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Alafair Tucker #10
Forty Dead Men
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.
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.
206 pages, Hardcover
Published February 6, 2018
About the author
Donis Casey
13 books91 followersDONIS CASEY was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A third generation Oklahoman, she and her siblings grew up among their aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents on farms and in small towns, where they learned the love of family and independent spirit that characterizes the population of that pioneering state. Donis graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in English, and earned a Master’s degree in Library Science from Oklahoma University. After teaching school for a short time, she enjoyed a career as an academic librarian, working for many years at the University of Oklahoma and at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
Donis left academia in 1988 to start a Scottish import gift shop in downtown Tempe. After more than a decade as an entrepreneur, she decided to devote herself full-time to writing. The Old Buzzard Had It Coming is her first book. For the past twenty years, Donis has lived in Tempe, AZ, with her husband.
Donis left academia in 1988 to start a Scottish import gift shop in downtown Tempe. After more than a decade as an entrepreneur, she decided to devote herself full-time to writing. The Old Buzzard Had It Coming is her first book. For the past twenty years, Donis has lived in Tempe, AZ, with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 9, 2018
3.5 stars for the latest in this engaging series.
I have reached the point in this series where I am reading it for the characters, not the mystery. I want to keep an eye on the Tucker family of Boynton, Oklahoma--to see what they are up to, to make sure they are all doing okay.
In this book, eldest son George W, known to one and all as Gee Dub, is just returned from serving in WWI and is definitely not okay. He is a major player in the story's mystery--the shooting death of human pond scum Dan Johnson. Gee Dub is arrested for the deed; the family springs into action to clear his name. Alafair cannot, will not believe her son is guilty.
Young Holly Johnson (nee Thornberry), who came to Oklahoma from Maine, looking for her husband, is the unwitting catalyst to a chain of events that leads to the victim's death. Holly also supplies the reader with an outsider's look at the Tucker family. She doesn't know whether or not it is a good thing that they took her in, she does know that they sometimes overwhelm her.
The story wraps up in a satisfactory way--the killer's identity wasn't really a surprise.
Now, bring on the next book. I want to know what happens next with this wonderful family.
I have reached the point in this series where I am reading it for the characters, not the mystery. I want to keep an eye on the Tucker family of Boynton, Oklahoma--to see what they are up to, to make sure they are all doing okay.
In this book, eldest son George W, known to one and all as Gee Dub, is just returned from serving in WWI and is definitely not okay. He is a major player in the story's mystery--the shooting death of human pond scum Dan Johnson. Gee Dub is arrested for the deed; the family springs into action to clear his name. Alafair cannot, will not believe her son is guilty.
Young Holly Johnson (nee Thornberry), who came to Oklahoma from Maine, looking for her husband, is the unwitting catalyst to a chain of events that leads to the victim's death. Holly also supplies the reader with an outsider's look at the Tucker family. She doesn't know whether or not it is a good thing that they took her in, she does know that they sometimes overwhelm her.
The story wraps up in a satisfactory way--the killer's identity wasn't really a surprise.
Now, bring on the next book. I want to know what happens next with this wonderful family.
January 29, 2018
Who shot Holly's husband Daniel and why? How did these people end up in small town Oklahoma? I'd not read any of the preceding books in this clearly well loved and developed series but I found this a fascinating portrait of the impact of WWI PTSD on a family in Oklahoma. Gee Dub has had a very hard time coming home. About the only lucky thing he's got is his mother Alafair, who is determined to find to who really killed the husband of the woman Gee Dub found walking down the road. She knows it isn't her son but others aren't so sure. This is one of those novels which reminds you how much CSI has done to more quickly solve crimes. That said, it's well plotted and quite intriguing. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. This is for fans of the series (obviously) and for those looking for an unique historical mystery. Thumbs up.
