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Posadas County Mystery #17
Double Prey
A rattlesnake fang pegged in a teenager's eye is just the beginning of a spring day for Posadas Undersheriff Estelle Guzman. The injured lad's older brother goes missing, and is found dead in an arroyo, apparently killed by his cartwheeling ATV. But most puzzling is what the dead boy found moments before he was killed...an astonishing discovery that takes deputies back to a five year-old killing. Estelle and the now retired Bill Gastner find themselves looking for a murderer altogether too close to home.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 27, 2010
138 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Steven F. Havill
38 books255 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
December 31, 2025
This is a well-done police procedural, part of a series which is set in Posadas County, NM. I believe it is a fictional place ( It is! I had to google it! What do I know? I'm from Illinois!). It's based on southwestern New Mexico near the Mexican border.
I like the character of the county undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman. She's a very capable law enforcement officer and a mom. In the case in this story, she is helped by the very experienced retired sheriff Bill Gastner. Together, they make a very effective team. The story is centered on the death of a teen, Freddy, whose all-terrain vehicle flipped in an arroyo. Was it accidental--or was he murdered? The title refers to two deaths, as the skeleton of a man who had been murdered is found and we have to ask if that murder and the death of the teen are connected...
The story moves very slowly in its first half, but we do get to know the characters and the landscape of Posadas County (there is a map of the county included and I always like to follow things on a map). The story picks up near the end and I could not put the book down for the last 50 pages or so. My rating: a solid 3 stars, which means it's OK, not bad, but I felt that, while it was entertaining, it was not a great book by any means!
I like the character of the county undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman. She's a very capable law enforcement officer and a mom. In the case in this story, she is helped by the very experienced retired sheriff Bill Gastner. Together, they make a very effective team. The story is centered on the death of a teen, Freddy, whose all-terrain vehicle flipped in an arroyo. Was it accidental--or was he murdered? The title refers to two deaths, as the skeleton of a man who had been murdered is found and we have to ask if that murder and the death of the teen are connected...
The story moves very slowly in its first half, but we do get to know the characters and the landscape of Posadas County (there is a map of the county included and I always like to follow things on a map). The story picks up near the end and I could not put the book down for the last 50 pages or so. My rating: a solid 3 stars, which means it's OK, not bad, but I felt that, while it was entertaining, it was not a great book by any means!
July 22, 2017
The solid steady nature of Estelle Reyes-Guzman is a character trait perfectly fitting for a police officer. She approaches every situation with the cool confidence of a trained professional, but there is an undeniable tenderness to her personality. I really enjoy the way she handles herself no matter how dangerous or stressful the circumstances may be. Mr. Havill’s panoramic view of New Mexico’s rugged landscape, and the people who call it home, are brought to life with Estelle and her family and friends in Posadas County.
Lototy
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
Full Review @ Coffee Time Romance & More
Lototy
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
Full Review @ Coffee Time Romance & More
March 22, 2011
What starts out as the exciting discovery of a jaguar skull leads to the tragic sudden death of the teenager who found it. In trying to determine what this young man was doing in the desert before he crashed his All Terrain Vehicle, retired sheriff Bill Gastner and Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman find all sorts of wickedness.
You will quickly learn that everyone in this tiny community seems to have a history: some better and others worse. The dogged police work by our unlikely pair unravels all the mysteries in a very satisfactory conclusion.
Mr. Havill certainly understands this area, having lived there for more than forty years. I suspect because of the proximity to Las Cruces that he is using Dona Ana County for his non-existent Posadas County. The descriptions are very clear making the terrain realistic. His use of language, including the occasional outbreak of some Mexican Spanish, is also accurate.
You will quickly learn that everyone in this tiny community seems to have a history: some better and others worse. The dogged police work by our unlikely pair unravels all the mysteries in a very satisfactory conclusion.
