Nightzone

Starred review from August 26, 2013
As Havill’s stellar 19th Posadas County mystery (after 2012’s One Perfect Shot) shows, retired sheriff Bill Gastner can’t resist getting involved in law enforcement business. One quiet night, while Gastner, an insomniac, is stargazing on a mesa, he spots a distant fire, a pair of headlights driving away from the area, and an apparent power outage. After calling in the authorities, Gastner heads to the scene, where he finds a corpse and some wooden power-line supports chopped down. The subsequent murder of a cop, who may have been trying to stop a man responsible for the damage, could be connected with plans for the construction of a new theme park centered on a huge radio telescope that’s being shipped to New Mexico from California. Some extremists view the project as a cover for intrusive government surveillance. Gastner’s capabilities are plausible for a septuagenarian, and Havill peoples the book with believable characters.

September 1, 2013

One rancher's dream of creating an astronomy-themed tourist attraction brings out an ecoterrorist attack, and things quickly spiral out of control in Havill's 19th case (after One Perfect Shot).

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013
When retired Posadas County sheriff Bill Gastner can't sleep, he drives to a spot outside of town to enjoy New Mexico's brilliant night sky. One night, he sees two pinpoint pops of light in the distance, but there's nothing celestial about them. As he learns later that night, two ecoterrorists cut down two power lines that would eventually service a proposed astronomy-based theme park dubbed NightZone. One of the perps is killed by a fallen power line; the other escapes. Heading home after offering testimony to the police, he stops to assist an officer who has drawn fire during a seemingly routine traffic stop. Once a lawman, always a lawman; Gastner returns fire when the shooter levels his shotgun at him, killing the gunman. Gastner soon receives threats from the deceased's enraged son. The nineteenth Posadas County mystery places the focus back on the retired Gastner after a few episodes in which the mysteries revolved around his successor. No matter the protagonist, Havill's work is believable and well plotted, and never, ever includes a character who isn't a viable human being. Another fine book in a terrific series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)