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Alafair Tucker #7
Hell with the Lid Blown Off
[Read by Pam Ward and Stephen R. Thorne]
Some secrets can come back from the grave. - - In the summer of 1916, a big twister brings destruction to the land around Boynton, Oklahoma. Alafair Tucker's family and neighbors are not spared the ruin and grief spread by the storm. But no one is going to mourn for Jubal Beldon, who made it his business to know the ugly secrets of everyone in town. It doesn't matter if Jubal's insinuations are true or not. In a small town like Boynton, rumor is as damaging as fact. - - But as Mr. Lee, the undertaker, does his grim duty for the storm victims, he discovers that even in death Jubal isn't going to leave his neighbors in peace. He was already dead when the tornado carried his body to the middle of a fallow field. Had he died in an accident, or had he been murdered by someone whose secret he had threatened to expose? There are dozens of people who would have been happy to do the deed, including members of Jubal's own family. - - As Sheriff Scott Tucker and his deputy Trenton Calder investigate the circumstances surrounding Jubal's demise, it begins to look like the prime suspect may be someone very dear to the widow Beckie MacKenzie, the beloved music teacher and mentor of Alafair's daughter Ruth. Ruth fears that the secrets exposed by the investigation are going to cause more damage to her friend's life than did the tornado. Alafair has her own suspicions about how Jubal Beldon came to die, and the reason may hit very close to home.
Some secrets can come back from the grave. - - In the summer of 1916, a big twister brings destruction to the land around Boynton, Oklahoma. Alafair Tucker's family and neighbors are not spared the ruin and grief spread by the storm. But no one is going to mourn for Jubal Beldon, who made it his business to know the ugly secrets of everyone in town. It doesn't matter if Jubal's insinuations are true or not. In a small town like Boynton, rumor is as damaging as fact. - - But as Mr. Lee, the undertaker, does his grim duty for the storm victims, he discovers that even in death Jubal isn't going to leave his neighbors in peace. He was already dead when the tornado carried his body to the middle of a fallow field. Had he died in an accident, or had he been murdered by someone whose secret he had threatened to expose? There are dozens of people who would have been happy to do the deed, including members of Jubal's own family. - - As Sheriff Scott Tucker and his deputy Trenton Calder investigate the circumstances surrounding Jubal's demise, it begins to look like the prime suspect may be someone very dear to the widow Beckie MacKenzie, the beloved music teacher and mentor of Alafair's daughter Ruth. Ruth fears that the secrets exposed by the investigation are going to cause more damage to her friend's life than did the tornado. Alafair has her own suspicions about how Jubal Beldon came to die, and the reason may hit very close to home.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2014
30 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
Donis Casey
13 books90 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 - 30 of 45 reviews
August 5, 2014
As the title indicates, a twister is at the center of this mystery. I read the storm scene on a quiet early August night in North Central Texas--no clouds, no rain, temperature cooler than normal. And yet I kept glancing out the window, expecting to see sheets of driving rain, hail, bolts of thunder and a dark green sky. That's how powerful Donis Casey's description of the twister is.
I strained with the men and women who struggled to hold the storm cellar doors shut, and I cried with the frightened young girls. The aftermath of the storm was just as frightening: at night, with the land scoured dry of familiar horse paths and landmarks. A man on horseback could hardly tell where he was, let alone where he was headed and yet, fear for others gave urgency to his journey.
Hell with the Lid Blown Off, one character's description of the land, is an apt title. Along with the storm at the center of this novel, set in 1912 near Boynton,Oklahoma, is also murder. As Deputy Sheriff Trenton Calder rides through the devastated landscape, he finds a body and actually has to dig it out of the mud. Unable to identify the corpse, he takes it into town where the local undertaker identifies it as Jubal Beldon, probably the most hated man in the entire county. Jubal, leader of the unruly band of Beldon brothers, delighted in bullying people. Blackmail was his favorite scheme, and he had several current victims. There were, in short, a lot of people with reason to want Jubal dead. Then we learn from the undertaker that Jubal was dead before the twister carried his battered body with its wind.
Alafair Tucker, mother of ten and foster mother of a nephew, is at the center of this novel--the lynchpin of strength that holds her family together--as she has been in the six previous novels in the series. Fairly brief alternating voices tell us what is happening with each character; the list of characters at the beginning is really helpful for this.
All sections are in third person, except the passages by Trenton Calder, which are in first person. Calder, law official, smitten by Ruth Tucker, one of Alafair's daughters, and a good if somewhat naïve guy, makes a good narrator who draws the many threads of this novel together. Alafair, however, is the one who follows her various suspicions, always gently, always in conversation, until she gets the murderer to confess. Her husband Shaw begs her to leave it alone, but she perseveres. Even the murder of Jubal Beldon, whose own mother doesn't seem much upset by his death, must be solved. It's part of the orderly community and world in which Alafair lives.
I have not read the previous books in the series--though now I'm going to. Since I read mostly contemporary mystery, I had my doubts about a novel set in 1912. Yet I was mesmerized by the mores, the manners, even the language of a century ago. The question of a gay couple came up--they are called Sodomites (a term Ruth has never heard and naively asks for an explanation of) and were in danger of imprisonment, if not lynched first. Trenton Calder blushed a lot in trying to explain these things to Ruth.
