The Fourth Time Is Murder: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Steven F. Havill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2008 | Series: Posadas County Mysteries

Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is always busy, but more so now than ever. The sheriff is still not completely recovered from his stay in the hospital, and she is recovering from a hospital stay herself. After a long day at work, Estelle is happy to clear off her desk and drive home, where her beloved family waits. She hears her cell phone ringing as she pulls into the driveway. A truck has gone off the road and the driver’s body found near the wreck. Back on the job, Estelle drives to the scene, where she finds more questions than answers.

Was the truck’s going over the hill really an accident? And why was there a single footprint on the man’s body? An autopsy spurs further puzzles.

Steven F. Havill paints a vivid portrait of this small New Mexico town in the sixth entry of this atmospheric, entertaining series.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A man swerves to avoid a deer on a rain-slicked highway, flips over the guardrail, and plunges to his death. Posadas County, New Mexico, under-sheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman notices a suspicious footprint at the scene. The subsequent autopsy is troubling, too. The victim’s actual cause of death was drowning. Someone—probably Footprint—poured beer down the man’s throat until he drowned. A second tragedy follows close behind when a young illegal accidentally severs a femoral artery with a chainsaw and bleeds out in a remote area. In her investigation, Reyes-Guzman learns the crash victim was delivering “sweepstakes awards” to the locals in exchange for cash deposits to cover “handling charges and differences in the exchange rates.” The sixth Posadas County mystery featuring Reyes-Guzman—her predecessor, Bill Gastner, was featured in nine previous books—builds on the series’ strengths. The plot is revealed slowly and imaginatively. Reyes-Guzman is both an ambitious professional and family woman, forever fretting that she’s neglecting either the job or the family. And, as always, Havill insinuates small-town rhythms, prejudices, and concerns into the mix for a satisfying, intelligent mystery. --Wes Lukowsky

About the Author

Steven F. Havill is the author of the Sheriff Bill Gastner mysteries, as well as several Westerns. He lives with his wife, Kathleen, in Ratón, New Mexico.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312380631
• ISBN-13: 978-0312380632
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,029,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Welcome Back, Old Friend!, December 26, 2008

By 

Joe K. Bolin (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fourth Time Is Murder: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Review of The Fourth Time is Murder

I've been a fan of the Posadas County series of police procedurals since 1991's Heartshot, but until this installment, I never felt the same affinity for Undersheriff Guzman as for her predecessor, Sheriff Bill Gastner. In this fifteenth novel in the series, Havill rightly moves the focus from Guzman's family life to her police work. Dr. Francis and the boys are still around, but very much in the background. A more prominent role for Gastner is also welcome.
The Fourth Time is Murder presents three storylines, two woven together seamlessly and one standing alone. Havill leaves one of the storylines open, hopefully to be concluded in the next novel. Another minor storyline involving a Posadas County deputy, is never fully resolved, while the main storyline is brought to a satisfying resolution. The next novel in the series will hopefully pick up where The Fourth Time is Murder left off.
Posadas County, as always, is a palpable presence throughout the novel. Characters who have previously only played background roles are given much larger parts as they help--or hinder-- Guzman's investigation.
For fans of the series, this novel is the best addition in years. To readers looking for a mystery series with a strong sense of place: welcome! Posadas County is the perfect place to spend an evening...or a night...or an early morning, riding the backroads with an insomniac undersheriff.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More please!, November 23, 2008

By 

M. C. Carter "cartertoggle" (Columbia, Md USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fourth Time Is Murder: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In my opinion, this is the best Posadas County mystery since the series switched focus with Bill Gastner's retirement from the force. Estelle Reyes-Guzman seems to have hit her stride as the central character; maybe it took the author a few books to perfect his 'female' voice. Good story, strong supporting characters, enough of Padrino to satisfy his fans and a great car chase to end!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewing: "The Fourth Time Is Murder", April 4, 2009

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Fourth Time Is Murder: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries) (Hardcover)

It takes the body a long time to heal when you nearly die. For Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman, the violence that nearly killed her happened over a year ago and she still isn't back to normal. She is working again, but she feels it from time to time in ways she never felt it before. The fatality on Regal Pass not only reminds her of how fragile life is but how her body is still not healed.

Psychologically, she isn't healed either. Something the dead man doesn't care about as he lays crumpled in the wreckage of his truck. Hundreds of feet down the mountainside the wreckage is difficult to get to in daylight and late at night with mist and cold closing in the San Cristobal Mountains it is extremely dangerous. Obviously the man is dead and the wreckage has been down the cliff strewn among the rocks and boulders for while.

But, somebody else has been there. It isn't just the fact that various identifying items that should be in the truck aren't there in the shattered hulk or strewn around the area. Amidst the beer cans and debris of what is left of the truck, the victim has part of a shoe print on his hand. Somebody stepped on his hand. Since it wasn't any of the rescuers it means it was either a witness or a murderer.

The latest in the series finds Estelle juggling issues with her family, a national reporter determined to write a profile of her for a woman's magazine, and a murder. The conflict between her role as a parent and her job continues as well as a growing realization that her family is moving towards a different future that may or may not be what she ever wanted. That concept which is growing stronger in every book since Bill Gastner was eased off the main stage is a huge theme here along with the idea that the border, like the vein of life, is as thin ribbon easily crossed by good and evil alike.

Once again, Steven F. Havill brings Posadas County and its people to like in a series that fundamentally changed several novels ago. While it hasn't been the same since Bill Gastner was moved to the role of a secondary character, Estelle Guezman more than holds her own in this novel that delivers a strong storyline, plenty of action, and depth to the read. This simply might be the best book he has written since the switch in the series and I suspect it will be nominated for many awards.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2009