Bill Gastner Mystery Series by Steven F. Havill

"...readers will enjoy this caper...and curmudgeonly charmer Gastner." -Publishers Weekly Posadas County, New Mexico has very few mean streets and no city-slick cop shop. But it has an earnest, elected 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... more"...readers will enjoy this caper...and curmudgeonly charmer Gastner." -Publishers Weekly Posadas County, New Mexico has very few mean streets and no city-slick cop shop. But it has an earnest, elected 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 air­borne 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 county. 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, the sheriff's department 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.... Steven F. Havill lives near Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife Kathleen, a writer and artist. A dedicated high school biology and English teacher by day, Havill earned both his B.A. and M.A. from the University of New Mexico. Heartshot is the first of 14 mysteries featuring Undersheriff Bill Gastner. less

"Havill...quietly continues a project virtually unique in detective fiction: anchoring his tales of crime and punishment as closely as possible in the rhythms of small-town friends, routines, and calamities." --Kirkus ReviewsRolling stone Wesley Crocker seems a harmless enough free spirit when Posadas County Undersheriff Bill Gastner offers him a lift on the road and spots him a free dinner. Crocker beds down for the night with his gear on the high-school athletic field... more"Havill...quietly continues a project virtually unique in detective fiction: anchoring his tales of crime and punishment as closely as possible in the rhythms of small-town friends, routines, and calamities." --Kirkus ReviewsRolling stone Wesley Crocker seems a harmless enough free spirit when Posadas County Undersheriff Bill Gastner offers him a lift on the road and spots him a free dinner. Crocker beds down for the night with his gear on the high-school athletic field. By morning, 13-year-old Maria Ibarra is found under the high-school football bleachers a few feet away and Crocker goes straight to jail. His account of how he passed the night is full of enough holes to keep him locked down, but meanwhile a background check on Maria raises troubling questions about her life.... less

Elderly Undersherrif Bill Gastner, in Posadas County, New Mexico, is about to lose his vaulable deputy when she goes to Minnesota with her doctor husband. But his life becomes far more complicated than the loss of Estelle when his boss, the sheriff, dies in a private plane crash piloted by his brother-in-law... moreElderly Undersherrif Bill Gastner, in Posadas County, New Mexico, is about to lose his vaulable deputy when she goes to Minnesota with her doctor husband. But his life becomes far more complicated than the loss of Estelle when his boss, the sheriff, dies in a private plane crash piloted by his brother-in-law. Questions about why the men were flying (the sheriff hated to fly) in bad weather are overshadowed when the coroner finds that the pilot was killed by gun shots from the ground through the bottom of the plane, and the sheriff could not pilot it down safely. less

When a county employee is found shot to death in sun-drenched daylight while sitting in his county road grader, Undersheriff Bill Gastner is faced with puzzling questions. The simplest explanation--that an errant bullet from a careless target shooter's rifle blew out Larry Zipoli's brains--is soon discarded as inconsistencies surface... moreWhen a county employee is found shot to death in sun-drenched daylight while sitting in his county road grader, Undersheriff Bill Gastner is faced with puzzling questions. The simplest explanation--that an errant bullet from a careless target shooter's rifle blew out Larry Zipoli's brains--is soon discarded as inconsistencies surface. The fatal bullet shows no rifling marks, and investigation reveals that the shooter walked directly toward the road grader, in full view of the victim--who did nothing to defend himself. In addition to the demands of the investigation, Gastner learns that Sheriff Eduardo Salcido has hired a new deputy without discussing the matter with his undersheriff. And Gastner learns that the new hire is destined to be the first female road patrol deputy in the history of Posadas County.   Thus begins Gastner's relationship with Estelle Reyes, whose shrewd observations shed important light on a crime that rattles all kinds of skeletons lurking in Posadas County closets. less