Donis Casey includes a helpful glossary at the back of the book. Here you will learn, for example, that "fashed" means upset. You will also find a section of "scratch" recipes that duplicate those that cooks of that day made without measuring or directions.
While there's murder and tension in Hell with the Lid Blown Off, in total it's a gentle mystery, as much to be admired for its thorough portrayal of life in rural Oklahoma in the early twentieth century as for the murder it presents and solves. I'm pleased to highly recommend this novel that I began with some hesitation. Congratulations to Donis Casey on a superb book that moves out of the box of the cozy mystery.
by Judy Alter
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
I strained with the men and women who struggled to hold the storm cellar doors shut, and I cried with the frightened young girls. The aftermath of the storm was just as frightening: at night, with the land scoured dry of familiar horse paths and landmarks. A man on horseback could hardly tell where he was, let alone where he was headed and yet, fear for others gave urgency to his journey.
Hell with the Lid Blown Off, one character's description of the land, is an apt title. Along with the storm at the center of this novel, set in 1912 near Boynton,Oklahoma, is also murder. As Deputy Sheriff Trenton Calder rides through the devastated landscape, he finds a body and actually has to dig it out of the mud. Unable to identify the corpse, he takes it into town where the local undertaker identifies it as Jubal Beldon, probably the most hated man in the entire county. Jubal, leader of the unruly band of Beldon brothers, delighted in bullying people. Blackmail was his favorite scheme, and he had several current victims. There were, in short, a lot of people with reason to want Jubal dead. Then we learn from the undertaker that Jubal was dead before the twister carried his battered body with its wind.
Alafair Tucker, mother of ten and foster mother of a nephew, is at the center of this novel--the lynchpin of strength that holds her family together--as she has been in the six previous novels in the series. Fairly brief alternating voices tell us what is happening with each character; the list of characters at the beginning is really helpful for this.
All sections are in third person, except the passages by Trenton Calder, which are in first person. Calder, law official, smitten by Ruth Tucker, one of Alafair's daughters, and a good if somewhat naïve guy, makes a good narrator who draws the many threads of this novel together. Alafair, however, is the one who follows her various suspicions, always gently, always in conversation, until she gets the murderer to confess. Her husband Shaw begs her to leave it alone, but she perseveres. Even the murder of Jubal Beldon, whose own mother doesn't seem much upset by his death, must be solved. It's part of the orderly community and world in which Alafair lives.
I have not read the previous books in the series--though now I'm going to. Since I read mostly contemporary mystery, I had my doubts about a novel set in 1912. Yet I was mesmerized by the mores, the manners, even the language of a century ago. The question of a gay couple came up--they are called Sodomites (a term Ruth has never heard and naively asks for an explanation of) and were in danger of imprisonment, if not lynched first. Trenton Calder blushed a lot in trying to explain these things to Ruth.
Donis Casey includes a helpful glossary at the back of the book. Here you will learn, for example, that "fashed" means upset. You will also find a section of "scratch" recipes that duplicate those that cooks of that day made without measuring or directions.
While there's murder and tension in Hell with the Lid Blown Off, in total it's a gentle mystery, as much to be admired for its thorough portrayal of life in rural Oklahoma in the early twentieth century as for the murder it presents and solves. I'm pleased to highly recommend this novel that I began with some hesitation. Congratulations to Donis Casey on a superb book that moves out of the box of the cozy mystery.
by Judy Alter
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
January 27, 2025
Hell with the Lid Blown Off by Donis Casey is the seventh book in the Alafair Tucker mystery series set in June 1916 in rural Oklahoma. The book is divided into: Before, During and After, referring to the devastating storm of tornadoes that carved a path of destruction across Oklahoma. One character describes the storm's aftermath as "Hell with the Lid Blown Off".
Chapters alternate point of view between characters: young deputy sheriff Trenton Calder, Tucker family matriarch (series protagonist) Alafair Tucker, Wallace MacKenzie, his grandmother Beckie MacKenzie, Alafair's daughter Ruth Tucker, universally disliked thug Jubal Beldon, Alfair's sister-in-law Josie Cecil, Jubal's mother Mildrey Beldon, Tucker family patriarch Shaw Tucker, Alafair's son-in-law Walter Kelley, a farmer's wife Marva Welsh, Alafair's daughter Phoebe Day, Alafair's son Gee Dub, midwife Dr. Ann Addison, Alafair's son-in-law John Lee Day, Alafair's daughter Mary Lukenbach, Sheriff Scott Tucker (Shaw's cousin), Randal Wakefield. Oddly, occasional chapters are titled '999'.
A helpful Cast of Characters precedes the story. But reading the series in order is the best way to appreciate all the relationships and the history of the ever-expanding Tucker family. Many of the books in the series focus on a blossoming romance of one of Alafair's daughters. Alafair's daughter Ruth and deputy sheriff Trent Calder fall in love in this book, and two of Alafair's married daughters give birth. The Tucker family is based on the author's ancestors in rural Oklahoma.
As in each series book, the story overflows with family love and kindness, but also includes a murder. Several red herrings keep the reader guessing 'whodunit' between likely candidates.
