From Publishers Weekly
Bill Gastner can't sleep, eats way too much Mexican food and seems headed for a stroke. But in his fifth adventure (after Before She Dies), the aging undersheriff of Posadas County, N.M., labors 'round the clock to solve the mysterious death of a 15-year-old girl. Maria Ibarra's body was found under the high-school football field bleachers. The first suspect is Wesley Crocker, an itinerant bicyclist whom Gastner, out of kindness, had treated to a meal the previous night. Gastner feels certain that Crocker is innocent, a notion confirmed when an unknown motorist tries to run down the cyclist. Vanessa Davila, a friend of Maria's, flees when police question her. Then a bright, popular student is killed in a suspicious car accident. Like Gastner, readers may feel stymied until the last evidence turns up, but there is a cleverly planted clue in the early pages. A strong sense of place and tough but compassionate characters distinguish this series. Gastner and his valued friend, deputy Estelle Reyes-Guzman, pull the case together, while Estelle and her doctor husband urge the undersheriff to start caring for himself.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Wesley Crocker seems a harmless enough free spirit when Posadas County Under-sheriff Bill Gastner meets him for the first time and spots him a free dinner. But Gastner's judgment is questioned when the body of 13-year-old Maria Ibarra is found under the high-school football bleachers a few feet from Crocker's overnight campsite. Crocker's account of the evening is riddled with enough inconsistencies to make Gastner suspicious, but a background check of the victim's life raises other troubling issues, such as possible child abuse or exploitation by her classmates. The fifth Gastner mystery is a crystalline gem of dusty Arizona atmosphere, small-town personalities, and razor-sharp plotting. It also raises questions regarding the law--especially small-town law--and its attitudes toward the indigent, the homeless, and the privileged. Toss in Gastner, one of the most endearing mentors in crime fiction, for a mystery that is disarmingly simple on the surface but ultimately reveals surprising depth.
Wes Lukowsky
