[Bill Gastner Mystery 01] • Heartshot

Posadas County, New Mexico, hugging the San Cristobal

mountains separating it from Mexico, has very few mean streets. No city-slick

cop shop either, but an earnest, elected Sheriff and his aging Undersheriff,

William C. Gastner. Pushing sixty, and the girth of his Sam Browne uniform

belt, widower Bill has no other life than in law enforcement and doesn t want

one, even if he s being nudged gently towards retirement. Then big time trouble

strikes.

A car full of teens out by the lake, running from a stop by Deputy Torrez, goes

airborne into a rocky outcrop, killing all five kids and revealing a package

under the seat. A stash of cocaine this size argues someone or ones has brought

big time crime to the county. Were the dead kids merely innocent dupes?

Partying that July Fourth night? Dealing?

Searching for answers, Bill deploys his department while dealing with grieving

parents, one of whom starts packing a gun. Then a second explosion of violence

fells an undercover cop whose fate is decided in a tension-filled, brilliantly

described, air ambulance flight.

Under pressure, the sheriff s department shows its mettle and 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 author s deep affection for southern New Mexico and his gift for vividly

etching ordinary people make this well-plotted first novel a standout.

About the Author:

Steven F. Havill lives near Albuquerque, New Mexico,

with his wife Kathleen, a writer and artist. A dedicated high school teacher

of high school biology and English by day Havill earned both his B.A. and M.A.

from the University of New Mexico. Besides writing the seven Undersheriff

Bill Gastner mysteries, of which Heartshot is the first, Havill has also

written three Western novels.