How is it that the world can shift like that in the blink of an eye, and things that had been so ordinary and familiar become something you could never have imagined just the moment before? So muses Trent Calder, young deputy sheriff, when he hears and sees Ruth playing piano.
He had always been good to his mother, and in Alafair's opinion that was a strong predictor of an excellent husband.
If the previous experience of four daughters' romances hadn't taught her to keep her opinion to herself, Alafair would have been quite the matchmaker in this instance as well.
No man worth shooting mentions the name of a respectable woman in a bar.
"What if one of my boys did something like that?" Alafair paused. Goose flesh rose on her arms, and she scrubbed at them with her hands. "I think I might chase him down to hell to get him back, because he'd sure be in hell. I'd trail him clean to the end of the world and besiege him until he repented. I'd spend the rest of my life helping him to atone for his sins. Even if I learned that one of my young'uns was Satan himself, I couldn't help but still love them. Love ain't something that can be turned on and off."
Alafair's Recipes (Buttermilk Biscuits, Fried Green Tomatoes, Green Beans and Fatback, Pork Chops and Pan Dressing, Creamed Onions) don't just list ingredients and cooking times, but include tips and tricks for best results. Also identifies the ingredients Alafair used in 1916 vs. the 21st century choices. If you are not used to cooking from scratch, simply following a recipe is not going to get you the same results your grandmother got when she cooked. Take simple biscuits, for example. If you throw all the ingredients together in a bowl, stir them up, cut them out and cook them, you're liable to end up with little rocks rather than the delectable, melt-in-your-mouth morsels that Alafair made for her family every day of her married life. There is a science behind it, and every home cook was a chemist.
Chapters alternate point of view between characters: young deputy sheriff Trenton Calder, Tucker family matriarch (series protagonist) Alafair Tucker, Wallace MacKenzie, his grandmother Beckie MacKenzie, Alafair's daughter Ruth Tucker, universally disliked thug Jubal Beldon, Alfair's sister-in-law Josie Cecil, Jubal's mother Mildrey Beldon, Tucker family patriarch Shaw Tucker, Alafair's son-in-law Walter Kelley, a farmer's wife Marva Welsh, Alafair's daughter Phoebe Day, Alafair's son Gee Dub, midwife Dr. Ann Addison, Alafair's son-in-law John Lee Day, Alafair's daughter Mary Lukenbach, Sheriff Scott Tucker (Shaw's cousin), Randal Wakefield. Oddly, occasional chapters are titled '999'.
A helpful Cast of Characters precedes the story. But reading the series in order is the best way to appreciate all the relationships and the history of the ever-expanding Tucker family. Many of the books in the series focus on a blossoming romance of one of Alafair's daughters. Alafair's daughter Ruth and deputy sheriff Trent Calder fall in love in this book, and two of Alafair's married daughters give birth. The Tucker family is based on the author's ancestors in rural Oklahoma.
As in each series book, the story overflows with family love and kindness, but also includes a murder. Several red herrings keep the reader guessing 'whodunit' between likely candidates.
How is it that the world can shift like that in the blink of an eye, and things that had been so ordinary and familiar become something you could never have imagined just the moment before? So muses Trent Calder, young deputy sheriff, when he hears and sees Ruth playing piano.
He had always been good to his mother, and in Alafair's opinion that was a strong predictor of an excellent husband.
If the previous experience of four daughters' romances hadn't taught her to keep her opinion to herself, Alafair would have been quite the matchmaker in this instance as well.
No man worth shooting mentions the name of a respectable woman in a bar.
"What if one of my boys did something like that?" Alafair paused. Goose flesh rose on her arms, and she scrubbed at them with her hands. "I think I might chase him down to hell to get him back, because he'd sure be in hell. I'd trail him clean to the end of the world and besiege him until he repented. I'd spend the rest of my life helping him to atone for his sins. Even if I learned that one of my young'uns was Satan himself, I couldn't help but still love them. Love ain't something that can be turned on and off."
Alafair's Recipes (Buttermilk Biscuits, Fried Green Tomatoes, Green Beans and Fatback, Pork Chops and Pan Dressing, Creamed Onions) don't just list ingredients and cooking times, but include tips and tricks for best results. Also identifies the ingredients Alafair used in 1916 vs. the 21st century choices. If you are not used to cooking from scratch, simply following a recipe is not going to get you the same results your grandmother got when she cooked. Take simple biscuits, for example. If you throw all the ingredients together in a bowl, stir them up, cut them out and cook them, you're liable to end up with little rocks rather than the delectable, melt-in-your-mouth morsels that Alafair made for her family every day of her married life. There is a science behind it, and every home cook was a chemist.
November 4, 2024
Interesting hyper clean and sweet story
May 26, 2019
A tornado rips through rural Oklahoma, wreaking havoc on the Tucker farm, and destroying the nearby farm where Alafair and Shaw's daughter Phoebe lives with her husband and small daughter. As the clean up continues, locals find the body of a irritating ne'er do well. No one, not even his mother, is overly concerned that Jubal Belden is dead, but a stab wound on his side indicates he may not have died in the fury of the storm.
