Forty Dead Men (Alafair Tucker Mysteries, 10) - Softcover

Casey, Donis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1464209391 ISBN 13: 9781464209390

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2018

Synopsis

Barnes & Noble pick for "20 Favorite Indie Books of 2018"

"Casey expertly nails the extended Tucker family―some 20 people―and combines these convincing characters, a superb sense of time and place, and a solid plot in this marvelously atmospheric historical." ―Publishers Weekly STARRED review

Some people who have experienced a shocking, dangerous, or terrifying event develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is recognized today as a debilitating but potentially treatable mental health condition. Military veterans are a vulnerable group. But PTSD can deliver a knockout blow to anyone, as the remarkable unfolding of the tenth Alafair Tucker Mystery, Forty Dead Men, shows.

World War I is over. Alafair is overjoyed that her elder son, George Washington Tucker, has finally returned home from the battlefields of France. Yet she is the only one in the family who senses that he has somehow changed.

Gee Dub moves back into his old bunkhouse quarters, but he's restless and spends his days roaming. One rainy day while out riding he spies a woman trudging along the country road. She's thoroughly skittish and rejects his help. So Gee Dub cannily rides for home to enlist his mother in offering the exhausted traveler shelter.

Once made comfortable at the Tucker farm, Holly Johnson reveals she's forged her way from Maine to Oklahoma in hopes of finding the soldier she married before he shipped to France. At the war's end, Daniel Johnson disappeared without a trace. It's been months. Is he alive? Is she a widow?

Holly is following her only lead―that Dan has connected with his parents who live yonder in Okmulgee. Gee Dub, desperate for some kind of mission, resolves to shepherd Holly through her quest although the prickly young woman spurns any aid. Meanwhile, Alafair has discovered that Gee Dub sleeps with two cartridge boxes under his pillow―boxes containing twenty "dead men" each. The boxes are empty, save for one bullet. She recognizes in Gee Dub and Holly that not all war wounds are physical.

Then Holly's missing husband turns up, shot dead. Gee Dub is arrested on suspicion of murder, and the entire extended Tucker family rallies to his defense. He says he had no reason to do it, but the solitary bullet under Gee Dub's pillow is gone. Regardless, be he guilty or innocent, his mother will travel any distance and go to any lengths to keep him out of prison.

About this title

About the Author:

Donis Casey is the author of ten Alafair Tucker Mysteries. Donis has twice won the Arizona Book Award for her series, and been a finalist for the Willa Award and a seven-time finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award. Her first novel, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, was named an Oklahoma Centennial Book in 2008. Donis is a former teacher, academic librarian, and entrepreneur. She lives in Tempe, Arizona.

Review:

"A poignant novel of heartache, pain, love, and grace. Brilliant and memorable." (Carolyn Hart, award-winning author of the Death on Demand and other mystery series)

"This well-written mystery is the tenth in Donis Casey's Alafair Tucker series. Rich with historical detail, as befits her academic librarian background, Forty Dead Men leaves the reader one final twist at the end, along with Alafair's delightful country recipes." (Eileen Brady Mystery Scene Magazine)

"A compassionate look at PTSD, this tenth series entry again showcases the savvy mother hen Alafair, who has a lot in common with Mette Ivie Harrison's Linda Wallheim, another loving western mother whose curiosity and common sense always come in handy." (Karen Keefe Booklist)

"In Casey's excellent 10th Alafair Tucker mystery (after 2017's The Return of the Raven Mocker), 22-year-old George W. "Gee Dub" Tucker, a WWI vet scarred by his war experiences, returns to the family farm in Boynton, Okla., run by his parents, Alafair and Shaw, with the aid of their large brood of children....Casey expertly nails the extended Tucker family - some 20 people - and combines these convincing characters, a superb sense of time and place, and a solid plot in this marvelously atmospheric historical." (starred review) (Publishers Weekly)

About this edition

• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1464209391
• ISBN 13: 9781464209390
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 218