January 29, 2018
It's always a stellar day when there's a new Alafair Tucker mystery to be read, and Forty Dead Men continues this tradition. Donis Casey is a master at crafting book titles that grab a reader's attention and imagination, and once this newest title is explained, most will feel a little chill run down their spine.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is woven deftly into this story in which life on the farm for most of the Tuckers seems completely unchanged by the war. Gee Dub is having difficulties dealing with his experiences fighting in France, and the appearance of a lone woman trudging down a dirt road in the rain gives him focus, a quest. If he can fix what's wrong with Holly, perhaps he can fix what's wrong with him.
It's no surprise that the mystery is a good one in Forty Dead Men, and I happen to think that Holly's runaway husband is one of Casey's best bad guys even though readers never get to see him alive. (Some men's deeds certainly live on past their deaths.) But more than the mystery or the fascinating history that can be learned throughout this remarkable series, it's the cast of characters that keep me coming back for more. Alafair and her husband, Shaw, have ten children. Most of them are grown and have (or are starting) families of their own. Alafair could retire from sleuthing and have many choices among her children for her replacement. Just give her the grandbabies to keep an eye on.
In many of the series I read-- no matter how much I love them-- it feels as though the characters are put in a box and set on a shelf in the closet until it's time for the next book. Not so with Casey's Alafair Tucker mysteries. The Tuckers are so busy getting on with their lives that each book feels as though I'm sitting at Alafair's kitchen table for a cup of coffee and a "catch up" chat. These characters are so alive they practically jump right off the page, and aren't those just the sort you want to read about?
Mysteries to make you think. Tidbits of history for you to learn. Characters that will have you laughing, crying, feeling proud, or getting upset. All this and much more await those who pick up one of Donis Casey's Alafair Tucker mysteries. They are something very special.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is woven deftly into this story in which life on the farm for most of the Tuckers seems completely unchanged by the war. Gee Dub is having difficulties dealing with his experiences fighting in France, and the appearance of a lone woman trudging down a dirt road in the rain gives him focus, a quest. If he can fix what's wrong with Holly, perhaps he can fix what's wrong with him.
It's no surprise that the mystery is a good one in Forty Dead Men, and I happen to think that Holly's runaway husband is one of Casey's best bad guys even though readers never get to see him alive. (Some men's deeds certainly live on past their deaths.) But more than the mystery or the fascinating history that can be learned throughout this remarkable series, it's the cast of characters that keep me coming back for more. Alafair and her husband, Shaw, have ten children. Most of them are grown and have (or are starting) families of their own. Alafair could retire from sleuthing and have many choices among her children for her replacement. Just give her the grandbabies to keep an eye on.
In many of the series I read-- no matter how much I love them-- it feels as though the characters are put in a box and set on a shelf in the closet until it's time for the next book. Not so with Casey's Alafair Tucker mysteries. The Tuckers are so busy getting on with their lives that each book feels as though I'm sitting at Alafair's kitchen table for a cup of coffee and a "catch up" chat. These characters are so alive they practically jump right off the page, and aren't those just the sort you want to read about?
Mysteries to make you think. Tidbits of history for you to learn. Characters that will have you laughing, crying, feeling proud, or getting upset. All this and much more await those who pick up one of Donis Casey's Alafair Tucker mysteries. They are something very special.
May 22, 2018
The tenth in the Alafair Tucker series. I received this uncorrected proof copy free from Lesa at Lesa's Book Critiques.
Alafair's son Gee Dub (George Washington Tucker) has returned home from the fighting in France, and WWI is over. Alafair is surprised to realize that she is the only one that senses that Gee Dub has changed, and that something is weighing heavily upon him. Gee Dub is restless, not yet ready to help out on the farm, or turn his hand to any work. He doesn't want to think about his future, and spends his days roaming around the countryside on his horse. While out one day, he finds a young woman trudging along the road. He offers help, but the woman refuses, so he returns home to tell Alafair about her, knowing that his mother will go to help her. Alafair returns home with the exhausted young woman, who relates that she has walked all the way from Maine to Oklahoma in hopes of finding out what happened to the young soldier she married shortly before he left for France, believing he has family in Oklahoma. Since the war, she has heard nothing, and doesn't know if he's alive and deserted her, or has been killed. Gee Dub seems obsessed with the woman, perhaps because he needs to find something to engage with, a reason to keep going? At any rate, he gets overly involved with her, leading to being charged with murder when the missing man she married is found dead.
