I love this series for its southern New Mexico setting, its well-crafted mysteries, and its ensemble cast. (Character-driven readers, take note!) There's something about mystery series involving small-town sheriffs in the western United States that seems to highlight how these people become a family, and Havill certainly knows how to use this to strengthen his story.

In Dead Weight, there's also one-book wonder Carla Champlin, the landlady from hell. Whenever she makes an appearance, I was equal parts amused and appalled-- and I did like how her storyline ended.

If there was an off note in this book, it was the fact that Havill spent a bit too long on trying to explain how someone could kill himself with a backhoe. I don't mind some technical stuff in order to solve a mystery, but when my eyes started to roll, I knew that part of the story had gone a bit overboard.

Even if I do know more about backhoe-as-murder-weapon than I want, I still enjoyed this book. Any visit with Bill Gastner and his law enforcement family is to be looked forward to and savored. And I do! ( )

Solid, dependable author that always remembers to tell a good story. People it with lively characters in an interesting environment and you have a very good series. Several puzzles to be solved with some solid crime reconstruction maintain interest until the en ( )