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Alafair Tucker #9
The Return of the Raven Mocker
World War I is raging in Europe, but as the deadly influenza pandemic of 1918 sweeps like a wildfire through Boynton, Oklahoma, Alafair Tucker is fighting her own war. Her daughter, Alice, and son-in-law, Walter Kelley, have both come down with the flu, and Alafair has moved into town to care for them after quarantining her young children at their sister's farm. Boynton as a whole isolates itself like an old English plague village, discouraging anyone from coming into town and the residents from traveling outside. A new doctor applies science to treating the stricken, but Alafair applies all she knows about hygiene, nutrition, and old and trusted country remedies. Unable to aid her sons and sons-inlaw fighting overseas, this is danger she can combat.
One autumn afternoon, screams coming from next door alert Alafair that Alice's neighbor, Nola Thomason, and her son Lewis have suddenly and unexpectedly succumbed. Yet there is something about the way the pair died that causes Alafair to suspect their deaths were due to poison rather than to influenza. The epidemic is so overwhelming that it is many days before the only doctor left in town can confirm Alafair's suspicions; neither Nola nor Lewis died of the flu. The only witness to their deaths, twelve-year-old Dorothy Thomason, a special friend of Alafair's daughter, Sophronia, is so traumatized that she is rendered mute. Were Nola and her son murdered, and if so, why?
The usual motives for murder are greed, or jealousy, or hatred. Or could it be, as Alafair fears, that the Raven Mocker, the most dreaded of the Cherokee wizards or witches, the evil spirit who takes to the air in a fiery shape to rob the old, the sick, and the dying of their lives, is hunting victims and bringing misery to the innocent?
One autumn afternoon, screams coming from next door alert Alafair that Alice's neighbor, Nola Thomason, and her son Lewis have suddenly and unexpectedly succumbed. Yet there is something about the way the pair died that causes Alafair to suspect their deaths were due to poison rather than to influenza. The epidemic is so overwhelming that it is many days before the only doctor left in town can confirm Alafair's suspicions; neither Nola nor Lewis died of the flu. The only witness to their deaths, twelve-year-old Dorothy Thomason, a special friend of Alafair's daughter, Sophronia, is so traumatized that she is rendered mute. Were Nola and her son murdered, and if so, why?
The usual motives for murder are greed, or jealousy, or hatred. Or could it be, as Alafair fears, that the Raven Mocker, the most dreaded of the Cherokee wizards or witches, the evil spirit who takes to the air in a fiery shape to rob the old, the sick, and the dying of their lives, is hunting victims and bringing misery to the innocent?
226 pages, Hardcover
Published January 3, 2017
32 people are currently reading
76 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 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 19, 2019
Fascinating series. So much history learned on the side. Appears to be one last book in series. I’m sad. Her time and place and characters are always so real and well defined. She has started a spin off with one of the daughters and i will surely continue on with that.
January 16, 2018
Centered around the Spanish flu ravaging the U.S. in 1918, this is less about the mystery and more about the fear and struggle of dealing with this serious epidemic, which impacted so many families. I really liked this one - 3 1/2 rounded to a 4.
October 19, 2016
Alafair Tucker and her brood live in a very small town in Boynton, Oklahoma. The year is 1918. WWI is off across the pond.. but, the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 is smack dab in the back country. The United States is on the cusp of huge changes. From horse and buggy to motorized bikes and side cars. Outhouses versus indoor plumbing. In this little town.. the lives of all are disrupted when the Red Cross advises all to prepare for one of the worst pandemics to hit the country since the Russian flu of 1880.
I have never read any of the Alafair Tucker stories. I didn't even realize they were part of an on-going series until after.. when I went to seek other books the author had written. This book is very much a stand alone! The characters are so endearing to the reader. It makes you want to be part of this loving brood. Brother and sisters who would do anything for a loved one who truly is in need.
My grandfather had told me stories of the great Spanish flu and I've always been interested in it since then. The author depicts much of what occurred during this time to the families who survived. And, those that did not. Entire families were taken within days of one another. To be buried in mass graves, with or without coffins. Embalmers refused to embalm the bodies for fear of catching the flu and dying.
