I was fortunate enough to be approved to see an advance review copy of the 26^th title in the Posadas County mystery series. Perfect Opportunity by Steven F. Havill will be released by Severn House on 5 March 2024. This is the first in the series to be issued by Severn House. The first 25 titles were published by Poisoned Pen Press. I suppose with the change in ownership and management that PPP decided not to renew Havill’s contract. I am happy that someone gave Havill a new one, as these books are among my long-running favorites, an automatic buy.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, and many are not as this very fine series tends to fly under the radar, Posadas County is a fictional rural county in New Mexico on the border of the United States and Mexico. The border is somewhat porous there, with residents of both countries moving back and forth to visit relatives and conduct business. The series started in 1991 with Undersheriff Bill Gastner as the lead investigator supported by a cast of well-defined secondary characters. Gastner is about 60 years old, widowed, grown children in other parts of the country. His life is his job and it takes all of his time, literally, as he is a chronic insomniac who prowls the roads of his county at night when most people are sleeping.

Havill decided early to let his characters age, perhaps not in real time, but close to it. By Book 12 Gastner retired and some of the secondary characters took over the spotlight. Gastner is still around though and becomes involved in each case, which is great because he is the linchpin of the series. The sheriff’s department is located in the county seat of Posadas, a small town vividly described in the books and integral to the story line, so much that when Havill took the action out of its usual environs in Book 25, I was sorely disappointed.

I was pleased to see that the latest book is back in Posadas County with all of its usual inhabitants. Gastner has just celebrated his 87^th birthday with a lot of food and even more friends. He is using a walker or a motorized scooter to get around but he still manages to roam his county.

The sheriff’s office is called to an isolated road one morning to investigate the scene of a dual homicide. One man is shot to death and one man is stabbed to death. The obvious conclusion is that each killed the other but how? Each wound would have been instantly or nearly instantly fatal, so which one was second? In addition to this forensic puzzle, serious sabotage to the braces holding up a heavily used bridge was accidentally discovered. Thankful that a tragedy had been averted, the sheriff’s office still had to learn who had been so irresponsible.

Havill does not pull punches in his plots. He recognizes that people often have base motives and frequently act on them, sometimes resulting in murder. The congenial relationships of the primary characters can lull the reader into expecting a happy ending and that is rarely the case for everyone. Someone goes down for the crime in every book, and the confrontation can be unexpectedly grim.

Another excellent book in a consistently good series. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Readers unfamiliar with the denizens of Posadas County should start with some of the early books, as later ones build on them. Too, the relationships of the characters grow and change over time. Readers already on the Posadas County bandwagon are in for a treat with this latest installment. Pre-order it and mark the release date on your calendar!