One of the sheriff's deputies is falling in love with Alafair's daughter Ruth.
As with all of the Alafair Tucker series, this is a pleasant combination of medium boiled mystery and a depiction of life in rural Oklahoma in the early days of the 20th century.
One of the sheriff's deputies is falling in love with Alafair's daughter Ruth.
As with all of the Alafair Tucker series, this is a pleasant combination of medium boiled mystery and a depiction of life in rural Oklahoma in the early days of the 20th century.
November 11, 2023
This, the seventh book in the Alifair Tucker series, is another winner. In 1916 a big damaging tornado actually did hit Oklahoma, and this book is set around this event. When the book opens Alifair is managing two of her married daughters who are expecting within a few days of each other. It's a hot and muggy June and everyone is trying to cope with the heat and humidity. Alifair's family of 10 are growing up and a few of them have married and moved out. Her two sons and her younger four daughters are still living at home. It all keeps Alifair happy and busy, and that's just what she wants. There are some nasty undercurrents in and around the town of Boynton, but these do not really involve Alifair and her family. But, even so, she is drawn into a mysterious death which appears to be as a result of the big storm. Alifair's home had been damaged by the storm, but she and her family did not fare as badly as others in the neighbourhood. As everyone is helping every one else by rebuilding and repairs, and providing food for those who were more badly hit, the investigation into the mysterious death continues. Before it is finished people near and dear to Alifair and her family are dealing with some long-buried secrets that seem to be connected to the death.. I love these books. They are so heartwarming and comforting, and depict the era and the setting so well that the Tucker clan soon becomes like members of the reader's family. I listened to this one on audiobook, and I find that a great way to enjoy the folksiness, and the comfort as if visiting old friends. I love down-to-earth Alifair. But don't let her warmhearted personality fool you. She is one smart cookie, and as busy as she is, she will find that killer.
March 1, 2017
Have you ever really considered what it would be like to be caught in a tornado? This excellent and exciting book could serve as a primer for all the awful things that Mother Nature can cause with the right conditions.
Of course there are casualties. The vegetation is destroyed in completely random ways. Buildings are damaged or flattened. A family's possessions are strewn around the neighborhood - those that are not destroyed.
And in the midst of the chaos, the most unpopular man in town is dead from what could be an accident but may be a murder.
This is the first of the author's series that has been told from multiple perspectives. That makes for an interesting change of pace.
Of course there are casualties. The vegetation is destroyed in completely random ways. Buildings are damaged or flattened. A family's possessions are strewn around the neighborhood - those that are not destroyed.
And in the midst of the chaos, the most unpopular man in town is dead from what could be an accident but may be a murder.
This is the first of the author's series that has been told from multiple perspectives. That makes for an interesting change of pace.
June 26, 2018
The Alafair Tucker Mysteries are very different from the usual female mysteries. Living in Oklahoma during the 'teens with a husband and (I think) 10 children(!). She manages her house, her children, her husband and solves a murder or two along the way. The stories are all told from the view of a traditional family point of view but a family that is on the verge of change. World War I and Woman Rights to Vote loom on the horizon. If you remember watching your grandma letting her hair down at before bed or helping her snap peas on the front porch, then this is a series you will enjoy.
January 8, 2018
Mostly historical fiction. The mystery was good but didn’t take up much of the story. The book’s charm is in its emphasis on family, community, and compassion for others. I learned a lot about early 1900’s small town life. A religious undertone which also coincided with broader, more across the board, moral themes such as being thankful for what you have, not judging others, and following the golden rule.
September 2, 2021
Although I am not a fan of books focusing on family interaction, so the start where we got to know the individuals in the large family was tedious to me, once the tornado hit the small rural community, it was very interesting to see how the people tried to survive and how they were all affected. Ruth, the musically inclined young woman, and Trent, the music loving deputy, were very likeable characters.
May 8, 2019
I have really enjoyed this series so far. The author has placed the Tucker family into many different places and situations. This one involves an Oklahoma tornado--something with which I am quite familiar. Most Oklahomans have probably heard stories about the almost impossible results of a catastrophic tornado. Casey has made use of many of these stories to make her descriptions interesting and believable. Strangely, it just so happened that I read some of the scariest parts of the story while sitting in an RV trailer at Lake Texoma as tornadoes skipped all around us, striking homes between Blue and Bokchito and causing both death and destruction. I was really wishing I was at home in my cellar. I highly recommend this series.
August 24, 2021
Charming tale of one family and town's trials and struggles after a horrific tornado hits the town - and a murder is uncovered - or is it? The real charm is in getting to know the characters and seeing how the murder is solved. I look forward to reading more in the series as I came into it in the last I think that won't matter if I go back and read from the beginning. Enjoyable!
July 14, 2017
great series
October 15, 2018
Extra good. Best in the series so far.
July 26, 2019
Absolutely loved this book. Had a very hard time putting it down.
July 20, 2021
Love this series. A little bit of mystery alongside family drama alongside historical facts.
June 1, 2025
Was just a ok book
Not enough action. Could have been s much more. Wi!! Read more in this serial but not expecting to much
Not enough action. Could have been s much more. Wi!! Read more in this serial but not expecting to much
August 3, 2025
One hot summer!
