Gastner doubts there is any truth to these malicious, anonymous letters, but he agrees to look into any irregular patterns of Pasquale's stops. Later that night, the death of a local tradesman, crushed by his own backhoe, makes Gastner focus his attention elsewhere.

Jim and Grace Sisson were notorious around the Posadas sheriff's department for their arguments, which many times turned physical, yet the sheriff can't see how Grace would manage to crush her husband under the heavy backhoe, or why she would go to so much trouble. Gastner also doesn't think the accident is that and begins investigating Jim and Grace to learn who their enemies were. When the investigation comes full circle on Gastner and involves county commissioners, Gastner starts to think that maybe he hasn't learned as much about human nature as he thought he had over these past thirty-odd years.

Dead Weight is a basic police procedural with little to surprise the reader. Gastner is a methodical investigator, and after many years at the job, he should be. He disappoints when he looks into the claims against Pasquale before he talks to the young deputy and asks what truth there is, if any to these allegations, and why someone would even suggest such a thing. A developing relationship between Pasquale and photographer Linda Real may indicate a tendency for the younger generation to be taking a more active role in these investigations.

Steven F. Havill describes the sweltering, oppressive Southwest in a way that will make readers feel very uncomfortable, and then he uses that setting to good advantage as a backdrop for his crimes. Small town jealousies and politics play a big part in the investigation, though the histories of these rivals are not thoroughly explored. Dead Weight is an atmospheric mystery for those who prefer their mysteries set in the arid deserts of the American Southwest.

Jennifer Monahan Winberry