Books : Final Payment: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries)

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Author name: Steven F. Havill

: Final Payment: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries)
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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780312354152
ISBN number: 0312354150
Label: St. Martin's Minotaur
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: June 12, 2007
Publishing house: St. Martin's Minotaur
Release Date: June 12, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 498867
Studio: St. Martin's Minotaur



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Product Description:

The rugged Cat Mesa country north of the village of Posadas is hosting the very first annual Posadas 100, a cyclo-cross bicycle race that promises to attract more than 140 competitors. Despite enough injuries during the pre-race practice to promise a spectacular—and dangerous—race, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman has even more pressing concerns on her mind.

           

Someone has been using Jerry Turner’s big Cessna 206 and then returning it to its hangar at the Posadas airport. The most likely explanation is clandestine trips into Mexico, but a State Police drug-sniffing dog finds no evidence of contraband. Estelle has worries at home as well. Facing his very first public piano recital, her prodigiously talented seven-year-old son is stubbornly refusing to tell anyone what he plans to play, and it’s making everyone, including his music teacher, very nervous.

           

The day of the big race brings a tragedy that doesn’t look like an accident, and as the investigation continues, puzzling connections surface deep in Mexico. Posadas County is now mixed up in something bigger and more sinister than it’s ever faced before, and it’s up to Estelle to uncover the truth before things spin out of control.

           

Readers of Final Payment, whether they are encountering Posadas County for the very first time or gladly returning, will be charmed by Estelle, her family, and the various citizens of this vibrant community. And never fear! The retired sheriff Bill Gastner is still in town, rounding out the cast of this entertaining, highly readable mystery.





Customer Reviews
User popularity level: out of 5 stars

Rated by buyers 2 out of 5 stars - Too many plot problems!
When you create tension as a writer you have to know when to release it or the reader finally becomes dulled with the situation and just skims to get it over with. Unless,of course, the whole object of the book is tension. (i.e. "Cape Fear") The hostage situation in this book just goes on and on and on.
Three other concerns: The deputy takes a civilian into a KNOWN dangerous situation. In real life she would have been at the least disaplined if not fired. I realize it is a plot devise but it isn't a good one! She dawdles when she sees the parked motorcycle. For a deputy known for her insight and ability that wasn't consistent. And finally the most unbelievable situation. The cunning perp allows himself to me drawn into an OBVIOUS "police sniper" situation. I have enjoyed most of Havill's books and was surprized and disappointed with this effort. Just too many major problems one right after another.


Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - Richard Bridgewater
The usual prompt delivery from Amazon. I have read the entire series of books by Havill and have enjoyed them all. He makes Posadas County seem real with real characters with human flaws. Final payment included some scenes that would seem to be stretching it a bit. The night landing at an unlit airstrip was a reckless action that I do not feel a real police officer would have attempted. Having been involved in police work for over 18 years I think I know somthing about how cops think and act. I do recommend Havill's books and look forward to his subsequent one.










Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - Return to Posadas County in "Final Payment"


Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman finds herself in a bit of a predicament as this latest read in a great series opens. The tourists are coming to town and in a big way. The village of Posadas, New Mexico is hosting in less than 48 hours a grueling bicycle race named the "Posadas 100" or as Estelle calls it, "The Blood and Broken Bones One Hundred." Her point has proven true with two hard crashes during practice already involving riders that went off the mesa into the ravines below.

Her concerns about the event are interrupted by the discovery of three well dressed but very deceased individuals in the scrub brush at one end of the runway at a small isolated airstrip owned by the local gas company. When she arrives on scene and begins to investigate she soon realizes that the three did not die of exposure caused by the summer heat as one would expect considering the harsh landscape. No, it was a clear execution for reasons unknown. While at the airport she also discovers that a private airplane, a Cessna 206, has been used by someone and put back so as not to be caught. Estelle believes that the two cases are linked in a fast paced novel that concludes in a violent altercation 48 hours later.

This series originally began with the Sheriff Bill Gastner books before switching over to Estelle Reyes-Guzman several novels ago. With this being the fifth novel in the overall story arc dealing primarily with Estelle, it is obvious that Author Steven F. Havill made a conscious decision to all but shove the Gastner character off stage. He is hardly present at all in this novel and only makes an appearance a couple of times directly while being briefly talked about in the course of events approximately twice more. Estelle is front and center throughout the novel and it shows in style, tone, and action.

As the overall series arc has shifted to Estelle and the series was named a "Posadas County Mystery" the tone and style shifted. What had been a warm folksy style with the cantankerous Gastner shifted to a cool distant style reflecting the lead character. Gone are the frequent mentions of Gastner's insomnia and middle of the night drives which found him prowling around unable to sleep. Now, it is Estelle, prayed on by her family worries that finds herself unable to sleep in the wee hours of the morning as well as by a case that must be solved quickly. Estelle, while she may stress about their future or important events in the children's lives, is always cool and calm under pressure and displays none of Gastner's sharp tongue or fiery temper. This is certainly true in this novel where Estelle is pressured to new limits and in ways she has never dealt with before.

Once again Steven F. Havill brings an attention to detail, an appreciation of the harsh beauty of the New Mexico landscape, and rich characters to bear on another twisting tale of greed and murder. Something that is a familiar event in Posadas County and appreciated once again by his loyal fans. This latest entry is another strong read and while Gastner's lack of presence is noted and missed, so too is the fact that Estelle is becoming a powerful character in her own right. This is good stuff and well worth your reading investment.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2007
Always real and way past 13





Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - terrific New Mexico police procedural
In Posadas County, New Mexico, everyone excitedly awaits the very first annual Posadas 100, a cross bicycle race; everyone that is except very first responders like cops and ER personnel as they expect incidents and injuries. However, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman has other concerns as she looks closely at the three Hispanic corpses, who were executed. However, just one look at their relatively expensive garb and affirmed by their soft hands tell Estelle these are not unfortunate illegal immigrants caught sneaking across the border and murdered by a vigilante group.

At about the same time, pilot Jerry Turner reports that someone apparently flew his Cessna 206 away from and back to the Posadas Airport; everyone including Estelle assumes it is drug traffickers, but no lingering evidence is found. At home, Estelle's seven-year-old son refuses to inform her, his music teacher or anyone what he plans to perform at his very first piano recital. As much as she worries about him, more murders and a Mexican exchange art student's watercolour lead Estelle to believe she knows who is the subsequent victim and why, but to stop this brilliant killer means risking her life.

This is a terrific New Mexico police procedural that will have the audience finishing it in one delightful read. The story line is fast-paced on both the official and personnel fronts as Estelle deals with a clever murderer and her even slyer son. Newcomers as well as Reyes-Guzman's fans will appreciate the heroine's balancing act of trying to stop a killer and remain alive so she can solve the deeper mystery of what piece her son will play.

Harriet Klausner



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