Book Review: A Discount for Death

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

A Discount for Death     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Steven F. Havill
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Bill Gastner # 11
Dunne, Nov 2003, $23.95, 288 pp.

It’s a quiet night in Posadas County, New Mexico as Undersheriff Estella Reyes-Guzman heads to her car when she notices a motorcycle being chased by a patrol car without the lights flashing or the sirens sounding. By the time she reaches the accident scene the young woman is dead and Patrolman Perry Kenderman tries to lie his way out of some potentially serious charges. Perry was angry at Colette Parker because she intended to run off with his younger brother and take her kids (one of whom might be his) with her.

While this scenario occurs, local insurance dealer George Enriquez, who is under a grand jury indictment for fraud, is found in his office with a bullet in his head. The murder was clumsily made to look like a suicide. After giving temporary custody of Collette’s two children to their grandparents, Estelle is free to work on the homicide investigation until it gets a little too close to home.

Every visit to Posada County is an adventure and A DISCOUNT FOR DEATH is no exception. As one investigation winds down, anotherrevs up so that readers find themselves unable to tear themselves away from this exciting police procedural thriller. Steven F. Havill is a talented writer who is an expert at creating believable characters and plausible plots.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner