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    Heartshot
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    Heartshot
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    Heartshot
    Ebook280 pages4 hours

    Heartshot

    By Steven Havill

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

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    About this ebook

    First book in the Posadas County Mystery Series

    When a series of crimes disrupts the tranquil community in Posadas County, New Mexico, a group of small-town cops will have to fight for their lives to keep the county safe

    Posadas County, New Mexico, has very few mean streets and no city-slick cop shop. But it has an earnest, elected County Sheriff and his aging Undersheriff—William C. Gastner. Pushing sixty, widower Bill has no other life than in law enforcement—and doesn't want one, even if he's being nudged gently toward retirement. Then big time trouble strikes.

    A car full of teens, running from a stop by Deputy Torrez, goes air-borne into a rocky outcrop, killing all five kids and revealing a package of cocaine under the seat. Has someone brought big-time crime to the small town?

    Bill is now dealing with grieving parents—one of whom starts packing a gun. Then a second explosion of violence fells an undercover cop.

    Under pressure, local law enforcement pulls together to make a formidable team. Its weak spot may be Bill whose mind is too tough to crumble but whose body, long mistreated, gradually succumbs to stress. Ignoring all advice—and sense—he pilots the case to a final dramatic, midair confrontation where the fate of the killer—and the cop—will be decided....

    The first book in Steven F. Havill's Posadas County Mysteries finds aging Undersheriff Bill Gastner struggling against a rising tide of violent crime. Will the burned-out cop be able to handle the heat?

    Check out the beginning of the iconic Posadas County Mystery Series:

    • Perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Michael McGarrity
    • For readers who enjoy police procedurals and Southwest desert mysteries
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSourcebooks
    Release dateOct 31, 2011
    ISBN9781615950799
    Author

    Steven Havill

    Steven F. Havill lives with his wife of fifty-three years, Kathleen, in New Mexico. He is the author of thirty-two novels, taught secondary schools for 25 years, and recently earned an AAS degree in gunsmithing.

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    Reviews for Heartshot

    4/5

    53 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Havill never repeats himself, goes straight ahead from murder to resolution, this i so refreshing.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book. The mystery is interesting although not too hard to figure out (at least I did which is unusual). However the protagonist is wonderful. It's great to see a 60 something man not grouching about the "young whipper-snapper", instead encouraging the young to learn from him. I'll be reading the rest of the stories in this series.
    • 4/5
      I'm bumping this up a star because he's a new author for me. It was a solid 3 star book with an interesting hero, a fat old cop who drives himself too hard. Good mystery & motives, neat methods, too. He must have some air time. Made me feel like I was in the cockpit during one memorable event.
    • 3/5
      Very slow in the middle. Good ending.
    • 4/5
      Great characters, I hope to read more by this author.
    • 4/5
      Undersheriff Bill Gastner investigates a case that begins with the suspicious car crash of four teenagers. His own medical condition plays a large obstacle during the case. Several new deaths occur as his only detective Estelle Reyes and he investigate. This is an excellent book for audio. The climax takes place on a plane and listening to this on audio makes you feels like you are right there. I admit I didn't read this series in order and it makes no difference, but I do like the 2nd and third in the series somewhat better. The plot although complex seems to not be woven together as well in this novel. Havill seems to get better with experience. At times I just think the main character, Gastner is an idiot.
    • 4/5
      In Havill’s mystery novel, Bill Gastner is an undersheriff in Posadas County, New Mexico. When Ricky Fernandez and four other teens die in an unexplained car crash, Bill’s instincts kick into high gear as he realizes there is more here than meets the eye. Before long a bag of cocaine is discovered and the new sheriff—a very publicity hungry lawman—and an inexperienced undercover cop keep Bill hopping. As the pain of loss filters through the community, vigilantes step up to do the sheriff’s job costing them a vital lead. Racing against time, Bill pursues a murderer and his own obsession with the truth becomes his worst enemy.A great addition to the A Posadas County Mystery series.
    • 4/5
      This is another sterling entry in Steven F. Havill's Posadas County mystery series. The author has put so much life into this fictional county in southwestern New Mexico that you'd swear it was real-- and if it were, I'd want to go for a visit.Out of Season covers a lot of ground. It shows us ranchers trying to survive when money is every bit as scarce as water but those bills still have to be paid. It shows us a tiny sheriff's department trying to subsist on a shoestring budget at a time when employees are getting good job offers from law enforcement agencies with a lot more money-- and now the death of the sheriff is going to have a profound impact on everyone there. Of course, life would not be complete without a bit of meddling from members of the City Council. The setting isn't the only strength to this series. The cast of characters is superb. If characterization means a lot to you when you read mysteries then you have to get your hands on this Posadas County series. These characters are most definitely not static. They grow, they change, they have health problems, they get married, they move... everything you and I do, well, they do it, too. When you read these books, you're making friends. (So what if they're fictional?)The only quibble I have with Out of Season is that the story relied too much on the technical aspects and not enough on the characters, but that's not about to stop me from reading the next installment. Bring it on!