Mr. Havill certainly understands this area, having lived there for more than forty years. I suspect because of the proximity to Las Cruces that he is using Dona Ana County for his non-existent Posadas County. The descriptions are very clear making the terrain realistic. His use of language, including the occasional outbreak of some Mexican Spanish, is also accurate.
July 23, 2014
Maybe I enjoy the Posadas County books because I live in a small rural county just north of where it would be if it did exist, but I don't think that's the main reason. Hamill's portrayal of small southwestern town personalities, opinions and conflicts is so accurate, I could well believe that they all really exist--their relatives are my neighbors. His dialogue is just right and there's just enough description that I can feel the single-digit humidity, the stinging wind-whipped sand and the searing heat.
Now, if you want a complex, confusing plot that you can't follow without re-reading pages and pages, look somewhere else. Hamill's plots are clean and clear-cut and don't strain my brain. At the same time he never talks down. Yeah, sometimes things slow down a tad while Gastner ratters on about burritos and chili and his godson the prodigy, but that just makes him more real. That's the way we meander through life, undersheriff or not.
Now, if you want a complex, confusing plot that you can't follow without re-reading pages and pages, look somewhere else. Hamill's plots are clean and clear-cut and don't strain my brain. At the same time he never talks down. Yeah, sometimes things slow down a tad while Gastner ratters on about burritos and chili and his godson the prodigy, but that just makes him more real. That's the way we meander through life, undersheriff or not.
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January 19, 2011I'm not really sure how I felt about this book even as I was reading it. Here are some of my thoughts as I was reading it:
* The lack of urgency in solving anything - ok, so it takes place in a small town where everyone knows your name. It's still a crime no? You still have a dead teenager who happens to be carrying a gun no one knows where it came from. Once you trace the gun back to an old un-solved case, there is still no urgency. Everything is taken in stride. This may work, and me be, the way things work in reality when in small towns, but this is a book. We want drama, suspense, thrill. Reading a criminal novel in slow motion doesn't really cut it for me.
* The descriptions of people's reactions were a bit lacking for me. You have a set of parents who first find out their one son has lost an eye and hours later find out their other son has tragically died, and yet you didn't get any real sense of grief. I wish the author had spent more time exploring that. Or at least adding more adjectives. This is true for a lot of the characters in this book. Because of that, I didn't connect with any of them and therefore didn't really care.
* You have two sheriffs working on a crime. The older one is male and the younger one is female. They know each other very well as they are family friends and have hung out together socially. While speaking with her, he refers to her as sweetheart. I come from a military and law enforcement family. Many of them work in divisions with other relatives. At no time do they call each other sweetheart, honey, baby or anything. That was a major turn off to me each time I read about that going on.
* There are a couple of story lines that are left unanswered. They are somewhat noticeable as a lot of time is spent in the beginning of the book talk about it. They they sort of disappear. That was a bit jarring. I think it would have made more sense to delete the endings if they were going to be explored in the next book, but I didn't get a sense that would be the case. There was no cliff hanger at the end.
I think this is a good book if you are looking for something quick to read. If you are looking for drama or any kind of urgency, sadly you may want to look elsewhere.
* The lack of urgency in solving anything - ok, so it takes place in a small town where everyone knows your name. It's still a crime no? You still have a dead teenager who happens to be carrying a gun no one knows where it came from. Once you trace the gun back to an old un-solved case, there is still no urgency. Everything is taken in stride. This may work, and me be, the way things work in reality when in small towns, but this is a book. We want drama, suspense, thrill. Reading a criminal novel in slow motion doesn't really cut it for me.
* The descriptions of people's reactions were a bit lacking for me. You have a set of parents who first find out their one son has lost an eye and hours later find out their other son has tragically died, and yet you didn't get any real sense of grief. I wish the author had spent more time exploring that. Or at least adding more adjectives. This is true for a lot of the characters in this book. Because of that, I didn't connect with any of them and therefore didn't really care.