June 2, 2014
I believe this is the 7th book in the series which I had never heard of, but it wasn't indicated when I requested a copy of the book from Netgalley (in exchange for my honest review). I wasn't thrilled when I started the book and was presented with several pages of introductions to the characters. I bypassed those knowing I'd never remember the details. I then discovered the story was set in 1916 in a small town rural area. Not looking good since I prefer contemporary settings. Then the murder doesn't happen until 60% through the book. So, we're not off to a good start in many ways.
Well, color me surprised, I really enjoyed the book. Let's start with the character issue. Tons of characters, Alafair alone has a husband and 10 kids (plus a few kids in law and grand kids) plus a young relative she's boarding and pretty much all get some page time, then there's the sheriff, deputy and other towns folk. The author does type in large print who the POV is from, but I didn't really find that necessary and I was able to keep everything straight and not forget any characters by the end of the book. The main character is really the 22 year old deputy, Trenton Calder with Alafair working independently to find the killer of Jubal, a much disliked abuser of people in general and blackmailer.
The author provided enough time related detail that fleshed out the people and community that made it interesting and not like reading a history book.
The story starts off with lots of description about daily life for Alafair and the rest, we meet the bad guy and experience a little romance starting with Trenton and one of Alafair's daughters. A twister comes through and destroys a lot of town and kills several people including, it's initially believed, Jubal. Turns out he was dead for a couple days prior and the hunt is on. Was it a family member of Alafair's since Jubal wanted to defile her daughter? Was it the possible sodomites he was trying to blackmail? Was it someone in his own family wanting to take the homestead from him or to stop the physical abuse? Was it the old couple who had to send their mentally slow son away for Jubal couldn't physically hurt him or accuse him of having a biracial relationship (1916, small southern town)?
I could see this book not appealing to some the way I thought it would not appeal to me...lots of background info and family life type stuff, less emphasis on the murder and hunting down the bad guy, but I got involved and the story really moved quite fast.
The book totally stands alone.
Well, color me surprised, I really enjoyed the book. Let's start with the character issue. Tons of characters, Alafair alone has a husband and 10 kids (plus a few kids in law and grand kids) plus a young relative she's boarding and pretty much all get some page time, then there's the sheriff, deputy and other towns folk. The author does type in large print who the POV is from, but I didn't really find that necessary and I was able to keep everything straight and not forget any characters by the end of the book. The main character is really the 22 year old deputy, Trenton Calder with Alafair working independently to find the killer of Jubal, a much disliked abuser of people in general and blackmailer.
The author provided enough time related detail that fleshed out the people and community that made it interesting and not like reading a history book.
The story starts off with lots of description about daily life for Alafair and the rest, we meet the bad guy and experience a little romance starting with Trenton and one of Alafair's daughters. A twister comes through and destroys a lot of town and kills several people including, it's initially believed, Jubal. Turns out he was dead for a couple days prior and the hunt is on. Was it a family member of Alafair's since Jubal wanted to defile her daughter? Was it the possible sodomites he was trying to blackmail? Was it someone in his own family wanting to take the homestead from him or to stop the physical abuse? Was it the old couple who had to send their mentally slow son away for Jubal couldn't physically hurt him or accuse him of having a biracial relationship (1916, small southern town)?
I could see this book not appealing to some the way I thought it would not appeal to me...lots of background info and family life type stuff, less emphasis on the murder and hunting down the bad guy, but I got involved and the story really moved quite fast.
The book totally stands alone.
August 29, 2014
Twisters pop up fast and furious in the flatlands of Oklahoma. In the summer of 1916, tornados weren’t the only thing tearing people apart and leaving a path of destruction in the wake.
Like any other town, Boyton had solid citizens, good for nothing citizens and secrets. The worst of the bunch was Jubal Beldon. He ran with a group of other troublemakers of whom he was the ringleader. He was mean and seemed to hold secrets of more than one of the townsfolk. When he ended up dead, it didn’t surprise many, but has the wrong person been blamed for his death?
Alafair Tucker was the polar opposite of Jubal. Mother of ten nearly grown children, she never hesitated when some child needed to come and live with her family for a while. She and her husband Shaw were good people that gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and turned the other cheek. Alafair also has a flair for solving mysteries, and she cannot stand to see someone wrongfully accused of murder even if they are confessing to the crime.
As the residents of Boyton pick up the pieces of their lives after the devastation of the twister, the search for the murderer and motive puts more strain on the overburdened town. Tensions rise as it appears that secrets may be revealed.
Hell With The Lid Blown Off starts a bit slow. But like a twister, it gathers speed, snatching the reader up and swirling you right into the chaos. It is a different twist on a cozy mystery. Who could imagine a mother and grandmother in the early 1900s solving a mystery as handily as she bakes homemade biscuits or fries up some green tomatoes? Donis Casey keeps the reader’s interest while taking you on a journey back in time.
This is the seventh book in Casey’s Alafair Tucker series, but works well as a stand-alone read. I really enjoyed the voice of the characters. Having grandparents from the south, I can hear their voices in the dialog, it rings true to the era. An extra bonus were the recipes for some of the mouthwatering home cooked food at the end of the book. After the vivid descriptions, that make a reader hungry, you can make them to enjoy while reading one of the earlier books in the series.
