Book Review: Lies Come Easy by Steven F Havill

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge,from Poisoned Pen Press Publishing, via Edelweiss, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own.

Today's first mystery brings the holiday season full circle-

hey we've already got Christmas lights up in our town, 

so it's not surprising!

Synopsis:

One blizzardy New Mexico night, Posadas County Deputy Pasquale picks up a toddler scooting his Scamper along the shoulder of State 56.

Yes, it's horrifying - a child apparently dumped out of a truck by his father. Nearly as horrifying is what unrolls while Christmas approaches after dad Darrell Fisher's arrest: a request arrives from the US Forest Service to locate a missing range tech and his unit last reported headed for nearby Stinkin' Springs, and the brutal murder of Constance Suarez in the border town of Regál, population 37.

The Sheriff's Department is stretched to its limits as its dedicated personnel juggle working cases and caring for citizens with their own relationships and family celebrations. The irony of so much wickedness at the holidays is not lost on anyone. Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman, heading out her door to a crime scene, reflects: "It would be a glorious holiday evening for somebody."

As their mother joins her colleagues in dealing with the Fisher family, the Forest Service's absent Myron Fitzwater, the murder, and who knows what else in Regál, Francisco and Carolos, the sons of Estelle and physician Francis, arrange to jet in to spend Christmas with their parents. Francisco the musical prodigy is now a celebrated pianist and composer with an international career. Carlos is thriving at Stanford. Both sons bring special surprises with them. And retired Sheriff Bill Gastner is cooking up a Christmas gift of his own.

In Steven Havill's twenty-third Posadas County Mystery, family dynamics play a huge role as Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman and the whole department work to pull the right threads out of a tangle of seemingly small lies. It makes for a mix of the mundane with the harrowing. And justice for all will prove elusive.

Review:

This is only the second book of this series I have read. Not sure why, as once again I left the end of the book saying "I need to read all the books in the series!"

Estelle is a character we can all love- an older woman who has worked her way up in law enforcement, and knows trials and tribulations. With 2 grown sons, she is looking at retirement on the horizon, as her world continues to change. But maybe not, when she gets caught up in such holiday craziness, as she and her team fight to find Myron, and still spend time with their families. It's a tangled web that you won't see coming until the end, and a perfect pre-holiday read! So don't skip this one!

About the Author:

Steven F. Havill lives with his wife of more than forty years, Kathleen, in New Mexico. He is the author of more than twenty novels, taught secondary schools for 25 years, and recently earned an AAS degree in gunsmithing.