I truly enjoyed how the author so easily transitioned the major changes in technology that were taking place in 1918. I had not thought about how medicine was changing as well. The doctor in the story is sent to Boynton, Oklahoma to assist as he had a gimpy leg and could not serve in the military. He insists on cleanliness and taking extremes to quarantine patients from the healthy members of the community. He scoffs at the old fashioned remedies that he witnesses being used on very ill patients. Insisting that some of the "cures" are actually the cause of death.
What a great time to commit murder. During a major pandemic. Who's to know? Who's going to even notice? A delightful story. One not to be missed if you are fascinated by the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918.
I have never read any of the Alafair Tucker stories. I didn't even realize they were part of an on-going series until after.. when I went to seek other books the author had written. This book is very much a stand alone! The characters are so endearing to the reader. It makes you want to be part of this loving brood. Brother and sisters who would do anything for a loved one who truly is in need.
My grandfather had told me stories of the great Spanish flu and I've always been interested in it since then. The author depicts much of what occurred during this time to the families who survived. And, those that did not. Entire families were taken within days of one another. To be buried in mass graves, with or without coffins. Embalmers refused to embalm the bodies for fear of catching the flu and dying.
I truly enjoyed how the author so easily transitioned the major changes in technology that were taking place in 1918. I had not thought about how medicine was changing as well. The doctor in the story is sent to Boynton, Oklahoma to assist as he had a gimpy leg and could not serve in the military. He insists on cleanliness and taking extremes to quarantine patients from the healthy members of the community. He scoffs at the old fashioned remedies that he witnesses being used on very ill patients. Insisting that some of the "cures" are actually the cause of death.
What a great time to commit murder. During a major pandemic. Who's to know? Who's going to even notice? A delightful story. One not to be missed if you are fascinated by the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918.
January 18, 2017
3.5 stars for the latest in the author's long-running series.
It is autumn 1918 and the Spanish Influenza is rampaging its way through the world and has finally hit Boynton, Oklahoma. This is a fairly quiet story of the trials and tribulations of a small town coping with an epidemic as seen through the experiences of one family. Plus a murder, just to make things more difficult. Alafair Tucker is our main point of contact--she is in town to nurse her daughter Alice and Alice's husband Walter after they are felled by the flu. The reader gets a good look at down-home remedies and the back-breaking labor involved in caring for the seriously ill. The laundry alone was a daunting amount of work--one of the best scenes is Alafair's encounter with Alice's new-fangled washing machine.
I quite liked poor Dr Carney, the young doctor sent by the Health Dept to serve the town. He's more comfortable in a lab than with people; his bedside manner needs a lot of work! Plus he's really disdainful of the folk remedies that Alafair and the other wives and mothers swear by. In short, a condescending prig--who happens to be a damn fine doctor.
The mystery re: who killed Nola Thompson (Alice's next door neighbor) is a twisty one, with a satisfactory resolution.
The book ends with all the church bells in town ringing out on Nov 11. The war is over. So what's next for the extended Tucker family? I'm looking forward to finding out.
It is autumn 1918 and the Spanish Influenza is rampaging its way through the world and has finally hit Boynton, Oklahoma. This is a fairly quiet story of the trials and tribulations of a small town coping with an epidemic as seen through the experiences of one family. Plus a murder, just to make things more difficult. Alafair Tucker is our main point of contact--she is in town to nurse her daughter Alice and Alice's husband Walter after they are felled by the flu. The reader gets a good look at down-home remedies and the back-breaking labor involved in caring for the seriously ill. The laundry alone was a daunting amount of work--one of the best scenes is Alafair's encounter with Alice's new-fangled washing machine.
I quite liked poor Dr Carney, the young doctor sent by the Health Dept to serve the town. He's more comfortable in a lab than with people; his bedside manner needs a lot of work! Plus he's really disdainful of the folk remedies that Alafair and the other wives and mothers swear by. In short, a condescending prig--who happens to be a damn fine doctor.