Copyright © 2014 Laura Hartman
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was not expected to return this item after my review.
Like any other town, Boyton had solid citizens, good for nothing citizens and secrets. The worst of the bunch was Jubal Beldon. He ran with a group of other troublemakers of whom he was the ringleader. He was mean and seemed to hold secrets of more than one of the townsfolk. When he ended up dead, it didn’t surprise many, but has the wrong person been blamed for his death?
Alafair Tucker was the polar opposite of Jubal. Mother of ten nearly grown children, she never hesitated when some child needed to come and live with her family for a while. She and her husband Shaw were good people that gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and turned the other cheek. Alafair also has a flair for solving mysteries, and she cannot stand to see someone wrongfully accused of murder even if they are confessing to the crime.
As the residents of Boyton pick up the pieces of their lives after the devastation of the twister, the search for the murderer and motive puts more strain on the overburdened town. Tensions rise as it appears that secrets may be revealed.
Hell With The Lid Blown Off starts a bit slow. But like a twister, it gathers speed, snatching the reader up and swirling you right into the chaos. It is a different twist on a cozy mystery. Who could imagine a mother and grandmother in the early 1900s solving a mystery as handily as she bakes homemade biscuits or fries up some green tomatoes? Donis Casey keeps the reader’s interest while taking you on a journey back in time.
This is the seventh book in Casey’s Alafair Tucker series, but works well as a stand-alone read. I really enjoyed the voice of the characters. Having grandparents from the south, I can hear their voices in the dialog, it rings true to the era. An extra bonus were the recipes for some of the mouthwatering home cooked food at the end of the book. After the vivid descriptions, that make a reader hungry, you can make them to enjoy while reading one of the earlier books in the series.
Copyright © 2014 Laura Hartman
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was not expected to return this item after my review.
September 9, 2016
Hell With the Lid Blown Off is a bit of a departure for author Donis Casey, and it's one of her very best books in this excellent historical mystery series. For once, farm wife and mother of ten Alafair Tucker does not conduct her own investigation into the death of Jubal Beldon; she's much too busy taking care of injured family members and cleaning up after the tornado's destruction. Instead, the balance of the story rests on the shoulders of her musically inclined daughter Ruth and the young deputy Trenton Calder.
The story is told by different characters in alternating chapters, and Trenton Calder's sections are told in the first person. As a result readers see everything through his eyes as he meets all the others before and during the investigation. This multiple point of view approach with one of the characters speaking in first person doesn't always work, but it certainly does here. Trenton is a winning young man, and it was a pleasure to watch him take a shine to a certain young woman in Boynton and to see how seriously he took his work. His scenes bring an immediacy and freshness to the story.
Yes, Alafair takes a bit of a backseat in this mystery, but her presence is always felt. With this seventh book in the series, I feel as though I'm a neighbor to the Tuckers who's been privileged to be a family friend and watch Shaw and Alafair's children grow. One of the very best part of this series is learning how a farm wife back in that day and age managed to raise a huge family and keep them all clean, fed, and happy. It's a testament to Casey's talent as a writer that she can handle such a large cast of family members, give each of them a distinct personality, and yet not confuse the daylights out of readers.
The lead-in to the tornado was nerve-wracking, as were the scenes of the tornado itself. With the alternating chapters, I kept getting the feeling that we were saying good-bye to some of these characters, and yes-- I was worried. I lived in tornado country, and the scenes depicting the storm brought back some bad memories. Hell With the Lid Blown Off is a fine blend of characterization, mystery, and setting that involves a reader's mind and emotions. Now that I've caught my breath, I can't wait for my next visit to the Tucker farm.
The story is told by different characters in alternating chapters, and Trenton Calder's sections are told in the first person. As a result readers see everything through his eyes as he meets all the others before and during the investigation. This multiple point of view approach with one of the characters speaking in first person doesn't always work, but it certainly does here. Trenton is a winning young man, and it was a pleasure to watch him take a shine to a certain young woman in Boynton and to see how seriously he took his work. His scenes bring an immediacy and freshness to the story.
Yes, Alafair takes a bit of a backseat in this mystery, but her presence is always felt. With this seventh book in the series, I feel as though I'm a neighbor to the Tuckers who's been privileged to be a family friend and watch Shaw and Alafair's children grow. One of the very best part of this series is learning how a farm wife back in that day and age managed to raise a huge family and keep them all clean, fed, and happy. It's a testament to Casey's talent as a writer that she can handle such a large cast of family members, give each of them a distinct personality, and yet not confuse the daylights out of readers.
The lead-in to the tornado was nerve-wracking, as were the scenes of the tornado itself. With the alternating chapters, I kept getting the feeling that we were saying good-bye to some of these characters, and yes-- I was worried. I lived in tornado country, and the scenes depicting the storm brought back some bad memories. Hell With the Lid Blown Off is a fine blend of characterization, mystery, and setting that involves a reader's mind and emotions. Now that I've caught my breath, I can't wait for my next visit to the Tucker farm.
