Steven F. Havill Books in Order

Steven F. Havill is an American author best known for his two related police procedural series set in the fictional Posadas County, New Mexico, the Bill Gastner mysteries and the Posadas County mysteries featuring Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman. He has also written the Dr. Thomas Parks historical mystery series, set in 1890s Pacific Northwest.

This page lists all Steven F. Havill books in order, including both Posadas County series, the Dr. Thomas Parks series, and his standalone western novels.

Latest Steven F. Havill Books

Reverse
Reverse (Posadas County Mysteries #28), May 2026

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Bill Gastner Mystery Series (Books in Order)

The Bill Gastner Mystery series follows overweight and insomniac Undersheriff, and later Sheriff Bill Gastner, of the fictional Posadas County in southern New Mexico, as he investigates crimes in and around a small, close-knit border community. Bill Gastner is already approaching retirement at the beginning of the series, which puts Bill in a particular spot with him knowing his job and his surroundings very well.

Reading Order

  1. One Perfect Shot, 2012
  2. Easy Errors, 2017
  3. Heartshot, 1991
  4. Bitter Recoil, 1992
  5. Twice Buried, 1994
  6. Before She Dies, 1996
  7. Privileged to Kill, 1997
  8. Prolonged Exposure, 1998
  9. Out of Season, 1999
  10. Dead Weight, 2000
  11. Bag Limit, 2001

Reading notes: Easy Errors and One Perfect Shot are prequel novels in the series, published much later.

Posadas County Mystery Series (Books in Order)

The Posadas County Mystery series follows Estelle Reyes-Guzman, who takes over as Undersheriff of Posadas County after Bill Gastner’s retirement. While Bill Gastner was methodical and world-weary, Estelle is the modern woman of her time, balancing the demands of her high-pressure law enforcement role with a busy family life including her physician husband and her sons as gifted musicians.

Reading Order

  1. Red, Green, or Murder, 2009
  2. Scavengers, 2002
  3. A Discount for Death, 2003
  4. Convenient Disposal, 2004
  5. Statute of Limitations, 2006
  6. Final Payment, 2007
  7. The Fourth Time is Murder, 2008
  8. Double Prey, 2010
  9. NightZone, 2013
  10. Blood Sweep, 2015
  11. Come Dark, 2016
  12. Lies Come Easy, 2018
  13. Less Than a Moment, 2020
  14. No Accident, 2022
  15. Perfect Opportunity, 2024
  16. If It Isn’t One Thing . . ., 2025
  17. Reverse, 2026

Dr. Thomas Parks Series (Books in Order)

The Dr. Thomas Parks series follows Thomas Parks, a newly graduated physician from the University of Pennsylvania, who arrives in1890 to the timber country of Puget Sound to practice trauma medicine at his dad’s friends medical practice. Here he finds himself entangled in fraud and murder cases. The historical medical mystery series is set in the coastal village of Port McKinney, Washington.

Reading Order

  1. Race for the Dying, 2009
  2. Comes a Time for Burning, 2010

Standalone Novels

Steven F. Havill Biography

Steven F Havill

Steven F. Havill is an American author whose work includes the Bill Gastner mystery series, the Posadas County mystery series, the Dr. Thomas Parks historical series, and several standalone western novels. He has written more than 30 books since his debut western, The Killer, in 1981.

Steven F. Havill was born on June 22, 1945, in Penn Yan, New York, the son of Edward Havill, also a writer. He married Kathleen Murphey in 1969, and earned both his B.A. in 1969 and M.A. in 1982 from the University of New Mexico. He worked as a reporter and editor before becoming a high school biology and English teacher in Grants, New Mexico. He later earned an AAS degree in gunsmithing, which is a detail that inspires the precision of his procedural writing.

The first Steven F. Havill book, Heartshot, which is also the first in the Bill Gastner series, was published in 1991. The story is set in Ruidoso, New Mexico, in southwestern New Mexico. Posados country is an imaginary border country. Already in the first book, Bill Gastner was already fast approaching retirement, as he was 60 at the time. That’s why the original series is relatively short, with only nine main books, which is then followed by the Posadas Country series that continues today.

Easy Errors, published in 2017, is a prequel of the series that takes us back to 1986 when Bill Gastner was an undersheriff. The story focuses mostly on Deputy Robert Torrez’s first big case from back then. It should be read after One Perfect Shot. Next, the author shifted the series focus to Estelle Reyes-Guzman with Scavengers, published in 2002, keeping Gastner as a recurring supporting character.

Steven F. Havill lives in Datil, New Mexico, with his wife Kathleen, a writer and artist.

Edited by

Marika

Founder of Mystery Sequels, a reference site focused on listing mystery and thriller books in the correct reading order. I maintain and update the site’s bibliographies as new titles are released, ensuring accuracy and consistency across author and series pages.

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13 Comments

  1. I’ve recently discovered the Havill books and found three in my local library. Are any available in paperbacks? They are enjoyable and well written.

  2. We only recently discovered Steven Havill’s novels and have thoroughly enjoyed them. It’s nice to read books that take place in areas we know. We live in Las Cruces. I’ve lost a lot of sleep reading “just one or two more pages” on these books. They keep your attention and I think they are well written.

  3. I only wish I had tuned in to Mr. Havill’s fine series earlier! However, now, I get to binge read! The subtle description of the people and culture is right-on-target, as is the less subtle picture of the landscape. The character development is endearing. How in the world did he build little Francisco?

  4. Love this series – have both on my Kindle and read over and over. I am moving and have packed all my other books And guess who I am reading. Please write more please please!!!!

  5. I know there are lots of readers like me who would like to see more sequel/prequels in print to share more of Under sheriff Bill with us. You had good success with the story about deputy Robert Torrez when he started , , and I know there are a lot of us who would like to read more about Sheriff Bill’s early days on the force. There could be another 10 or 12 books that would cover that time span. I bet you didn’t think that Sheriff Bill would be so popular or you would have started him out a lot younger. PLEASE, PLEASE, GIVE US MORE UNDER SHERIFF BILL !!!

  6. I loved this series so much I read all the books this past summer. I keep checking to see if there is a new one after “Lies Come Easy”. I wasn’t happy there was a 4 year gap in the lives of Estelle’s children. A lot of good stories could have been written during those years.

  7. Hope there will be sequel to ‘Lies Come Easy”… not ready for the series to end.

  8. I am enjoying this series very much. I live in Las Cruces
    NM. And would like to tell the author that in this state the green
    Hot pepper is spelled CHILE. Not chili.

  9. I hope there will be more Gastner books! I want to see what develops with his new career!!!

  10. I have the last two Steven Havill books left to read. I have enjoyed them all although I will miss Bill Gastner.

    Barbara

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