The mystery re: who killed Nola Thompson (Alice's next door neighbor) is a twisty one, with a satisfactory resolution.
The book ends with all the church bells in town ringing out on Nov 11. The war is over. So what's next for the extended Tucker family? I'm looking forward to finding out.
October 12, 2016
The Return of the Raven Mocker (An Alafair Tucker Mystery) by Donis Casey is a compelling book. I gave it five stars because the characters came to life and kept my attention.
I fell in love with Alafair Tucker and her extended family. She lives in Boynton, Oklahoma but the stories could have been written about a western Louisiana small town like where I grew up. The children's jump rope rhymes really resonated with me. As did the story of the Raven Mocker and superstitious tales of that nature that were passed from generation to generation.
I had not read Donis Casey's books before and am thrilled to discover an established series. I added all of them to my wish list.
I received a complimentary Kindle copy from Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Return-Mocker-...
This book is in pre-order status on Amazon and Barnes & Noble until January 3, 2017, so I could not leave a review there yet.
I fell in love with Alafair Tucker and her extended family. She lives in Boynton, Oklahoma but the stories could have been written about a western Louisiana small town like where I grew up. The children's jump rope rhymes really resonated with me. As did the story of the Raven Mocker and superstitious tales of that nature that were passed from generation to generation.
I had not read Donis Casey's books before and am thrilled to discover an established series. I added all of them to my wish list.
I received a complimentary Kindle copy from Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Return-Mocker-...
This book is in pre-order status on Amazon and Barnes & Noble until January 3, 2017, so I could not leave a review there yet.
February 7, 2017
In 1918, Alafair Tucker moves to Boynton, Oklahoma, to care for her daughter and son-in-law, both incapacitated by the Spanish flu pandemic sweeping the town. Although Alafair’s husband and younger children are safely out of Boynton, Alafair worries about her older sons and sons-in-law serving in WWI in Europe. She helps out using her country remedies, complementing a new doctor’s modern methods. With people succumbing all over town from influenza, the deaths of Alafair’s two neighbors, a mother and son, should not seem unusual, but something about them raises Alafair’s suspicions.
While this is Donis Casey’s ninth Alafair Tucker mystery, it reads like a standalone. Keeping track of the Tuckers’ large extended family and the extensive cast of characters might have been problematic, but Casey has thoughtfully provided a helpful dramatis personae. The murder mystery plot is thickened by references to an evil Cherokee spirit who might be hunting for victims. Alafair’s use of old Cherokee folk medicine adds to the flair of the well-written story. Highly recommended.
This review first appeared in the Historical Novels Review Issue 79 (February 2017)
While this is Donis Casey’s ninth Alafair Tucker mystery, it reads like a standalone. Keeping track of the Tuckers’ large extended family and the extensive cast of characters might have been problematic, but Casey has thoughtfully provided a helpful dramatis personae. The murder mystery plot is thickened by references to an evil Cherokee spirit who might be hunting for victims. Alafair’s use of old Cherokee folk medicine adds to the flair of the well-written story. Highly recommended.
This review first appeared in the Historical Novels Review Issue 79 (February 2017)
March 7, 2017
I read this book in the midst of media coverage about the challenges of providing health care in small rural communities. That juxtaposition of present and past made the story more immediate.
What would your community do without access to a hospital, with your familiar medical personnel appropriated by the military, and a lethal epidemic? Boynton, Oklahoma copes in interesting ways. Mainly they do what they always do -- rely on family and friends. The epidemic is the terrible, lethal Spanish flu that hit the US and the world in the closing days of WWI.
Of course there is a mystery, which I feel was undercut by the disclosure in the opening pages that Alifair Tucker and her husband Shaw had misidentified the perpetrator. But the heart of the story is the flu epidemic and how the community coped. A worthwhile, if sobering, read.
What would your community do without access to a hospital, with your familiar medical personnel appropriated by the military, and a lethal epidemic? Boynton, Oklahoma copes in interesting ways. Mainly they do what they always do -- rely on family and friends. The epidemic is the terrible, lethal Spanish flu that hit the US and the world in the closing days of WWI.