July 13, 2014
While the cover copy says it's a murder mystery, that's not the way I'd describe Donis Casey's Hell with the Lid Blown Off. OK, there is a mysterious murder, but it doesn't happen until almost two thirds of the way through the book. The rest is mostly focused on solving it, but in my opinion that's not the book's main strength.
I would call it more of a historical, slice-of-life novel, with the murder-mystery an added bonus.
I haven't read anything in this series before, so I was very grateful for the list of characters right at the beginning. The families are large and complex, especially the Tuckers -- the main family depicted.
It all takes place in Depression-era Oklahoma, and Casey evokes this very well indeed -- both its strengths and its weaknesses. The devastation that a tornado wreaks is also extremely well depicted.
While there was not a pointed enough focus on any of the main characters to make me feel I knew them, they were varied, and their characters had a great influence on the plot, especially the murder investigation.
I started this book expecting a more conventional focused murder mystery ... but I grew to love the slice-of-life aspects about an era and a location I'd never explored.
Also: home-style recipes in the back! "Scratch" cooking at its most authentic -- I look forward to trying them!
I got this for review through rambles.net, an online magazine that reviews mostly books and music.
I would call it more of a historical, slice-of-life novel, with the murder-mystery an added bonus.
I haven't read anything in this series before, so I was very grateful for the list of characters right at the beginning. The families are large and complex, especially the Tuckers -- the main family depicted.
It all takes place in Depression-era Oklahoma, and Casey evokes this very well indeed -- both its strengths and its weaknesses. The devastation that a tornado wreaks is also extremely well depicted.
While there was not a pointed enough focus on any of the main characters to make me feel I knew them, they were varied, and their characters had a great influence on the plot, especially the murder investigation.
I started this book expecting a more conventional focused murder mystery ... but I grew to love the slice-of-life aspects about an era and a location I'd never explored.
Also: home-style recipes in the back! "Scratch" cooking at its most authentic -- I look forward to trying them!
I got this for review through rambles.net, an online magazine that reviews mostly books and music.
June 29, 2015
I received this title from NetGalley in return for an honest review. My complete review can be found on my blog Fictionophile.
The seventh in the Alafair Tucker series, “Hell with the lid blown off” can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. I haven’t read any others in the series and was quite able to enjoy this one on its own.
I found myself thinking of “Little House on the Prairie” the entire time I was reading it. Set in a similar time period in very rural Oklahoma, this novel really didn’t have much of a whodunit factor, although it was a murder mystery. It did have a very vivid and well portrayed description of a tornado and how it affected this rural community. It is a story of how the valiant citizens of this small Oklahoma community - facing devastation, loss of property and death - banded together to overcome adversity.
The descriptions were well rendered and the myriad characters likeable. An easy read, “Hell with the lid blown off” was not a hard to figure out mystery, rather an incidental murder amongst a family’s travail.
Anyone who likes to read historical novels, set during a time when ‘neighbor helped neighbor’ and motives were straight-forward, will enjoy this book.
The book included some excellent ‘old-time’ recipes from Alafair’s kitchen.
The seventh in the Alafair Tucker series, “Hell with the lid blown off” can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. I haven’t read any others in the series and was quite able to enjoy this one on its own.
I found myself thinking of “Little House on the Prairie” the entire time I was reading it. Set in a similar time period in very rural Oklahoma, this novel really didn’t have much of a whodunit factor, although it was a murder mystery. It did have a very vivid and well portrayed description of a tornado and how it affected this rural community. It is a story of how the valiant citizens of this small Oklahoma community - facing devastation, loss of property and death - banded together to overcome adversity.
The descriptions were well rendered and the myriad characters likeable. An easy read, “Hell with the lid blown off” was not a hard to figure out mystery, rather an incidental murder amongst a family’s travail.
Anyone who likes to read historical novels, set during a time when ‘neighbor helped neighbor’ and motives were straight-forward, will enjoy this book.
The book included some excellent ‘old-time’ recipes from Alafair’s kitchen.
July 23, 2014
In 1916 Oklahoma, a tornado tears through Boynton and leaves in its wake death and destruction. But one of those deaths was not caused by the twister. Now it’s up to the sheriff and his young deputy, Alafair to find out who murdered one of the most hated men in the town.
For me this one got off to an excruciatingly slow start. It wasn’t until over half way through the book that the murder occurred. Now, since the victim was not a well-liked person there were no shortages of suspects. But Alafair keeps coming back to one person in particular and when the whole story is finally told, it’s thick with irony. While the characters were interesting and I loved Alafair’s young lady friend, the author spent entirely too much time on introducing each person and going through different signets that show the victim aggravated quite a few people. I thought the last forty percent of the book was very good since we are now focused on finding a killer. I liked the historical aspect of the book and it’s nice to hark back to a time when life moved at a slower pace. But, as you will see, the charm was only on the surface since darkness was in the hearts of men in 1916 just the same as it is today.
Overall, this one gets three stars.
