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The Old Buzzard Had It Coming

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

A mother of nine on the Oklahoma frontier looks into a drunk neighbor’s death in “a tale full of wit, humor, sorrow and, more important, the truth” (Tony Hillerman, New York Times–bestselling author of the Leaphorn and Chee series).
Alafair Tucker is a strong woman, the core of family life on a farm where the back-breaking work and daily logistics of caring for her husband, Shaw, and their nine children—and being neighborly as well—require hard muscle and a clear head. She’s also a woman of strong opinions, and it is her opinion that Harley Day is a drunkard and a reprobate. So, when Harley’s body is found frozen in a snowdrift one January day in 1912, she isn’t surprised that his long-suffering family, while not actually celebrating, isn’t much grieving.
When Alafair helps Harley’s wife prepare the body for burial, she discovers that his demise was anything but natural—there’s a bullet lodged behind his ear. Alafair is concerned when she hears that Harley’s son, John Lee, is the prime suspect in his father’s murder—especially since her own seventeen-year-old daughter, Phoebe, is in love with the boy. At first, Alafair’s only fear is that Phoebe is in for a broken heart. But as she begins to unravel the events that led to Harley’s death, she discovers that Phoebe might be more than just John Lee’s sweetheart—she may be his accomplice. . . .
 
“A sharp and suspenseful first novel.” ―Chicago Tribune
 
“A very sympathetic protagonist . . . the author’s depiction of time and place is so vivid that readers will swear they are smelling the brisk Oklahoma air and feeling the dirt under their feet.” —Booklist
 
“A book to savor, lyrical, authentic, and heartwarming.” ―Carolyn Hart, award-winning author of Resort to Murder
 
“Should please even the most demanding fans of historicals with its authentic situations, fully drawn characters, and clever plotting.” ―Library Journal
 
Includes an introduction by the author

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 6, 2005
      Life on the Oklahoma frontier in 1912 was anything but easy, yet Casey's sweet-tempered debut manages to make readers nostalgic for simpler times. Running a successful farm is hard work, and on the Tucker farm everyone in the family has a job to do, under the proud watchful eyes of father Shaw and mother Alafair. So when the town bully is found dead in the snow and one of the Tucker girls might be involved in the murder, Alafair pours all her considerable energy into uncovering the truth. Of course, she'll eventually find it, for this mother of nine living children (two died young) "know everything all the time." And that's the essential flaw in this otherwise admirable work—no surprises. The regular up-and-down cycles of the plot don't allow the tension to build beyond a certain point. New developments often occur offstage and the same details are rehashed too many times around too many kitchen tables. In every other respect, though, the appealingly homey world Casey creates rings true. With so much going for her, readers will be right pleased to see a sequel.

    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2005
      Alafair Tucker, a competent farmwife and sympathetic mother of nine, takes it in stride when twin daughter Phoebe brings handsome John Lee Day home. He's from the less prosperous neighboring farm, and his pa is a known drunk -as well as a wife and child beater. When Pa's corpse is found in the snow, Alafair, who helps the widow prepare the body, discovers that the man was shot. With John Lee as the prime suspect, she's afraid Phoebe may have been mixed up in murder, too. Set in 1912 Oklahoma, this first novel, which was named the Best Unpublished Mystery of 2004 by the Oklahoma Writers' Federation, should please even the most demanding fans of historicals with its authentic situations, fully drawn characters, and clever plotting. Casey, who holds an MLS, lives in Tempe, AZ. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 3/1/05.]

      Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      May 1, 2005
      This debut novel is a remarkably tactile historical mystery. It's set in Oklahoma farm country in 1912. Harley Day, a generally disliked fellow, has been found dead in a snow bank. Some people think old Harley drank himself to death. Alafair Tucker certainly believes that, and when Harley's son, John Lee, is accused of murdering him, she flat-out doesn't buy it. But then her own daughter, whose interest in young John Lee is far from casual, is also implicated. Is this a tragic misunderstanding, or is Alafair's daughter involved in a murder conspiracy? Alafair Tucker, an aggressive and practical woman, makes a very sympathetic protagonist, and the author's depiction of time and place is so vivid that readers will swear they are smelling the brisk Oklahoma air and feeling the dirt under their feet. A lot of writers of historical mysteries tell us about the places their stories are set in; Casey actually takes us there.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

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