Bag Limit by Steven F. Havill (2002).
A
very easygoing detective novel from very small town in New Mexico.
There
is neither urgency nor serious crime in this town.
Just
one old Sheriff and his charming small town.
Quite
appealing for some reason, though….
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layers. – Bill Gastner. A sheriff of Posadas County, New Mexico.
He is only a few days
away from his much-deserved retirement and really really looking forward to it.
Mild-mannered man who
enjoys quite night in the desert and dead calm solitary which comes with it.
He is old (70 yrs) and
fat and just ordinary looking grandpa kind of guy you can find in everywhere in
American suburb and he doesn’t mind it at all. He is not your typical detective
hero, but he s also very thoughtful, stubborn and careful and most of all,
knows everyone you need to know to cut corner, save time and effectively run
investigation in small town.
Therefore, he is
actually quite good investigator and almost like a father figure to a lot of
people and is hugely respected as a sheriff.
Robert Torrez. 6’4”,
230 pounds giant, undersheriff who is very competent in his job and is waiting
to become a next sheriff once Gartner retires.
Like a lot of town
folks, he likes Gartner a lot and treats him with respect.
He has quite a few
cousins in his town and a lot of them are involved in this case.
Also, since Gartner
knows everyone, there are lots of extras in this book who appear a few times
throughout the story and all of them are quite real, giving me an impression
that maybe the author based all of his characters on actual persons around him(
Yes, Steven F. Havill lives in New Mexico, himself ).
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lace. –Posada County, New
Mexico, USA. Very very deep south.
What you thing or hear
about deep South are all here: Old rusty pick-ups, Bars in isolated location,
boarder guard who speaks and acts like cowboys, endless horizon of hills and
mostly low and dry bushes.
Since it is a small
town, everyone knows each other and almost everyone speaks Mexican.
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lot. – 1. A local kid, named Matt
Baca (drunken), is driving away from Police car and crushed into Gastner’s
cruisers. And then, he runs away to the pitch black hills where you can’t even
see your own hands. The police give up the chase because they know who he is.
2. By the time, he is finally
caught at his home, he is sober and calmer.
3. During the ride to
the station, the kid starts kicking the police cruiser’s window and crushes it in
pieces and when Gastner stops the car, he runs into the in-coming truck and kills
himself.
4. Now, the questions
are where did he get his fake ID to buy drinks and why he runs away so desperately
from the police?
5. Slowly (and I mean
it) but surely, Gastner and co. peer away all the covers and find the true
criminal.
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erdict. – Just like its
location, Posada County, this is a low key, quite and easy-going mystery. Nothing
fancy or exciting but it has its own pace and pleasure of small town life.
This is definitely not
for everyone, especially one who looks for thrill and fast pace mystery. But if
you don’t mind easy-going, peaceful life of American South, this book may
appeal to you.
