coming back for more are the picture perfect setting of a small town in the Southwest with its entwined heritage of the Hispanic, Native American and Anglo residents; truly intriguing plots that usually keep me stumped; and a cast of characters with whom you feel right at home. Insomniac Bill Gastner is a tough old bird, filled with compassion and self-deprecating wit, he's capable of lulling suspects into a false sense of security before swooping in with the handcuffs. Or perhaps he'll send in someone else with the cuffs because this older man is all too aware of his physical and emotional limitations.

Before She Dies has yet another of those "stump me" plots that I've grown to love (and expect), and watching this cast of characters grow together warms my heart and makes me smile. Are you one of those people who loves the Western element in Craig Johnson's Sheriff Walt Longmire mysteries? Something tells me you'd enjoy a trip down New Mexico way. Walt and Bill are two lawmen who'd get along together just fine.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well he is likeable. I mean what's not to like about a self effacing, ageing overweight Sheriff who wonders every day if he should be put out to pasture. Yep, you can see him looking like a corpulent Buddha sporting a flat-top hair cut with dusty brown uniform, clip down sun glasses and a big star on his chest and some boots requiring a polish.

But don't under estimate him, those lines around his eyes aren't just crows feet there the lines of experience, patience and a stubbornness that just don't quit. And it's his town and his people and he knows every one of them and they know him and everybody feels better cause he's around.

It's a small town in a big county watched over by a big hearted man, and that's why I like this series so damned much. The story was pretty damn good as well, worth checking out if you like small town people who care for each other but once in while get to drinking, makes some mistakes, get unnaturally riled up, or run into a bad apple or something like that and need somebody to put things back the way they was.

But then, that why, it's a good thing he's around.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read in this series, this time has the Undersheriff investigating the murder of a member of his own squad. Good descriptions that continue to help with character development, and with a sense of the landscape, with the setting in southern New Mexico.

[Rexbuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read - very entertaining.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just glad there is more of Steven Havill mysteries left yo read.

[Robert Mckay · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's every law enforcement agency's nightmare - someone's murered one of the deputies of the Posadas County Sheriff's Department in southwest New Mexico, and seriously wounded a reporter who was riding with the deputy. There's almost no evidence at the seen, and none which points to why the deputy had stopped there, nor why he hadn't called in when he stopped, nor why anyone would want to fire three shotgun shells, two at the deputy and one at the reporter.

But Undersheriff Bill Gastner and Detective Estelle Reyes-Guzman are some of the best investigators in the country, even if they are in a rural county with a small population and little money. Piece by piece, bit by bit, they gather the evidence and put together a theory of what happened.

Steven F. Havill is great at writing police procedurals. He shows you just how methodical investigators are; just how carefully they have to look for, note, photograph, and collect small pieces of evidence; how difficult it can be to figure out from the evidence what actually happened. But it's not boring in Havill's hands; on the contrary, the slow processing of the scene becomes interesting when he writes it. And beyond that, he makes his invented Posadas County into a major character in this series, so that you can't possibly imagine these characters or these events anywhere else.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a couple of suboptimal efforts, Steven Havill has upped his game a bit in Before She Dies. The main improvement is that, instead of peppering his story with an excessive number of deaths, he opens this one with a single case, and stays with it to the end. The result is enhanced subtlety and complexity, with several characters from previous novels in the series making reappearances. Of course, there's the expected vehicle wreck, but that seems to be part of Havill's trademark.

In this installment, a police officer -- one of Undersheriff Bill Gastner's colleagues -- is murdered next to his patrol car on a lonely stretch of New Mexico highway. A young newspaper reporter, Linda Real, who was riding with him, was seriously injured. Since Linda appears to have been the sole witness, her recovery and testimony will be crucial. While waiting for that, Gastner pursues other slim leads, assisted by his talented colleague, Detective Lieutenant Estelle Reyes-Guzman. In the meantime, there are extended passages about the used car market, and descriptions of how auto smuggling rings operate between the U.S. and Mexico.

Naturally, the murder case is eventually solved, and at the end of the story there's a hint of a budding romance between Gastner and Reyes-Guzman's aunt. Will their dinner date lead to anything further? Perhaps that's a teaser for the next volume.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually, things in Posadas County New Mexico are quiet for the folks running the local jail. Not so as the book opens. One man sleeps off a drink, pukes, and chokes to death on his vomit. The drunk girl upstairs is the daughter of the county Republican party chairman. She at least survives her night in jail, but wild girl Tammy Woodruff will die before the book ends.

Naturally, Undersheriff Bill Gastner becomes the target of a lawsuit brought by the distraught family of the guy who aspirated on his own puke while sleeping off a mammoth drunk. Read this and let the details of a horrific shooting on a rural county road rivet you to your book player. Dead is a Posadas County deputy, and Linda Real, a new local reporter nearly loses her life.

Try though they might, neither Gastner nor his highly observant detective, Estelle, can put the right pieces together to pin the deputy’s murder on someone.

This is a gloriously written morass of accidents, stolen cars, shootings, and so much more that will keep you engaged to the final syllable. I heartily recommend the entire series, but you can read this first without reading the others if you wish.