Today, of course, we understand a lot more about PTSD, and how debilitating it can be for soldiers returning to civilian life. But at this time, post-WWI, that wasn't so. Sometimes it was termed "shell-shock" and people tended to think sufferers were simply cowards, or weak men. There was a real bias towards those who struggled after returning home, and most tried simply to hide it, which is what Gee Dub does. But his Mom knows better, even if he won't tell her what's wrong. This book deals with Gee Dub's struggles to find his footing in civilian life, a Mother's desire to keep her son safe, no matter the cost, and a young woman's journey to find her way forward. As always, Casey's characters are so real, the story so powerful and compelling, that the pages just fly past to the satisfying conclusion.
Alafair's son Gee Dub (George Washington Tucker) has returned home from the fighting in France, and WWI is over. Alafair is surprised to realize that she is the only one that senses that Gee Dub has changed, and that something is weighing heavily upon him. Gee Dub is restless, not yet ready to help out on the farm, or turn his hand to any work. He doesn't want to think about his future, and spends his days roaming around the countryside on his horse. While out one day, he finds a young woman trudging along the road. He offers help, but the woman refuses, so he returns home to tell Alafair about her, knowing that his mother will go to help her. Alafair returns home with the exhausted young woman, who relates that she has walked all the way from Maine to Oklahoma in hopes of finding out what happened to the young soldier she married shortly before he left for France, believing he has family in Oklahoma. Since the war, she has heard nothing, and doesn't know if he's alive and deserted her, or has been killed. Gee Dub seems obsessed with the woman, perhaps because he needs to find something to engage with, a reason to keep going? At any rate, he gets overly involved with her, leading to being charged with murder when the missing man she married is found dead.
Today, of course, we understand a lot more about PTSD, and how debilitating it can be for soldiers returning to civilian life. But at this time, post-WWI, that wasn't so. Sometimes it was termed "shell-shock" and people tended to think sufferers were simply cowards, or weak men. There was a real bias towards those who struggled after returning home, and most tried simply to hide it, which is what Gee Dub does. But his Mom knows better, even if he won't tell her what's wrong. This book deals with Gee Dub's struggles to find his footing in civilian life, a Mother's desire to keep her son safe, no matter the cost, and a young woman's journey to find her way forward. As always, Casey's characters are so real, the story so powerful and compelling, that the pages just fly past to the satisfying conclusion.
October 4, 2023
Author Donis Casey always spins a great story for her readers, as this novel illustrates. George Washington Tucker, AKA Gee Dub, has returned home from fighting in The Great War. He is home, but his mother, Alafair, knows that something is not quite right with him. She is the only one who realizes this, and she decides to give him some time, until he is perhaps ready to talk. He moves into his old bunkhouse quarters on the homestead, but he is restless. One rainy day, he meets bedraggled young woman on the road. She is looking for her husband who never returned from the war to their home in Maine, and she is traveling to Oklahoma to his parent’s place in the hopes of finding him. Gee Dub and his family help her, but it leads to a whole passel of trouble for Gee Dub. This story is intriguing not only for the mystery that slowly unfolds, but also for the way the author presents PTSD long before it was called that. With sensitivity and understanding, Gee Dub’s problems are finally dealt with. These continuing characters are all interesting, but Alafair is by far the kindest and most thoughtful. The setting in Oklahoma, the very rural aspect, and the time period all add greatly to the enjoyment of this series.
June 23, 2018
This was my first read on Donis Casey and I enjoyed her Alafair Tucker mystery very much. I felt as though I was right there with the Tucker family - a very large small town extended family (into the next small towns).