* You have two sheriffs working on a crime. The older one is male and the younger one is female. They know each other very well as they are family friends and have hung out together socially. While speaking with her, he refers to her as sweetheart. I come from a military and law enforcement family. Many of them work in divisions with other relatives. At no time do they call each other sweetheart, honey, baby or anything. That was a major turn off to me each time I read about that going on.
* There are a couple of story lines that are left unanswered. They are somewhat noticeable as a lot of time is spent in the beginning of the book talk about it. They they sort of disappear. That was a bit jarring. I think it would have made more sense to delete the endings if they were going to be explored in the next book, but I didn't get a sense that would be the case. There was no cliff hanger at the end.
I think this is a good book if you are looking for something quick to read. If you are looking for drama or any kind of urgency, sadly you may want to look elsewhere.
September 24, 2010
Advance reader copy
There is something in us that seeks the mutual support and comfort of the small town where everyone knows everyone else, people help each other, and life is relatively simple in appearance. This is not to say that bad things don't happen, but it's that quality, I think, that makes Steven Havill's Posadas County police procedurals so appealing. You really like the characters, you want to get to know them, and you wish they would pop over for dinner some time. I've read about six of his books.
While it's not necessary to read his stories in order, doing so does provide some context for the characters. His first series followed undersheriff Bill Gastner, as likable and competent a law enforcement officer one could ask for. Estelle Reyes-Guzman, now the undersheriff with Robert Torrez the sheriff, in Double Prey, is faced with multiple difficulties: a neighbor's boy, Butch, and her son, Francis, were teasing a large rattlesnake with a Weed Whacker. The string chopped up the snake's head, throwing a fang and venom into the kid's eye. That required a medevac trip to Albuquerque while the next day, Butch's brother is found in an arroyo, underneath his ATV having flown off the edge. Everything looks like a routine accident. But what was the old dust-encrusted handgun doing in the ATV's storage box? And just a day after having found the skeleton of a jaguar, a cat not seen in the area for years.
Havill writes well, creates intriguing plots, and has created a family of characters we really care about. I plan to read many more of his books.
There is something in us that seeks the mutual support and comfort of the small town where everyone knows everyone else, people help each other, and life is relatively simple in appearance. This is not to say that bad things don't happen, but it's that quality, I think, that makes Steven Havill's Posadas County police procedurals so appealing. You really like the characters, you want to get to know them, and you wish they would pop over for dinner some time. I've read about six of his books.
While it's not necessary to read his stories in order, doing so does provide some context for the characters. His first series followed undersheriff Bill Gastner, as likable and competent a law enforcement officer one could ask for. Estelle Reyes-Guzman, now the undersheriff with Robert Torrez the sheriff, in Double Prey, is faced with multiple difficulties: a neighbor's boy, Butch, and her son, Francis, were teasing a large rattlesnake with a Weed Whacker. The string chopped up the snake's head, throwing a fang and venom into the kid's eye. That required a medevac trip to Albuquerque while the next day, Butch's brother is found in an arroyo, underneath his ATV having flown off the edge. Everything looks like a routine accident. But what was the old dust-encrusted handgun doing in the ATV's storage box? And just a day after having found the skeleton of a jaguar, a cat not seen in the area for years.
Havill writes well, creates intriguing plots, and has created a family of characters we really care about. I plan to read many more of his books.
November 9, 2014
This entry in the Posadas County saga, starring Estelle Reyes-Guzman, is really one of the best police procedurals I've read. The first chapter alone is a classic of good police work :) . Snakes, teenagers, weed-whackers, EMTs--what's not to like? The rest of the novel is just as good in my opinion. Even the jaguar murder gets solved, no loose ends. Seriously, though, the character development is tremendous and I have truly fallen in love with the people in Posadas, even though I do prefer red.
October 30, 2011
Havill understands New Mexico and it's people. His descriptions of characters and scenes are vivid, and he is adept at describing the minute details of criminal investigations as only an insider can.