Of course there is a mystery, which I feel was undercut by the disclosure in the opening pages that Alifair Tucker and her husband Shaw had misidentified the perpetrator. But the heart of the story is the flu epidemic and how the community coped. A worthwhile, if sobering, read.
March 10, 2018
This is the 9th book in the Alafair Tucker mysteries. Alafair Tucker is an Oklahoman farmer's wife in the "oughts" (1910-1919). She and her husband have a farmstead and lots of children. She is an alert independent woman who can manage a farm, raise children and solve mysteries in her spare time. Ms Casey writes in a charming style that recalls the history of our strong pioneer women in previous times. This book takes place in 1918. Many of Alafair's male children are gone-World War One has called and they are doing their patriotic duty. At home, the Spanish Influenza is sweeping through America at a quick pace. This book recaptures the frantic efforts to curb the epidemic. And yes, there is a murder in the middle of all that. I recommend this book but urge urge readers to start with the first book "The Old Buzzard Had It Coming".
May 26, 2018
I have enjoyed all these Alafair Tucker books, especially the recipes and other old timey tidbits included by the author. In this book, there is info regarding the Spanish Flu epidemic and the way country people used old home made remedies handed down through generations. The author has a way of pulling the reader in to where you think you're there in Oklahoma with Alastair and her family. If you're going to read the series, it is best if you start with the first book THE OLD BUZZARD HAD IT COMING.
June 14, 2017
Setting the mystery during the flu epidemic showed the home front emergency. References to the ongoing war periodically reminded the reader of the context, but the story immersed me in the immediacy of the epidemic. The twist at the end made the story a bit complicated, but I liked it just the same.
December 11, 2017
Love this series. Another good installment.
October 18, 2017
This had no real plot to speak of, but it was nice to visit with Alafair and her family for a while.
November 6, 2017
This is just a great series.
August 18, 2019
I love this series and savor each book like a treat.
September 8, 2020
Entertaining mystery with great historical details. Definitely interesting to read a book set during the 1918 pandemic during the 2020 pandemic!
December 2, 2020
Great book as always
November 30, 2021
The deadly Spanish flu has come to Alafair's area, Boynton. It is interesting how reminiscint it is of the current pandemic.
March 12, 2025
Another pandemic? Spanish flu; hiding murders among flu deaths? Fascinating read!
August 24, 2025
Another fine offering by this talented author.
March 17, 2017
Set in rural Oklahoma in the 1910s, this series centers around Alafair Tucker, her husband Shaw, and their ten children. The older children are married with their own families, the boys are in the army fighting the war, and their youngest daughter is starting school.
The Spanish flu has invaded the area and people are dying at an alarming rate. When a local man’s wife and stepson are found dead, it’s first assumed that they succumbed to the flu. But the woman hadn’t been ill, and Alafair is far too familiar with the signs of the disease—she suspects poisoning. She is afraid that her testimony might have caused an innocent man to go to jail. This book is eighth in the series. The author captures with wonderful authenticity life for a large rural family, and Alafair is a practical, resourceful and tenacious detective.
The Spanish flu has invaded the area and people are dying at an alarming rate. When a local man’s wife and stepson are found dead, it’s first assumed that they succumbed to the flu. But the woman hadn’t been ill, and Alafair is far too familiar with the signs of the disease—she suspects poisoning. She is afraid that her testimony might have caused an innocent man to go to jail. This book is eighth in the series. The author captures with wonderful authenticity life for a large rural family, and Alafair is a practical, resourceful and tenacious detective.
February 26, 2017
Ok, early life in rural OK kind of boring, but got better.
November 16, 2022
Book #9, The Return of the Raven Mocker was another outstanding addition in this series! One of the joys in this series is the attention to detail that the author has gone to in creating her settings from rural earthy 20th Century America. I feel like I get little mini history and sociology lessons tied in with always intriguing mystery stories.
The setting of this story deals with 2 events that greatly colored the year 1918-the world wide flu epidemic that left so many dead and the winding down of the war to end all wars. WWI. It made evident that as much as we may want to hide, or think we can be protected if we dig in to our own small enclave, the troubles of the world will eventually reach us all.