Alafair and her husband, Shaw, have ten children ranging from 27 to 6 years of age. They're farm people and kindly help family, friends and in this case, a stranger in need. Holly has been traveling from Maine to Oklahoma mostly on foot to find her husband, a solider from WWI. It's Alafair's eldest son George W or Gee Dub who's just returned from war also that first comes across Holly.
It's a story of murder, unexpected deaths, and other crimes, as well as PTS.
All in all a good mystery and a real look at life. Liked reading a mystery murder without all the need for blood, gore and evilness. Just plain old murder, so to speak.
Definitely, will read this author again.
Alafair and her husband, Shaw, have ten children ranging from 27 to 6 years of age. They're farm people and kindly help family, friends and in this case, a stranger in need. Holly has been traveling from Maine to Oklahoma mostly on foot to find her husband, a solider from WWI. It's Alafair's eldest son George W or Gee Dub who's just returned from war also that first comes across Holly.
It's a story of murder, unexpected deaths, and other crimes, as well as PTS.
All in all a good mystery and a real look at life. Liked reading a mystery murder without all the need for blood, gore and evilness. Just plain old murder, so to speak.
Definitely, will read this author again.
August 28, 2018
Alafair Tucker is a farm wife and mother in early 20th century rural Oklahoma, and this tenth book in the series takes place just after World War i. Her eldest son, George Washington Tucker, known to his family as Gee Dub, is home from the war in France, but Alafair senses that there is something different about him. He spends a lot of time alone, roaming the property on his horse. One day he comes across a young woman on the road, tired and lost, but unwilling to trust in a stranger.
His mother discovers that the young woman is Holly Johnson, from Maine, whose husband was in the war, but hasn’t contacted her since. She discovered he was from a nearby town in Oklahoma, and is looking for his relatives to find out her status. Is he alive or is she a widow?
This is one of my favorite mystery series. It includes a lot of the hardships of the times, but Alafair is a hardworking and practical woman, and the family pulls through each crisis.
His mother discovers that the young woman is Holly Johnson, from Maine, whose husband was in the war, but hasn’t contacted her since. She discovered he was from a nearby town in Oklahoma, and is looking for his relatives to find out her status. Is he alive or is she a widow?
This is one of my favorite mystery series. It includes a lot of the hardships of the times, but Alafair is a hardworking and practical woman, and the family pulls through each crisis.
January 30, 2018
Forty Dead Men is the tenth Alafair Tucker mystery by Donis Casey. This is a wonderful historic mystery series set in Oklahoma. I have read most of the books in this series and enjoyed them all.
Forty Dead Men finds the Tucker family at the end of World War I. The flu epidemic is raging so it is not surprising when a dead body is found at the side of the road. It turns out to be the body of a man whose wife G.W. found wandering in the field. Holly, the woman, had come from Maine to find her husband who deserted her after the war. Once Holly looks at the body she realizes the man is someone else. So what happened to her husband?
Really enjoyable period mystery. I loved all the twists. Always enjoy Alafair Tucker's sleuthing. This time she needs to save her son G.W. from a charge of murder.
Highly recommend Forty Dead Men.
Forty Dead Men finds the Tucker family at the end of World War I. The flu epidemic is raging so it is not surprising when a dead body is found at the side of the road. It turns out to be the body of a man whose wife G.W. found wandering in the field. Holly, the woman, had come from Maine to find her husband who deserted her after the war. Once Holly looks at the body she realizes the man is someone else. So what happened to her husband?
Really enjoyable period mystery. I loved all the twists. Always enjoy Alafair Tucker's sleuthing. This time she needs to save her son G.W. from a charge of murder.
Highly recommend Forty Dead Men.
February 20, 2018
When Alafair Tucker's oldest son Gee Dub (for G. W.) returns from World War I, he won't talk about his experiences, and she senses that he's changed. He meets a lone woman walking across the family farm. Reluctant though she is to take any help, she responds to Alafair's kindness and explains that she's come from Maine, looking for her soldier husband who came back from the War and then disappeared. Is he alive or dead? His body was found, but the picture on his identification is not the man she knew. Gee Dub becomes the focus for investigation when a man is murdered, and won't defend himself to anyone but a man who served with him. So Alafair decides to investigate the murder herself.
January 16, 2022
An interesting if not satisfying conclusion to the Alafair Tucker series. This installment was much more about the mystery than it was about everyday life in the Tucker clan. The mystery kept me guessing and the identity of the murderer surprised me.
I was definitely left wanting more. In particular, I want to know what happens to G. W. and if he is able to get past his experiences during the war.
The author has moved on to a different time and place for her latest series, but it still involves one of the Tucker clan as a main character, so perhaps some crumbs of knowledge about the rest of the family will be dropped along the way.
I was definitely left wanting more. In particular, I want to know what happens to G. W. and if he is able to get past his experiences during the war.
The author has moved on to a different time and place for her latest series, but it still involves one of the Tucker clan as a main character, so perhaps some crumbs of knowledge about the rest of the family will be dropped along the way.
January 21, 2018
1918 and Alafair is happy that son, George Washington Tucker, has come home safely from the war. A few days later he meets Holly Johnson who is on a journey to discover what happened to her husband.
Although a well-written story it just didn't catch my imagination and it all felt a bit flat.
A NetGalley Book
Although a well-written story it just didn't catch my imagination and it all felt a bit flat.
A NetGalley Book
April 30, 2018
These are pretty lightweight as far as mysteries go, but the author does such a good job with the characters that you have to keep reading the series. This latest book also works in the subject of PTSD following service in WWI. No spoilers, but I really liked the way she handled the subplot with Gee Dub and his adjustment to civilian life. Nicely done.
November 19, 2018
As always, I appreciated Casey's descriptions of rural Oklahoma during the aftermath of WWI. In this novel, she chose to add a phantom character due to Gee Dub's PTSD, a very similar construct as the one used by Charles Todd for their former WWI soldier character's conscience. Perhaps another symptom would have made a better choice? Or was/is this very symptomatic of PTSD?
February 5, 2020
I realized I had not read this (last?) book in the series when I picked up the first book in the spin-off series.
Gee Dub comes back from WWI seemingly in one piece, but really suffering from "shell shock" (PTSD).
Gee Dub comes back from WWI seemingly in one piece, but really suffering from "shell shock" (PTSD).
July 18, 2024
Holly spoiled this book
I have truly loved the Alafair Tucker books by Donis Casey but Holly was a very unlikeable character and I couldn't generate any sympathy for her at all. I kept wishing she would just go away and leave the Tuckers and Gee Dub in peace!
I have truly loved the Alafair Tucker books by Donis Casey but Holly was a very unlikeable character and I couldn't generate any sympathy for her at all. I kept wishing she would just go away and leave the Tuckers and Gee Dub in peace!
March 31, 2018
excellent cozy mystery in this continuing series
September 18, 2018
Very good addition to the series.
September 24, 2019
I love all the books on this series. Time to read em again.
March 20, 2022
Very sad this series is at an end. I know i thought I’d read the spin off but 20’s Hollywood just doesn’t sound that interesting.
May 10, 2022
did she write any more in the set?
May 29, 2022
Captivating, beautiful, and full of mystery. This book was a great read. I loved the recipes from the story at the end as well!! Very excited to make the watermelon rind.
January 15, 2023
Alafair Tucker’s tenacity is her super power and it is a delight to see her use it so effectively to protect her son - who protected his country. Thank you for another winner Donis Casey.
August 20, 2025
I hope the author continues this series.
January 11, 2018
George Tucker doesn’t know what he wants when he returns to the family farm in Boynton, Oklahoma after serving in World War I. He has blackouts and is hiding from memories of things that happened in France. George, known as Gee Dub by his family, retreats to a quiet wood every day to get some quiet and avoid his mother’s insightful questions. One day, he sees an exhausted woman walking in the rain. His protective instincts take over and land him in a world of trouble. Fortunately, his mother, Alafair, has experience investigating crimes. Forty Dead Men, by Donis Casey, is the tenth book in the series...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews