From Publishers Weekly
Homophobia, politics and perilous teenage rivalries make for an absorbing smalltown procedural, Havill's 12th novel in his Posadas County series. When Carmen Acosta, a middle-school tough girl, is severely beaten and stabbed in the ear with a hat pin, her brutalization may or may not have something to do with the disappearance of her neighbor Kevin Ziegler, the county manager, an honest and effective administrator who is keeping a few secrets from his constituents. The smell of cigarettes and liquor in the health-conscious Ziegler's truck lead Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman to a thrilling, bullet-riddled climax, a startling but artful departure from the novel's unhurried, Southwestern pace. Reyes-Guzman is a tough but tender cop, and Havill writes deftly and sensitively about both her work persona and home life, which provides a gentle, amusing counterpoint to the violence. Longtime readers of the series will be happy to see that Havill's retired protagonist, Sheriff Bill Gaston, is still on the periphery, but the undersheriff has proved herself a worthy successor in this third novel since Havill turned the spotlight on her; she's young, smart and dedicated, and she has a nose for solving crimes. Of course, the real protagonist is Posadas County, a troubled but endearing locale that readers will want to visit time and again.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
There is very little coincidence in small towns. Posadas County, New Mexico, undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman learned the lesson in small, sometimes painful increments over the years. When middle-school student Carmen Mauro is bludgeoned into a coma, and her next-door neighbor, Kevin Ziegler, disappears, the undersheriff knows the incidents are related, but she can't find the connection. Ziegler, the county manager, was gay, had a good relationship with the Mauro family, and was well respected in the community. The Mauro girl was in the midst of a feud with another student over the affections of a local heartthrob, but her rival was in school at the time of the assault. Who saw whom do what to connect the two strands? The eleventh entry in the Posadas County series is as intelligent, carefully plotted, and insightful as its predecessors. The original star of the series, former undersheriff Bill Gastner, drifts in and out of the action these days, but Havill has successfully switched the focus to Reyes-Guzman and her struggle to balance a young family and an all-consuming career. An outstanding series on all levels.
Wes LukowskyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
