It is always
a thrill when the latest Posadas County Mystery arrives in my hands. I have
been a fan for many years now. When Sandi was fighting cancer, Mr. Havill’s
series was a listening request. I would read the new book to her as she laid in
hospital beds in the main infusion room and her own isolated hospital room. Steven
F. Havill, Bill Crider, and a few other authors helped us both cope with what
was happening in our lives.
The latest in
this very good series, Perfect Opportunity: A Posada County Mystery,
spends considerable time with former Sheriff Bill Gastner. That is a very
special treat as it the series began with him long ago in Heartshot.
As the book
opens, it is the day after Bill Gastner’s 87th birthday. While he is still
mobile, he does so with some technological help these days. One of which is a four-wheel
drive wheelchair that allows him freedom of movement. He has no intention at
all from moving from his adobe home in Posadas County in Southeastern New Mexico.
Certainly not to some retirement home near his daughter’s house in Ann Arbor,
Michigan.
He had woken
early, just after four in the morning and decided he was going to go for a
drive and see what was what. The former sheriff is legendary for his driving
around at all hours of the day and night keeping an eyeball on things. He ends
up taking along with him Carlos Guzman. It has been a year since the vicious
event that nearly killed himself and his finance, Tasha Qarshe. (That event
takes up the majority of No
Accident and is briefly referenced here.) He is making progress in
rehab, but healing is slow and Francisco says his brother is not sleeping well.
Getting him out and about for a bit to take his mind off things might help
somewhat.
Gastner likes
the idea and goes to go get him. Son of Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman,
Carlos, soon joins him in his old Suburban. After driving around for a bit,
they come across a traffic stop. It is 5:27 in the morning and Deputy Lydia
Thompson has pulled over a Ram crew cab truck. Something strikes both Gastner
and Carlos as being off so they circle back to check. Deputy Lydia Thompson is
new to the area and far from her northeastern roots, but she is fitting in well
with everyone. She assures them everything is fine.
Gastner has a
lot of time later to consider what he saw, when the owner of the truck as well
as another person, are found murdered at the side of the read in the same area
the next day. Coincidence? Probably not.
What follows
is a complicated and a thoroughly enjoyable read. Gastner is heavily involved
as is the incredible Nightzone project introduced long ago in the
book
by the same name. Numerous secondary characters that have long made this series
the quality read that has been for decades return here. There is also the usual
level of mystery and the author’s love for the beauty of the New Mexico
landscape. Perfect Opportunity: A Posadas County Mystery by
Steven F. Havill is the latest very good read in a long series well worth your
time. It is strongly recommended.
Amazon
Associate Link: https://amzn.to/4b6PTCt
My reading
copy came as a digital arc from the publisher, Severn House, by way of NetGalley
with no expectations of a review.
Kevin R.
Tipple ©2024
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