"Parked high on a side road on the flank of the second highest peak in the San Cristobal Mountains, peacefully surveying what soon would no longer be his responsibility as a sheriff, almost-seventy Bill Gastner could think that the night would be without incident."--Jacket.

Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is called in to investigate a scene of domestic violence, but she becomes suspicious of an outside assailant when the family's next-door neighbor disappears

A boy disappears from a camping ground in New Mexico and shortly after another boy is abducted from his home. Undersheriff Bill Gastner investigates. By the author of Privileged to Kill.

In New Mexico, Undersheriff Bill Gastner investigates the death of a real estate agent with the help of Estelle Reyes-Guzman, the prime suspect's niece.

"A Posadas County Sheriff's Department Dispatcher sticks a Post-It note on an incident report. What he meant to write was, "Not for news," hoping that the newspaper reporter who drops into the Sheriff's Office each morning would ignore the report. But what he unintentionally wrote was, "Note for news," and so the arrest of Quentin Torrez, nephew of Posadas Sheriff Robert Torrez, goes public. And Quentin, who has applied for a job with the NightZone...

A boy goes missing and is found dead in an arroyo, apparently killed in an ATV accident. But the discovery he made moments before he was killed is puzzling... and takes deputies back to a five year old killing and has them looking for a murderer too close to home

What do you do when you inherit $330 million after taxes? If you're New Mexico rancher Miles Waddell, you build NightZone, an astronomy-based theme park. Waddell's dream begins to sour when two eco-terrorists make an opening statement by chain-sawing power lines that feed the development. One of the terrorists is killed by a bucking power pole. When fleeing conspirator is stopped by a cop and guns the lawman down, retired Posadas Sheriff Gastner becomes...

The 22nd Posadas County Mystery, is a prequel to the prequel of the series, One Perfect Shot. It explores the younger Gastner, introduces Sheriff Eduardo Salcido, and traces the development of series stalwarts. When the first Posadas County mystery, Heartshot, published in 1991, Bill Gastner was the county Undersheriff. Over time Bill became Sheriff, then retired, and Robert Torrez took over the top spot. But what were Torrez's first days as a rookie...