The Sky Took Him

First Line: The train out of Muskogee was very nearly empty.

Alafair Tucker is going to Enid, Oklahoma, accompanied by her oldest and youngest daughters, Martha and Grace. Lester, the husband of Alafair's sister, Ruth Ann, is dying, and the family is gathering. When they arrive, Alafair learns that her niece Olivia's husband Kenneth has chosen a very inconvenient-- and thoughtless-- time to go on an extended business trip. When he doesn't return on the scheduled date, Alafair has a hunch that all is not well.

The hunch is proved correct: Kenneth is found dead. Everyone is convinced that the most ruthless businessman in Enid-- Buck Collins-- is responsible. So convinced in fact that the investigation begins and ends with him. But Alafair show more doubts that things could be as simple as that.

Once again, Donis Casey takes us back to Oklahoma in the 1910s, and with a family like the Tuckers, I always savor my visits. (Probably because the Tuckers remind me so much of stories I've heard of my own grandparents and great-grandparents.) Casey gives the reader a true feeling-- without going overboard-- of what life was like during that era. Although I loved the glimpses into a company dealing with early refrigeration units, Enid's Cherokee Strip celebration, and the work involved in drilling for oil, it's her characters, their behavior and their relationships from which I derive the most enjoyment in this series.

The Sky Took Him is no exception. We get to know Martha's beau, Streeter McCoy, but the stars among the new characters are Lu, a tiny Chinese lady, an oil man named Pee Wee Nickolls and his dog, Muddy. They stole every scene in which they appeared.

As each of Alafair's ten children grows to adulthood, Alafair has to get used to seeing them as grown-ups with adult feelings and reactions. I found this process with her oldest daughter, Martha, to be the most touching one so far. One scene toward the end of the book illustrates one of the strengths I find most compelling in Donis Casey's books. Martha has just been in a room with three generations of women in her family. After going upstairs, she happens to look in a mirror to check her hair:

The same face she had just seen on the women downstairs was staring back at her.

"It's like we're all the same woman," she said aloud. Suddenly, she was struck with the idea that she was standing at the very end of a long, unbroken line of women that went all the way back to Eve, all with one great soul, moving forward through time.

Yes, these books are excellent, with their tried-and-true recipes of the era, their depiction of a forgotten time, and their absorbing mysteries that Alafair insists on solving. But they're also for all of us who've ever looked into a mirror and seen a resemblance to a long line of men and women going all the way back to the dawn of time. We've asked the same questions for millenia: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and I love how Alafair Tucker answers them. show less

Donis Casey is high on my list of authors who deserve to be much better known. The Sky Took Him (2009) is the latest in her series featuring Alafair Tucker, farmer's wife and amateur sleuth in early 20th century Oklahoma. Lovely voice, lovely local color, and I especially enjoyed this entry's romance subplot involving Alafair's independent oldest daughter. And there was a nice balance of obvious clues that even mystery-clueless me could spot and unexpected twists that were subtly but fairly foreshadowed.

This is the fourth book in the Alafair Tucker series, and I have enjoyed all of them up to now. For some reason I put this series on the back of my pile, and haven't gotten back to it for far too long. In this book Alafair and her oldest daughter Martha and her youngest daughter Grace are on a train at the beginning of the book. They are going to visit Alafair's sister Ruth Ann in Enid, Oklahoma in the fall of 1915. Ruth Ann's husband Lester is on his deathbed and Alafair is going to help her and to support her through her through this difficult time. As soon as they arrive, things seem to be uneasy and unsettled. For example, where is Ruth Ann's son-in-law and why is he staying away so long? Why does Lester seem to have something on show more his mind that he wants to share with Alafair? And Ruth-Ann's housekeeper/cook/nursemaid Lu seems to have a deep secret that she doesn't want to share. So while the family waits for Lester's passing, Alafair has time to pursue a little investigation on her own. With Martha's help, they set out to find out what happened to Olivia's husband (Olivia is Ruth-Ann and Lester's daughter). And on the way they discover family and the town of Enid secrets as long as your arm. These books are so very enjoyable because they are unabashedly set deliciously in early 20 century America. Donis Casey captures the sights, sounds, food, and lifestyles of that era. And all of her characters are so real and folksy that it's like you're there sitting in their parlor drinking tea with them. And as if that's not enough, we have Ike the cat who seems to think he's human. Ike is Ruth Ann's cat, and he doesn't miss a trick and even helps Alifair on her search for the truth. These books are so much fun, I highly recommend this series to lovers of folksy, cozy mysteries. show less

This series gives a slice of life in rural Oklahoma with every story, and that is both charming and sometimes a bit too much detail. This is the fourth in the series, and involves Alafair Tucker's sister's family and the new industry of OIL! It was very obvious from about the 20th page where the missing person would be found, and I had to read a lot more of the book before it occurred to our clever mystery solver. That was a real aggravation, but the book was still interesting for the variety of characters and the portrayal of a growing American region.

The plot twists and turns around a dead man who stands to inherit a prosperous shipping company from his dying father-in-law. The town boss, a respected, but feared man is suspected, but sensible Alafair wonder's about the destructive searches of the dead man's office, home and oil field. Why kill a man who has hidden what you want? Meanwhile Alafair's oldest daughter struggles with her conflicting desires for career or marriage and baby Grace is visited by "Mr. Wing-Neck" in her dreams. The tale is set in Oklahoma of 1915, a time when oil strikes were creating sudden wealth while citizens still celebrated the land rushes of the past. Well written, it is the fourth in a series featuring Alafair Tucker, an Oklahoma housewife with a trace show more of Indian blood. show less

This series just keeps getting better and better. As Alafair and Shaw's children are growing, life is changing drastically for them. Two daughters are married, one grandchild has arrived and a third daughter is engaged.

In the midst of all this Alafair, along with oldest child Martha and youngest Grace, travel to Enid, Oklahoma to visit with Alafair's sister Ruth Ann and to help her while she is dealing with the coming death of her husband Lester. Ruth Ann's daughter, Olivia, and grandson Ron are also in and out of the house but Olivia's husband Kenneth is mysteriously absent.

The settings for these books is a time period not covered by a lot of fiction, it is 1915, Oklahoma has only been a state for a few years and as the new century show more develops life and lifestyles are rapidly changing. Alafair's children are getting jobs and education that was often absent from farming family lives when she was young. Her older daughters also have jobs outside the home which was almost unheard of in the last century.

There is some great history here, the speeches of Eugene Debbs, the books of Mark Twain, and the lives of those who worked the dangerous oil fields. All are woven almost seamlessly into the narrative of the story.

I can't wait to read the next in the series. show less

Donis Casey takes us back nearly 100 years to an era before The Great War, to a time and place without computers and cell phones, where even hot and cold running water is not available for everyone. In this tale, Alafair and two of her daughters travel to Enid, Oklahoma to be with her sister to offer emotional support to her and her dying husband. But during the visit, an unexpected death occurs, and Alafair’s natural curiosity and moral fiber drives her to uncover the truth. Much of the appeal of this story lies in the author’s believable and likable characters as well as the setting. The mystery, while intriguing, almost takes a back seat to the unfolding tale about the people and their lives. This audio version was well rendered show more by Pam Ward and only adds to the charm of this southern tale. show less