Easy Errors

By Steven Havill

Next book in the Posadas County Mystery Series

"This is one of the very best entries in a consistently excellent series."—Booklist STARRED review

When County Sheriff Bill Gastner retired from Posadas County, Deputy Robert Torrez rose through ranks of small town law enforcement. But what were Torrez's first days as a rookie officer like?

It's 1986. Undersheriff Bill Gastner is enjoying his usual insomnia alone inside his old adobe when jolted by a horrendous noise. Dreading what he will find, he hastens to the nearby interstate exit where a violent crash has occurred. Not only is the vehicle that struck the support pillars totaled and the driver and a passenger crushed inside, a dead boy has been ejected.

As the appalled Gastner recognizes the youth and swings into action, the first deputy to join him at the scene is rookie Robert Torrez, the department's newest hire. Before Gastner can head him off, Torrez sees that the boy is his spirited younger brother. And the girl crushed inside the SUV is a younger sister. The driver of the Suburban, also dead, is the assistant District Attorney's teenaged son. Two local family tragedies.

A shaken couple reports that when the Suburban, careening at nearly 100 miles an hour, passed them on the interstate, activity inside hinted at its occupants' panic. Were the three dead kids running from someone? Further investigation reveals that a fourth teen should have been in the vehicle, but is now missing. Where had the four kids been? And why?

In this riveting addition to the Posadas County Mysteries, readers will get a glimpse into Deputy Robert Torrez's first big case. Thrilling and emotionally propulsive, Easy Errors proves that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Steven F. Havill's acclaimed series is:

• Perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Michael McGarrity
• For readers who enjoy police procedurals and Southwest desert mysteries

Praise for the Posadas County Mysteries:

"Gastner is a unique and endearing protagonist who certainly deserves plenty of encores."—Booklist STARRED review for Heartshot

"Full of bright local color and suffused with a compassionate understanding of human motivation, this intelligent, understated mystery deserves a wide and appreciative readership."—Publishers Weekly STARRED review for Out of Season

"The Posadas County Mystery series notches its sixteenth with all its signature virtues intact: good writing, an unerring sense of place and a protagonist it's a pleasure to root for."—Kirkus Reviews STARRED review for The Fourth Time is Murder

"If you haven't yet discovered these wonderful mysteries, you are in for a treat!"—ANNE HILLERMAN, New York Times bestselling author for Lies Come Easy

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sourcebooks
• Release date: Nov 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781464209253

Steven Havill

Steven F. Havill lives with his wife of fifty-three years, Kathleen, in New Mexico. He is the author of thirty-two novels, taught secondary schools for 25 years, and recently earned an AAS degree in gunsmithing.

Reviews for Easy Errors

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story begins with a tragic car accident, and it is up the Undersheriff Bill Gastner and his team to uncover what led to it. This 22nd title in the series is a prequel about the first days of Robert Torrez’s life as a rookie cop. It follows Torrez and Gastner as they try to make sense of what happened. The author does an excellent job in this police procedural of gradually introducing bits of evidence and clues. Eventually, it all ties together, even things that seem at first to be unrelated. Though some the codes used by the cops may be unknown to readers, and some of the details about guns and bullets a bit tedious at times, Havill still manages to sustain a level of suspense that will keep the reader’s interest until the end.

[bookappeal · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Havill's pre-prequel details (and I do mean DETAILs) the first case on which Robert Torrez. Later, Torrez will become Posadas County Sheriff but, in this story of horrible accidents that claim the lives of 4 young people, Undersheriff Bill Gastner is in charge of training Torrez in the ways of police investigation. A compelling case but chock full of police codes, firearm specs, and other descriptive detail that some readers may find a drag on the plot. But the characters are compelling. For fans of the series, this may fill in some holes about a favorite character. For new readers, this slight but engaging police procedural may prompt investigation of other entries in the series.

[vicki_weisfeld · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is book 22 in Havill’s Posadas County (New Mexico) mystery series and is a prequel to the earlier books. Demonstrating how reader opinion is more than background noise to crime fiction writers, Havill says this story sprang from a reader’s request for more information about Sheriff Robert Torrez’s early career. It’s a testament to how well Havill knows and understands his characters inside and out that he can reach back in time and conjure their younger selves.Havill begins this book, narrated in the first person by Undersheriff Bill Gastner, with Gastner relaxing one Wednesday night (with a book!), interrupted in the third paragraph with “the distant shriek of tires tearing rubber and the loud, dull whump that followed.” A motor vehicle has crashed disastrously somewhere nearby, so Gastner alerts the sheriff’s dispatcher and sets out to find the source of the noise.It isn’t pretty. What follows over the next few days is the meticulous reconstruction of events that led to this tragedy. You might think an auto crash could not sustain investigative—and reader—attention for an entire novel, but Havill’s skill lies in making this police procedural absolutely riveting. It proves that a crime story doesn’t have to trot out a demented serial killer or imperil the US President and all of Congress in order to have stakes worth caring about.Each of Havill’s characters is intrinsically interesting, and it’s equally interesting to see how they work together as a team, which includes working around some spotty (and humorous) assistance from the police dispatchers.The care that Havill takes in reconstructing the crime and establishing the officers’ logic in developing every last bit of evidence holds until near the book’s end, when the author has the prosecutor, speaking before the grand jury, claim a type of evidence the authorities do not actually possess. While the grand jury might reach the same decision with or without this information, its decision is based on a totality of evidence, and the total is flawed. In a novel so thoroughly grounded in the step-by-step accretion of facts, this slip-up is jarring, and the book’s title, Easy Errors, turns ironic.Still, the rest of the book is so strong, it isn’t enough to discourage me from wanting to read more Posadas County mysteries. As a fan of the Longmire tv series, based on Craig Johnson’s books, I warmed to this one immediately.

[jamespurcell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another good story in this fine series. If you want to enrich a current series create an interesting retro story about the days of yesteryear. Robert Torres joins the sheriff's unit and his first investigation involves the tragic deaths of two of his younger siblings in a horrific auto accident.All the seeds of his later success are evident as he and the Undersheriff sort out the events that killed four of the youngest and brightest in Posadas County.