April 18, 2025
You get a riveting opening to this book if you avail yourself of it. Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman’s oldest kid is playing with Butch Romero, a local teenager, when a rattlesnake sinks its fang into Romero’s eye. He got exponentially closer to qualifying to use books from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled that day had this been a nonfiction account.
Not long after they rush young Butch to Albuquerque, his older brother dies in what initially looks to be an ATV accident in a remote place outside of town. But it turns out someone killed the kid.
You join this memorable cadre of characters as they strive to learn what happened to Freddie Romero. You get two mysteries here. One involves the death of the Romero boy; the other investigates the disappearance five years earlier of a former cop turned real estate agent. And, you guessed it, the two mysteries are related.
I’m always thrilled to see my favorite lawman hero making an appearance in these books. Bill Gastner is aging, fat, arthritic, and a legendary insomniac. Ah, that brother checks all my boxes in style! His presence in the book provides the kind of reassurance that everything is going to turn out ok.
I can’t say that I predicted the ending, but nor did it surprise me when the author revealed it. This is a solid installment in the series, and the whole series is an excellent experience.
Not long after they rush young Butch to Albuquerque, his older brother dies in what initially looks to be an ATV accident in a remote place outside of town. But it turns out someone killed the kid.
You join this memorable cadre of characters as they strive to learn what happened to Freddie Romero. You get two mysteries here. One involves the death of the Romero boy; the other investigates the disappearance five years earlier of a former cop turned real estate agent. And, you guessed it, the two mysteries are related.
I’m always thrilled to see my favorite lawman hero making an appearance in these books. Bill Gastner is aging, fat, arthritic, and a legendary insomniac. Ah, that brother checks all my boxes in style! His presence in the book provides the kind of reassurance that everything is going to turn out ok.
I can’t say that I predicted the ending, but nor did it surprise me when the author revealed it. This is a solid installment in the series, and the whole series is an excellent experience.
November 2, 2022
Freddie Romero Is known as something of a wild kid but, even so, when he goes missing, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is worried enough to set off on an informal search along with retired livestock inspector Bill Gastner. They find the boy at the bottom of an arroyo, apparently killed when he lost control of his ATV. The pair are able to read the signs to reconstruct what happened, but Estelle still has unanswered questions. She is determined to understand the answers even if it means climbing into a cave that might collapse at any moment. And she is as intelligent as she is tough and persistent. Another winning entry in the series, although the audio version is not recommended.
March 15, 2025
A Jaguar
The finding of a Jaguar skull sets into motion a avalanche that will change Possess forever. Two kids with a rattlesnake and a.kid with an ATV change one family's life. While a small cave holds more than Bats. The excavation holds the answer to questions that no one knew to ask.
One of the best in this series. A must read
The finding of a Jaguar skull sets into motion a avalanche that will change Possess forever. Two kids with a rattlesnake and a.kid with an ATV change one family's life. While a small cave holds more than Bats. The excavation holds the answer to questions that no one knew to ask.
One of the best in this series. A must read
August 21, 2023
Boys will be boys in this story that begins with one brother seriously injured, and then the other ends up missing… While this police procedural is really good, it just lacks a little zoom for some reason.
April 20, 2025
Great Addition to the Series
A nicely convoluted mystery involving two bodies and two mysteries years apart. Fine character development and scene description makes Double Prey a great addition to the Posadas series. Highly recommended.
A nicely convoluted mystery involving two bodies and two mysteries years apart. Fine character development and scene description makes Double Prey a great addition to the Posadas series. Highly recommended.
August 11, 2017
Love this series - characters, sense of place and the mysteries.
April 18, 2019
April 2019 This is my second Posada mystery. Thoroughly enjoys the characters and the plots. Apparently, I have many more to read!
July 3, 2019
Good solid mystery!
