mandag den 8. november 2010

Donis Casey, Crying Blood (2011)

Poisoned Pen Press, to be released early 2011. 

This American cosy mystery is the fifth in the Alafair Tucker series. I have not read any of the earlier books.

After a short prologue, the story begins in Oklahoma in 1915 when the farmer Shaw Tucker is hunting quail with his sons. Their dog runs off to pick up a bird but comes back with an old boot still with the foot inside. Shaw and his sons dig out the whole body only to discover it has been shot in the head.

From the beginning, there is a strong sense of place, the Wild West with Indians and snakes, log cabins and haints. Fathers and sons go hunting together while the female members of the family spend their evenings quilting.

Though the book is called an Alafair Tucker mystery, it might be more correct to call it a Tucker mystery as her husband and their older children contribute to the solution. After the discovery of the first body, a young Indian follows Shaw Tucker who apprehends the boy and ties him up in an outhouse until they can get the sheriff. Sadly, the boy is killed when Shaw´s back is turned leaving the Turners with an extra murder to solve. They assume it must be related to Irish Roane Hawkins and the Creek Indian Lucretia Goingback, the former owners of the plot where the skeleton was found. Lucretia´s first husband disappeared mysteriously, and the family was scattered. As the title suggests, there is also an element of revenge.

The characters are well-drawn and interesting, especially Alafair and Shaw Tucker, though they seem to be a bit modern now and then. I am sure there have always been kind and patient parents around, but how many farmers in 1915 would think about whether their animals “met their ends in as humane a fashion as possible”?

On the whole this was a charming and entertaining mystery. Ghosts and superstition play a certain role for the environment and the atmosphere, but the solution of the crimes does not depend on anything supernatural. In spite of the PDF format, it was a fast read, and I wouldn´t mind meeting the engaging Tucker family again.

This was my first NetGalley review.

6 kommentarer:

Elizabeth Spann Craig sagde ...

Pretty cover, too. I do like Poisoned Pen books.

Interesting premise for a book! Thanks for the review, Dorte. :)

Anonym sagde ...

Dorte - Thanks for this fine review. I happen to really like historical mysteries, so this one got my attention right away. And I like the way the author conveys that sense of place and time. I'm intrigued...

Dorte H sagde ...

Elizabeth: I will certainly try to get some more Poisoned Pen books for review - but not until I get my Kindle so I won´t have to read PDF files.

Margot: I wondered whether I should call it historical mystery or cosy mystery. My conclusion was that 1915 should tell my readers that it was historical so it was more important to use the cosy epithet :D
I have readers who love them, but probably also readers who loathe them.

Unknown sagde ...

What a great cover for an American cozy. Thanks for the review.
CD

Kelly sagde ...

I love historical mysteries! This is an author I'm not familiar with.

I liked the description of the beginning. I've hunted with a dog before (duck, not quail) and a retrieve like that would certainly alarm me!

Dorte H sagde ...

Clarissa: I agree the cover is also appealing.

Kelly: some surprises are wonderful in crime fiction, less so in real life :D