Scavengers

Posadas County Mysteries #1

By: Steven F. Havill

Narrated by: Stephanie Brush

Not one, but two dead bodies are found in the harsh New Mexico desert. The first man's face is smashed beyond recognition, and the second one appears to have been forced to dig his own grave before being murdered...execution style.

Soon, new Sheriff Robert Torrez and Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman are knee deep in the midst of a brutal murder spree that spans both sides of the border. Retired Sheriff Bill Gastner is still on hand to offer his support and unerring street smarts, and to do a little investigating of his own in his new position as game and livestock investigator for the state.

Listen to another Posadas County Mystery.©2002 Steven F. Havill (P)2005 Books in Motion

Critic reviews

"Skilled investigation, happenstance and cooperation mesh through every phase of the puzzle, ushering the reader along to one satisfying conclusion." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Throughout this low-key, character-driven series, Havill has managed as well as anyone in the genre to balance the particulars of cop procedure with the often unspoken emotions at the core of small-town life." ( Booklist)

New voices, same old Posadas County

For those who have been reading Mr. Havill's Undersheriff Bill Gastner series from the beginning this book marks the passing from one era to another. At the end of Dead Weight Bill Gastner retires and Sgt. Torres is elected Sheriff of Posadas County, and Estelle Reyes-Guzman becomes his Undersheriff and becomes the new voice of the series. It's a bit unsettling to be suddenly in the mind of Estelle, privy to the thoughts of a character previously known in the series for her inscrutability. At the beginning I really missed the voice of Rusty Nelson who read the previous books with Bill Gastner as the main character and it took me quite a while to adjust to the new female protagonist. I'm not sure why Mr. Havill decided to make the change, and to be honest I sort of wish he hadn't, but ultimately the quality of the characters shines through and I adjusted to the change. In answer to those who complained there was no action they are obviously new to Mr. Havill's work as his books have always been more about the interactions of the characters in this small town and the solving of the mystery. I've never missed the bang bang action of other series with their shallow characters and predictable plots. One thing is true, the plot is sort of left hanging in this book because many of the elements continue on into the next book in the series. Give the series a try (do yourself a favor and go back and read them in order) and if you like good characters you won't be disappointed.

The story is excellent.

The reader, however, is execrable. The character is a Hispanic woman who has spemt all but a year of her life in Mexico and New Mexico, who is actually ESL. The reader sounds like she has never even heard of Spanish. I am not a fluent Spanish-speaker - and I'm embarrassed for her. Plus, she sounds like she's chewing gum. Even her English is mangled. "Should" is pronounced "shoult." The characters' voices are just agony! Why would the nanny scream every statement? Why would a producer/director tolerate this travesty?

I'm guessing, since there are complaints dating back to the audiobook's release, that they don't care. I hope that other authors will take note and not allow Books In Motion to ruin their work.

This book should be replaced with a recording by a more suitable reader.

Good writer

Love the writer, read several of his books. I do not like the narrator at all. Should has stayed with Rusty. I have to rate the audio book lower than previous audiobooks.

Good book

Wish they had found a narrator that didn't make everyone sound like they were from New York. I adjusted the speed to make it less harsh.

Scavengers

This is an excellent continuation in this series. It changes sheriffs and narrators. I think I'm going to like this better. Rusty Nelson was the narrator in the first books. He's one of my favorite male narrators. Stefanie Brush is the narrator now and forward. She is one of my favorite female narrators. This book has a good storyline and held my interest. I'll continue the series. I do recommend doing them in order. If my review is any help will you please click on the helpful link below. Thank you.