Thursday, April 16, 2015

Blood Sweep: A Posadas County Mystery - Steven F. Havill

Blood Sweep: A Posadas County Mystery
Steven F. Havill
Poisoned Pen, Apr 7 2015, $24.95
ISBN 9781464203893

In Posadas County, New Mexico an unknown sniper just misses killing Sheriff Robert Torrez.  The trail leads to a dead Miguel A. Quesada, whose vehicle contains a rifle that could be the one used in the murder attempt; but leaves unanswered who killed him and why.

Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman worries about her beloved former boss retired Sheriff Bill Gastner who broke his hip; her nonagenarian mom who withdrew $8000 from the bank; and her concert pianist son performing in a cartel dominated area of Mexico.  Adding to her tsuris is meeting Benedicte Mazón, who insists he is the black sheep uncle she never met before or even heard of.

The twentieth Posadas County police procedural is an intriguing mystery in which Reyes-Guzman’s family drama supersedes the Torrez-Quesada subplot.  Targeting longtime fans, Blood Sweep engages those who have read the backstory (see NightZone and One Perfect Shot); newcomers will appreciate the police case and the rustic environs but struggle with understanding what the heroine knows and more significantly not knows re her family.


Harriet Klausner

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