Undersheriff Bill Gastner has a feeling that Anna Hocking's seemingly accidental death is no such thing. Following his instincts takes him on a journey of cold-blooded murder and willingness to go beyond all measures to hide the truth. ( )

The author sprinkles the clues as the story and action unfold. The
characters are defined but open for growth, the pacing flows sometimes at 100MPH other times at a slow trot. Never boring. ( )

I enjoyed this story which is a complicated police procedural. This was my second in this series, having read #4 first. I like the protagonist, Undersheriff Bill Gastner, and his former partner, Estelle Reyes, called back into service temporarily. Bill isn't the brightest bulb on the tree, and Estelle is often two or three steps ahead of him. Bill is however dedicated to both justice and serving his community and that is refreshing. His main failing seems to be that he eats too much, but at least he's not a drunk like so many other detectives.

Rusty Nelson did an acceptable job but reads much too slowly for my taste, so I would rate him 3 stars at most. As an illustration, book #18 (One Perfect Shot) is actually a prequel to the series, and there are two narrators available, both unabridged versions of this 250-page book. Rusty takes 13 hr, 39 min, while Ray Porter takes only 10 hr, 31 min, more than three hours less!! I have started listening to the version by Porter, who seems to be excellent. ( )

I know of readers who have a tendency to think that slender books can't possibly be as good as thick ones. Don't make that mistake with Steven F. Havill's Posadas County mystery series. Each book packs a big punch with a real feel for rural New Mexico, an engrossing mystery, and some of the best characters you'll find anywhere. Twice Buried can easily be read as a standalone. For that matter, the series itself doesn't necessarily need to be read in order, but I recommend that you do so-- especially if you're a reader who loves excellent characterization. The personal relationships between the characters grow and change as time passes, and too much of that would be lost if you read at random.

At first the plot of Twice Buried has such a wide focus that it's difficult to connect the dots, but Havill takes closer and closer aim until I realized that there was only one solution that made sense-- a bit like Undersheriff Bill Gastner himself. Speaking of Gastner, he's one lawman I'd want to have on my side. His strengths are compassion, tenacity, and insomnia, and in his hands they're unbeatable. When Gastner calls for help with the unattended death at Anna Hocking's house, he is faced with an eager young reporter wanting to make a name for herself. How he deals with her says a lot about Gastner as a person and Havill as a writer:

"But there's no foul play, no crime. It's just an unattended death. The only dignity she has remaining is what we preserve. The public has no rights in there. And we haven't notified any next of kin, so I'd rather no one was in that house who doesn't need to be."



There are many excellent mysteries out there that allow us to see places we've never been to and to solve crimes we'll never have to face. It takes a very special kind of crime fiction writer to do all that and create characters who treat others with true dignity and compassion. Steven F. Havill does just that with his beautifully crafted Posadas County mysteries. Each one is a pleasure to read and experience. ( )

This series just gets better and better. The characters are realistic and grow and change but not drastically and not in a way that makes them not fit. ( )