Blood Sweep

by Steven Havill

Overview

Next book in the Posadas County Mystery Series

Posadas County Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman has a lot on her plate—but when her family is threatened by a criminal underworld, she'll stop at nothing to protect her own

Gifted fifteen-year-old Francisco Guzman has become an internationally renowned concert pianist, touring the world under the auspices of his music conservatory. That gives his mother, Posadas County Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman, plenty of reason to worry—and that's magnified when she learns that he's in Mexico's crime-ridden Mazatlan for a concert series where he may be the target for scam artists and kidnappers.

Estelle's worries go from bad to worse when her uncle surfaces in the small town to mend family ties and leaves a trail of corpses in his wake. Meanwhile, escalating events put Sheriff Bobby Torrez in jeopardy—and with a criminal willing to openly attack local law enforcement, the citizens of Posadas County are in incredible danger.

And just when his sage advice might be most useful, former county sheriff and family friend Bill Gastner is injured and out of commission. As the situation on both sides of the border heats up, the inevitable outcome grows more and more deadly.

In Blood Sweep, the next title in Steven F. Havill's Posadas County Mysteries, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman's past will come back to haunt her. Can she keep Posadas County safe from it?

This acclaimed series is:

• Perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Michael McGarrity
• For readers who enjoy police procedurals and Southwest desert mysteries

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781464203879
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/07/2015
Series:	Posadas County Mysteries , #20
Pages:	306
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

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.

Editorial Reviews

Blood Sweep will demonstrate that idealistic visions can have their downside. A new attraction for tourists both interstate and international can attract more sinister visitors. Soon the Posadas body count will increase. Do not miss this one. It's a keeper!

The Adelaide

Solid addition to an excellent series.

NetGalley

Posadas County Sheriff Bobby Torrez is antelope hunting when a shot blows apart his telescopic sight.

Was someone trying to kill him or just delivering a message? Meanwhile, Undersheriff Estelle eyes Guzman’s son, a 15-year-old pianist, is in Mazatalan, Mexico, for a concert. Crime is escalating in the

• nce-picturesque city, so Estelle nears panic when her 90-year-old mother receives an anonymous call asking for $8,000. The tension escalates again when a body is found in a car, the circumstances suggesting that the victim knew his killer. There’s also some preliminary evidence the dead man may have been the shooter who took out Torrez’ lens. Are any of the incidents related? Havill, in his twentieth Posadas County mystery, will keep readers guessing. He’ll also have longtime readers holding their collective breath to learn the fate of the series’ original protagonist, Bill Gastner, now 76, who shatters a hip in a fall. The Posadas County mysteries are carefully plotted, subtly written, and populated by an endearing, evolving cast of characters. A worthy entry in a fine series that appeals equally to procedural fans and to those who favor mysteries with a small-town setting.

Booklist - Wes Lukowsky

2015-01-20
This 20th chapter in the crime annals of Posadas County, New Mexico, brings Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman (One Perfect Shot, 2012, etc.) up against demons past and present.The search for whomever took a shot at Sheriff Robert Torrez from several hundred yards away and missed him by 10 inches ends with the discovery of one Miguel A. Quesada, whose Jeep is carrying a rifle that looks like the perfect candidate for the weapon. But Quesada's in no position to clear up the mystery since he's been shot to death himself. Nor is Estelle in a much better position; since she found her much-loved old colleague, retired Sheriff Bill Gastner, crouching helpless on the cement floor of his own garage with a broken hip, she's devoted herself to getting him swift and comprehensive care, despite her department's needs and crusty Gastner's brusque demands to leave him alone. Even getting Gastner to a hospital doesn't free up Estelle, because a series of apparently unrelated phone warnings alerts her to possible extortion and kidnapping threats against her son, Francisco, who's playing a concert in Mexico with an equally gifted friend from Missouri's Leister Academy. The threats against Francisco eventually bring Estelle face to face with enigmatic Benedicte Mazón, who claims to be her long-lost uncle. Is it possible that this aging jailbird, who manages to escape from police custody, could hold the key to both the gaps in Estelle's knowledge of her own early years and the shooting of Bobby Torrez? The family-secrets angle makes this leisurely episode most likely to appeal to fans less invested in the nominal mystery than in the long narrative arc supplied by the extended family of Posadas County, in which everyone seems to be related to everyone else by blood or spirit.

Kirkus Review

"Havill, in his twentieth Posadas County mystery, will keep readers guessing. He'll also have longtime readers holding their collective breath to learn the fate of the series' original protagonist, Bill Gastner, now 76, who shatters a hip in a fall. The Posadas County mysteries are carefully plotted, subtly written, and populated by an endearing, evolving cast of characters. A worthy entry in a fine series that appeals equally to procedural fans and to those who favor mysteries with a small-town setting." — Booklist

"The family-secrets angle makes this leisurely episode most likely to appeal to fans less invested in the nominal mystery than in the long narrative arc supplied by the extended family of Posadas County, in which everyone seems to be related to everyone else by blood or spirit." — Kirkus Reviews

"The story line is satisfyingly complex, but the novel's great strength is its well-rendered setting, from the opening description of a silent, motionless antelope to the evocation of a dry riverbed. The concluding note of empathy for the many people trying to cross the border is moving without being heavy-handed." — Publishers Weekly STARRED Review

From the Publisher