April 1, 2020
I think this is the last book I read in this series until ... not sure 🤔
August 13, 2020
Good thriller set in the wilds of New Mexico.
February 8, 2023
A good series to listen to. I enjoy all the characters; they are really brought to life. So realistic.
June 13, 2023
Excellent as always
January 1, 2011
I enjoy mystery novels and this one really was up my alley. This is the first novel I have read by Steven F. Havill and I find myself hooked on the characters, enough that I need to do some searching for the other books in his line of Posadas County Mysteries and catch up on all the previous adventures. Normally I do not like reading a book that is a sequel without having read the previous books since I find that I often times get lost following plot lines that have a previous reference. Not so in this case! The novel was an easy read with characters that I felt I knew without having to go back and read previous books. I enjoyed the setting of New Mexico and the imagery of the prairie and mesas, with a flavor of Old Mexico thrown in. The story line was straight forward with little meanderings into the private life of the Undersherriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman, enough to evoke a feeling of getting to know a new friend. The pace was perfect with no dragging as some novels tend to get, especially when the author has written plenty before. The ending was good and my only complaint would be that it ended fast, if that makes sense. No long winded chapter summarizing the entire book, more a quick conversation that tied up some loose ends. I liked this book and I cannot wait to read another of his novels.
September 1, 2012
#17 in the Posadas County mystery series. Undersheriff may have been written into a corner by author Havill. Her older son is a musical prodigy and can advance no further in tiny, rural Posadas, N.M. He may have to be sent away from the close knit family or the family may have to move. The issue was identified in series #15, "The Fourth Time is Murder (2008), but has now become critical. Havill has published 5 books since #15 (through September 2012) but this is the only continuation of the series. There was a two book series about late 19th Century, Dr. Thomas Parks. Posadas series #16 fit chronologically between #9 and #10, and #18 is a prequel to the series. Meanwhile, I await a continuation to the story arc of #17, although with a few more flashbacks, the story could continue with the young man going away to college.
Posadas County mystery - A rattlesnake fang pegged in a teenager's eye is the beginning of a spring day for Posadas Undersheriff Estelle Guzman. The injured lad's brother goes missing, and is found dead, apparently killed by his cartwheeling ATV. But most puzzling is what the dead boy found moments before he was killed...an astonishing discovery that takes deputies back to a five year-old killing. Estelle and the now retired Bill Gastner find themselves looking for a murderer.
Posadas County mystery - A rattlesnake fang pegged in a teenager's eye is the beginning of a spring day for Posadas Undersheriff Estelle Guzman. The injured lad's brother goes missing, and is found dead, apparently killed by his cartwheeling ATV. But most puzzling is what the dead boy found moments before he was killed...an astonishing discovery that takes deputies back to a five year-old killing. Estelle and the now retired Bill Gastner find themselves looking for a murderer.
August 21, 2010
I think there is a danger, that mysteries set in the Southwest will fall into the trap of trying to be like other mysteries set in the Southwest. Luckily, Double Prey avoids this pitfall.
Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman's day starts with boys being boys leading to tragedy, and ends in a murder mystery. A body found in an arroyo looks less and less like an accident as the investigation proceeds. The story winds through the canyons and around the mesas of Havill's fictional Posadas County, leaving some unfinished loose ends, and leading to an unexpected solution. There are a lot of right time at the right place elements in the story, but I suspect if it weren't for those moments, a lot of real life crime wouldn't get solved. Finding a skull with a bullet hole in it makes for an interesting mystery, two a great one.
I like the way that Havill approaches the story and his characters, and his ability to write dialog helps the flow of the tale. His people sound genuine, although I'm not sure I'm ready for lasagna topped with Mexican Green Chiles!
I was left wondering about the first skull, though ... we never find out what happened, and being a tidy sort of person I'd like to know. I guess that's why I liked Double Prey, not finding out what happened is how life works.
Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman's day starts with boys being boys leading to tragedy, and ends in a murder mystery. A body found in an arroyo looks less and less like an accident as the investigation proceeds. The story winds through the canyons and around the mesas of Havill's fictional Posadas County, leaving some unfinished loose ends, and leading to an unexpected solution. There are a lot of right time at the right place elements in the story, but I suspect if it weren't for those moments, a lot of real life crime wouldn't get solved. Finding a skull with a bullet hole in it makes for an interesting mystery, two a great one.
I like the way that Havill approaches the story and his characters, and his ability to write dialog helps the flow of the tale. His people sound genuine, although I'm not sure I'm ready for lasagna topped with Mexican Green Chiles!
I was left wondering about the first skull, though ... we never find out what happened, and being a tidy sort of person I'd like to know. I guess that's why I liked Double Prey, not finding out what happened is how life works.
October 19, 2010
Double Prey is a police procedural/mystery, the sixteenth novel in the Posadas County series and the eighth with Undersherrif Estelle Guzman as the focus. The book held up well as a stand alone, I didn't know that this was part of a series until I had finished reading it and ran a search on the author.
Havill has an authentic writing style that I found appealing. The dialogue is natural and by extension his characters felt genuine, his skill with the dialogue is what makes each character distinct. I liked Estelle's no nonsense attitude, and the glimpse into her family gives her some warmth. Gastner has an old boy quality that makes him perfect as a mentor.
The pace is fairly relaxed as there is no real urgency in solving the case. I would have liked a bit more action perhaps. The storyline is linear and uncluttered and the mystery is interesting. It doesn't quite tie up completely, that loose thread is a small irritation though.
Double Prey is a fine book, a good read and I'll be looking out for the previous in the series.
Havill has an authentic writing style that I found appealing. The dialogue is natural and by extension his characters felt genuine, his skill with the dialogue is what makes each character distinct. I liked Estelle's no nonsense attitude, and the glimpse into her family gives her some warmth. Gastner has an old boy quality that makes him perfect as a mentor.
The pace is fairly relaxed as there is no real urgency in solving the case. I would have liked a bit more action perhaps. The storyline is linear and uncluttered and the mystery is interesting. It doesn't quite tie up completely, that loose thread is a small irritation though.
Double Prey is a fine book, a good read and I'll be looking out for the previous in the series.
March 9, 2011
Everyone is grieved, and no one surprised, when Freddie Romero's ATV spins off a back road and leaves him dead. Freddie, a neighbor of deputy sheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman, was a reckless, thoughtless teenager. It's probably just a coincidence that Freddie had found the skull of a jaguar, rare in the United States. But as Estelle tries to find what Freddie was doing on a remote trail, she finds that there was more in the cave he discovered--and that someone doesn't want the cave's secrets known. As usual, Estelle's old boss, former sheriff Bill Gastner, is on hand to provide some avuncular advice. Perhaps not the very best of this series, but any return to Posados County is enjoyable.
May 31, 2011
Having spent time in Deming and Alamorgodo NM, I enjoyed the geography of this book. The plot was interesting but the personal stories and relationships were more interesting. I'll put this author on my TBR list.
November 19, 2011
Terrific sense of place (rural New Mexico) and police procedure with all its minute details. I enjoyed the mix of murders past and present, but found the pace in the first half of the book a little too slow. I stuck with it, however, and was rewarded with more action at the end.
March 18, 2016
Gastner's back
Another hit. This one finds Sherriff Bill Gastner back in the investigation bringing his witticisms and appetite back for another mystery. Very much enjoyed the lumbering legacy.
Another hit. This one finds Sherriff Bill Gastner back in the investigation bringing his witticisms and appetite back for another mystery. Very much enjoyed the lumbering legacy.
March 21, 2011
Good "suspense"in determining who did it. One of the author's better books.
July 1, 2011
As usual with this series there are stories within the story. Compelling reading for me. This was an interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews