The year 1916 was not shaping up to be a good one for Alafair Tucker, and finding Bernie Arruda dead in a ditch didn't help matters.
Alafair had not wanted to go to Arizona in the first place. But her ten-year-old daughter Blanche was suffering from a stubborn ailment of the lungs, and her best chance for a cure was dry desert air. So Alafair and her husband Shaw had bundled their sick child onto the train and made the difficult trip from Oklahoma to the home of Alafair's sister in Tempe, Arizona.
As soon as they arrived on that bright day in March, Blanche began to improve. And Alafair was overjoyed to see her witty, brilliant, beautiful sister Elizabeth again. Adding to the excitement was a Hollywood motion picture company that was filming a movie on the streets of Tempe.
But Alafair and Shaw soon discover that all is not well in sunny Arizona. Elizabeth's marriage is in tatters; tensions are high between the Anglo and Latino communities following Pancho Villa's murderous raid on Columbus, New Mexico; and Alafair suspects her sister is involved in an illegal operation to smuggle war refugees out of Mexico and into the United States.
And now here is Bernie Arruda, lying on his back in a ditch, staring into eternity. The night before, he had been singing Mexican love songs at the party in Elizabeth's backyard, his black eyes flashing as he winked at the ladies. He had been a charmer, all right—too bad there were so many people who would be glad he was dead. Alafair decides to find the culprit.
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"I've enjoyed all of Donis Casey's books. I picked up the first one in this series, "The Old Buzzard Had it Coming" just because of the title. Donis never disappoints. She provides a good mystery, a main character to keep on loving, and just a good, entertaining read overall."
— Heidi (5 out of 5 stars)
" These books are lively and entertaining. Easy reads with like able characters. "
— Deb, 6/2/2013" This is such a great series. Now up to 1916, Alafair and Shaw Tucker take their 10 year old daughter, Blanche, to Arizona, looking for relief for her bad lungs. Alafair (of course) stumbles across a dead body. Trying to find the killer uncovers a lot of secrets. "
— Meg, 12/31/2012Donis Casey is a third-generation Oklahoman. She and her siblings grew up among their extended family on farms and in small towns. She earned degrees from the University of Tulsa and Oklahoma University and has worked as a teacher and academic librarian. She now lives with her husband in Arizona.
Pam Ward, an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator, found her true calling reading books for the blind and physically handicapped for the Library of Congress’ Talking Books program. The fact that she can work with Blackstone Audio from the beauty of the mountains of Southern Oregon is an unexpected bonus.