The summer of 1914 is already sweltering in Oklahoma, but murder makes life even more oppressive in Donis Casey's latest mystery, The Drop Edge of Yonder. Donis Casey, who just won the Arizona Book Award for Best Mystery for her debut, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, brings back Alafair Tucker in this third mystery, to cope with a family murder.
Alafair is a farmer's wife in Oklahoma, and a mother of ten. Daily life of cooking, cleaning and washing for the family keeps her busy, but her main concern is protecting her family. She thought nothing of allowing two daughters, Mary and Ruth, to accompany their uncle, Bill McBride, on an afternoon horseback ride with his girlfriend, Laura. However, Bill is shot, his girlfriend abducted, and Mary is left unconscious on the ground, suffering from a head injury. As Mary struggles to remember the events that lead to Bill's death, Alafair eyes the neighbors and her own farm hands, suspecting everyone. When Laura and Mary's lives are threatened, Alafair knows her family will not be safe until the killer is found.
Life and death hit home for Alafair Tucker in this latest mystery. The sorrow and anger over Bill's death is balanced by the joy of a birth in the family. Fear for one family member who is threatened by a killer is balanced by fear for another who is giving birth.
The Alafair Tucker mysteries are suspenseful page-turners. While telling a story of an Oklahoma farm family in the early twentieth century, Donis Casey is capable of playing with the reader's anxieties. The Drop Edge of Yonder is the third intriguing mystery in this series. Don't miss the earlier two, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming and Hornswoggled. You'll want to get to know Alafair Tucker and her family.
Article comments
1 - Vikk Simmons
Thanks for highlighting a new writer for me. The protagonist is definitely different. It also sounds like the author is plucking the string of a fear that may be even more pronounced today. Crime is no longer "out there;" it is at our doorstop.