Scavengers

Praise for Scavengers..."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 A man's body is found in the unforgiving New Mexico desert, his face so smashed that identification is impossible. It's the beginning of a brutal murder spree that will take Posadas County's new undersheriff, Estelle Reyes-Guzman, into a case with roots on both sides of the border.Retired Sheriff Bill Gastner, now a livestock inspector for the state, is still close at hand to provide unerring logic and horse sense as Reyes-Guzman attempts to identify the "Juan" Doe. Another body turns up in a shallow grave, revealing little about the killer, but more about the victims. And when a suspicious fire takes a third life, the terrible twist finally offers the break Estelle has been looking for, one that will lead her back into a harsh, merciless desert where death welcomes all.Steven F. Havill lives with his wife, Kathleen, in New Mexico. He is the author of more than 20 novels set in the American west, taught secondary schools for 25 years, and recently earned an AAS degree in gunsmithing. Scavengers is the eleventh title in his acclaimed series set in Posadas County, New Mexico.