The Old Buzzard Had It Coming [Library Binding]

Donis Casey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 9, 2009

Alafair Tucker is a strong woman, the core of family life on a farm in Oklahoma where the backbreaking work and daily logistics of caring for her husband Shaw, their nine children, and being neighborly requires hard muscle and a clear head. Shes also a woman of strong opinions, and it is her opinion that her neighbor, Harley Day, is a drunkard and a reprobate. So, when Harleys body is discovered frozen in a snowdrift one January day in 1912, she isnt surprised that his longsuffering family isnt, if not actually celebrating, much grieving. When Alafair helps Harleys wife prepare the body for burial, she discovers that Harleys demise was anything but natural there is a bullet lodged behind his ear. Alafair is concerned when she hears that Harleys son, John Lee, is the prime suspect in his fathers murder, for Alafairs seventeenyearold daughter Phoebe is in love with the boy. At first, Alafairs only fear is that Phoebe is in for a broken heart, but as she begins to unravel the events that led to Harleys death, she discovers that Phoebe might be more than just John Lees sweetheart: she may be his accomplice in murder.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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[s] 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. (July 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

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. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 216 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439552851
• ISBN-13: 978-1439552858
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Donis Casey is the author of five Alafair Tucker Mysteries, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, Hornswoggled, The Drop Edge of Yonder, The Sky Took Him, and Crying Blood (Feb. 2011). She has twice won the Arizona Book Award for her series, and been a finalist for the Willa Award and the Oklahoma Book Award. Her first novel, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, was named an Oklahoma Centennial Book.

While researching her own genealogy, she discovered so many ripping tales of settlers, soldiers, cowboys and Indians, murder, dastardly deeds, and general mayhem that she said to herself, "Donis, you have enough material here for ten books." The resulting historical mystery series, set in Oklahoma in the booming 1910s, features the sleuthing mother of ten children.

Donis is a former teacher, academic librarian, and entrepreneur. She was born and raised in Tulse, Oklahoma, and now lives in Tempe, AZ, with her husband, poet Donald Koozer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Novel That Truly Soars, December 1, 2005

By 

Randy Edmond (Casa Grande, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Old Buzzard Had It Coming (Hardcover)

Simply stated, I loved reading this book -- I didn't want it to end! It has everything a really good novel should: well developed characters, a great setting, and heart. In fact,it has lots of heart, more than most novels and certainly more than most mysteries, which is what this book is. Unlike myself, my wife doesn't enjoy reading mysteries, but she loved this one because of its heart.

Being a third generation Oklahoman like the author, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about what it was like to live on a family farm in my home state shortly after it achieved statehood in 1909. My maternal grandparents were farmers not far where the story takes place. I sent a copy of the book to my mother, and she vouched for its accuracy. And, just in case you're wondering, she loved reading it, too.

I know from attending a recent reading by the author in Tempe, AZ, where she now lives, that this is the first in a series of at least three mysteries centered around Alafair Tucker and her family. I very much look forward to the next one, which is scheduled for release in the summer of 06.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fine historical mystery, July 5, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Old Buzzard Had It Coming (Hardcover)

In 1912 Oklahoma, Harley Day works a hard scrapple farm barely making ends meet and beating up his wife and frightening his children. They wouldn't have the farm if it wasn't for their oldest son John Lee who knows that his father owns a still and sells moonshine. One night, Harley doesn't come home but nobody worries because that is his norm. John Lee finds his father dead in the snow and at first thinks he froze to death.

When the women prepare the body for burial, neighbor Alafair Tucker finds a .22 bullet from a lady's derringer in his head. She soon learns that John Lee is in love with her daughter Phoebe and she with him. Alafair's .22 is missing and she fears that her daughter gave it to John Lee, the sheriff's number one suspect, making Phoebe an accomplice. To ease her own mind, Alafair decides to investigate and discovers that every person she talks with has a reason to want Harley dead.

Readers get a taste for early twentieth century frontier living in THE OLD BUZZARD HAD IT COMING. Alafair is a delightful character; a tigress, who will protects her cubs and doesn't care if she puts her life in danger while questioning lowlife customers of Harley. The historical research that serves as a foundation to this work makes the storyline believable and earns Alafair her own series.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good mystery, January 4, 2007

By 

JJ "avid reader" (Meridianville, Alabama United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Old Buzzard Had It Coming (Hardcover)

I usually don't care that much for mystery books but the time period & the title drew me to this book. I wasn't disappointed. I loved the family & all the children. A little romance mixed in makes this book really good. Don't miss the next one by this author with the same family & another good mystery.