[M. O'Gannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before She Dies – A Bill Gastner Mystery #4 – 1996 - **** - Gastner, under sheriff for Posadas County New Mexico, investigates a shooting death of a deputy. Gastner is showing definite signs of aging in this novel as he runs hard without sleep trying to detect the murderer. Robert Torez and Estelle Reyes-Guzman are in the thick helping out. Havill does a wonderful job pulling the reader along through the investigation while keeping the reader’s interest with the sub plots and human interest. A reader may feel the book is dated when the tech is late 1900’s, but the story is still a great read. One his best books in the series.

[Nancy Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really am enjoying this series! I love the main character, Undersheriff Bill Gastner, and all of the supporting characters, as well as the setting in New Mexico. The plots are interesting and not weighed down with a lot of explanation of what has come before. Havill provides enough information to drive the story forward and his books are less than 300 pages, sometimes 200. This is very refreshing after some 800 pagers I have read lately, I can't wait to read on and hope to find out more about Linda Real.

[Midwest Geek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first in the series about undersheriff Bill Gastner, of which this is #4. The story was just ok, although it is a good mystery. I didn't much care about the victim or her family; she seemed to be a spoiled brat who never grew up. I also didn't care who the killer was or why. I find Gastner's behavior in the face of danger (whether human or natural) implausibly reckless; he would not have lived to reach his present age. I might read another in the series but not soon.

[Karen Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book in the series by New Mexican author Steven Havill. Posadas County is a fictional place in southwest NM, and a lot of the story took place where I live. That wasn't the only reason I liked it, though! The author weaves a tightly constructed mystery involving the death of one of the under-sheriff's own deputies. I was on edge throughout waiting to find out if the only badly wounded witness to the murder would survive.

[Bob Grove · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Befoe She Dies" is the fourth Bill Gasner book I have read and takes place in New Mexico. This is my favorite book of the series up to this point. Bill is the undersheriff for the county. The story included some well-done police procedurals with a Southwestern location. Bill Gantner spent 20 years as an MP in the Marines before retiring to a sheriff's position in Podesta County. The book is a real page-turner.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoy this series. Bill Gastner is an overweight but shrewd undersheriff who works a lot to solve crimes in his region. He relies on a few very competent members of his staff and has a good working relationship with lots of others in the area. He cares about the people he works with and the people of his community.
The author provides a good description of the location in which the story unfolds and the characters in it. Good plot line.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deputy is killed and Linda Real, the young reporter who was riding along with him, is severely wounded. With little to go on, Undersheriff Bill Gastner and his team conduct a painstaking crime scene investigation while hoping that Linda will recover enough to tell them what happened. This is an intelligent and thoughtful procedural with authentic characters who are very good at their job.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this series so much. The characters are really making each book a really good-read.
Bill Gastner the Under-Sheriff is quite a funny, yet very serious officer. Estelle Reyes-Guzman a
"sharp-eyed detective" is Bill's assistant. They really make a good team in this small town in New Mexico.

[Katherine Chartier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a pretty good mystery and I didn’t really know who had done it until like the last little bit. The only thing was that it used a lot of police jargon and Spanish and then half the time didn’t say what it meant so hopefully I didn’t miss anything too important lol

[Steve Rooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

Before She Dies is a great entry in the Posadas County Mysteries. Like the others that I have read, the pacing is quick and enthralling. The characters are well-drawn. The description of the surroundings shows a great eye for detail. Steven Havill is at the height of his creativity and writing prowess with this series.
Highly recommended.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mystery is part of a series set in the bleak surroundings of rural New Mexico. The area is experiencing an economic depression because of changes in the culture and in businesses in the area. The stark and somewhat Grimm setting transforms what might be a cozy mystery into noir.

[Ralph W Case · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, hard to put down. Havill does it right.

A good read written by an expert in keeping you guessing.
I just ordered book 5.
I have every intention of reading all of his books in the series.

[Tomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but too much detail about the technicality of police work (how much time do you really need to describe the roads?) and the killer came out of nowhere. Needed more groundwork to make him believable as the killer.

[Robert Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Undersheriff Bill Gastner's finds one of his deputies and dei suspect shot and reporter wounded along side the highway. Take a lot of footwork for the Undersheriff to figure out how a horse trailer plays a part. All comes to a curiously at the border.

[Bette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Gastner may be old and fat and suffer from insomnia, but he knows how to fit the pieces together. Along with Estelle Reyes-Guzman with her compassion and ability to draw people out, they are a formidable combination.

[Kit Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Bad Curve

Car wrecks and stolen cars. Grieving parents and parents with little kids. They are all the same in the end. A son betrays the whole family. You won't see the end too you get there!

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the Bill Gastner character...

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series and have seen the aftermath of some of the events in this book so I was pleased to be able to read about them first hand in this earlier book that I had overlooked before.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series and Bill Gastner. Had some trouble getting interested into the first half of the story, but the last half was good.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are as good to me as C. J. Box’s books, which is high praise indeed!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay! I found a new mystery series that i like!