Reviewed by Julie Whiteley
For me this one got off to an excruciatingly slow start. It wasn’t until over half way through the book that the murder occurred. Now, since the victim was not a well-liked person there were no shortages of suspects. But Alafair keeps coming back to one person in particular and when the whole story is finally told, it’s thick with irony. While the characters were interesting and I loved Alafair’s young lady friend, the author spent entirely too much time on introducing each person and going through different signets that show the victim aggravated quite a few people. I thought the last forty percent of the book was very good since we are now focused on finding a killer. I liked the historical aspect of the book and it’s nice to hark back to a time when life moved at a slower pace. But, as you will see, the charm was only on the surface since darkness was in the hearts of men in 1916 just the same as it is today.
Overall, this one gets three stars.
Reviewed by Julie Whiteley
October 27, 2014
I just finished this and I intend to write a more thorough review later but for now I just want to say I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The characters were so vividly portrayed with quick quirky details that instantly gave you a notion of the persons appearance or personality. It takes a little while to get used to the pacing and the style of the writing and to be honest I'm not a huge fan of how sections are split and titled by a specific character and it doesn't make much sense to me that Trent Calder is the only one ever written about in the first person. However this is easy enough to overlook. The book wAs pleasantly humorous, heartwarming and wholesome. It's nice to find a book that doesn't feed off sex and violence. Anyway, I enjoyed this, feel very privileged to have won it through good reads giveaways, and fully intend to read the future and past books in the series. I didn't know this was a series until I'd started it but I never felt like that fact diminished the experience for me. I didn't feel like I was missing anything or that past histories were being summed up awkwardly in a "whirlwind." Ha. Fun original book. Definitely recommend it!
July 26, 2014
I really enjoyed this story, and had no idea it was the seventh in a series. Don't worry if you haven't read them all yet; this one doesn't rely on the previous stories to make sense.
The setting is Oklahoma in 1916, and I felt it was very accurate, right down to the recipes included. Tornadoes were and are a real threat, and reading about the storm in this book wasn't easy, but was essential to the plot.
Most of this book seemed more like a historical novel than a mystery, but once it gets going, you hardly notice. Most of the characters had reason to murder the victim, and I was not sure who dunnit until quite a ways in (and even then, I wondered about it).
Definitely a character-driven story, there is also some romance and action to go along. Alafair doesn't play a big role in this plot, but the other characters make up for that.
I will absolutely be looking at the rest of the book in this series now.
The publisher sent me a book in return for my fair review.
The setting is Oklahoma in 1916, and I felt it was very accurate, right down to the recipes included. Tornadoes were and are a real threat, and reading about the storm in this book wasn't easy, but was essential to the plot.
Most of this book seemed more like a historical novel than a mystery, but once it gets going, you hardly notice. Most of the characters had reason to murder the victim, and I was not sure who dunnit until quite a ways in (and even then, I wondered about it).
Definitely a character-driven story, there is also some romance and action to go along. Alafair doesn't play a big role in this plot, but the other characters make up for that.
I will absolutely be looking at the rest of the book in this series now.
The publisher sent me a book in return for my fair review.
July 25, 2016
I do love this series by Donis Casey! Hell With the Lid Blown Off describes the landscape after a tornado hits Boynton, Oklahoma in the summer of 1916. While several people perished due to the tornado it looks like the town bully was murdered before the tornado hit then was blown to a new location. Alafair Tucker and the local lawmen are left with an abundance of suspects in this murder of a highly unpopular man. Even his family members cannot be ruled out as suspects.
Ms. Casey does an excellent job of representing the state of Oklahoma in 1916 with regard to language, customs and the general way of life. I look forward to each book in this series, which are all very well written, for the history, for the mystery and for the great story.
Fabulous series from Poisoned Pen Press! Be sure to read this entire series. Look out for Hell with the Lid Blown Off in early June.
Ms. Casey does an excellent job of representing the state of Oklahoma in 1916 with regard to language, customs and the general way of life. I look forward to each book in this series, which are all very well written, for the history, for the mystery and for the great story.
Fabulous series from Poisoned Pen Press! Be sure to read this entire series. Look out for Hell with the Lid Blown Off in early June.
January 14, 2016
This is another in the continuing series about Alafair Tucker and her large family in 1915 Oklahoma. It is not too different from previous Donis Casey books. There is a small murder mystery which she mixes in with the stories of her children. This time though, there is a deadly tornado that sets down on their small community. There are deaths, a baby found alive in a field, lost homes and barns, so much devastation. She details how things are put right again, how people take in those neighbors who have lost everything, how belongings are found and returned to the owners. Even in the sadness, there is caring. It is something we have lost. The book was well done, quick read, good story. Is is award winning? No. Just a readable small story.
July 29, 2014
A devastating tornado passes through the area around Boynton, OK, leaving several dead, including the meanest man in town. But the sheriff is convinced that he was dead before the tornado hit. Of course, it might have been an accident, but nobody seems to believe that. And the deputy sheriff is falling in love with Alafair Tucker's daughter. There's too little Alafair in this book, although the other characters also have charms.
December 19, 2014
Very interesting reading about life as it was when my in-laws were kids in Oklahoma. The details of how they managed day-to-day, with little labor saving devices, especially after the tornado, and no communication equipment was worse than most third world countries today. I had heard some of this from their POV before.
Interesting story of a big family and a small town.
Interesting story of a big family and a small town.
November 18, 2014
I found the history folksy in the slightly tiresome sense of the word although the mystery element is quite engaging.
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