The care and detail that is given to the settings is matched and maybe even exceeded by the care given to character development, not just of the main character, Alafair Tucker, but of each member of her family and even periphery members of her community. They all seem so real, as if I may have met them,
I have enjoyed watching Alafair adapt to the quickly changing world around her, while maintaining her anchor in home and family, the very things that gives us roots and strength today. It has been fun to watch her children evolve and grow and reach their potential as they move in to adulthood, to see what they have learned from Alafair and her husband Shaw, what they embrace and what they do a little differently. It adds to the authenticity of the stories.
I really enjoyed the fact that this story featured Alafair's daughter Sophronia, who had been too young in the other stories to get a clear glimpse of her personality. Due to the unfortunate deaths at the beginning of the story of 12 year old Sophronia's friend Dorothy Thomason's mother and half brother, we get to see the young adult that Sophronia is becoming, strong willed, kind hearted, and caring. She is a lot like her mother.
The pieces of the puzzle seem so obvious at first, but as the story evolves, it becomes as complicated as life really is.
The setting of this story deals with 2 events that greatly colored the year 1918-the world wide flu epidemic that left so many dead and the winding down of the war to end all wars. WWI. It made evident that as much as we may want to hide, or think we can be protected if we dig in to our own small enclave, the troubles of the world will eventually reach us all.
The care and detail that is given to the settings is matched and maybe even exceeded by the care given to character development, not just of the main character, Alafair Tucker, but of each member of her family and even periphery members of her community. They all seem so real, as if I may have met them,
I have enjoyed watching Alafair adapt to the quickly changing world around her, while maintaining her anchor in home and family, the very things that gives us roots and strength today. It has been fun to watch her children evolve and grow and reach their potential as they move in to adulthood, to see what they have learned from Alafair and her husband Shaw, what they embrace and what they do a little differently. It adds to the authenticity of the stories.
I really enjoyed the fact that this story featured Alafair's daughter Sophronia, who had been too young in the other stories to get a clear glimpse of her personality. Due to the unfortunate deaths at the beginning of the story of 12 year old Sophronia's friend Dorothy Thomason's mother and half brother, we get to see the young adult that Sophronia is becoming, strong willed, kind hearted, and caring. She is a lot like her mother.
The pieces of the puzzle seem so obvious at first, but as the story evolves, it becomes as complicated as life really is.
January 3, 2017
The Return of the Raven Mocker is the ninth Alafair Tucker mystery by author Donis Casey. I have read the previous books in the Alafair Tucker series and found them all to be fascinating, well written and informative.
The Return of the Raven Mocker. The title of the book itself is enough to grab anyone's attentions. How intriguing can you get? The Raven Mocker is an evil bigfoot being from Cherokee mythology who robs the old, sick and dying of their lives. As the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918 barrels through Boynton, Alafair is reminded of the Cherokee myth and doesn't even want to hear the name Raven Mocker.
Donis Casey gives the reader a history lesson without them even realizing it. I learned so much about the Spanish Flu Epidemic from this book. But someone in Boynton is using the flu epidemic to cover up a murder. And Alafair figures this out early and the hunt is on. With the assistance of a new young doctor sent to help with the epidemic, Alafair is able to see through the deception.
I love the characters that author Casey has created in Alafair's family and the town of Boynton. Alafair's large family is fighting World War I in Europe and the Spanish Flu at home. Opening The Return of the Raven Mocker, the reader is transported immediately into the realm of the Tucker farm and their lives. It is always a fascinating world to dive back into.
The Return of the Raven Mocker is well written tale. I found it immensely enjoyable and I'm sure you will too. Read the entire series!!! I highly recommend The Return of the Raven Mocker.
The Return of the Raven Mocker. The title of the book itself is enough to grab anyone's attentions. How intriguing can you get? The Raven Mocker is an evil bigfoot being from Cherokee mythology who robs the old, sick and dying of their lives. As the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918 barrels through Boynton, Alafair is reminded of the Cherokee myth and doesn't even want to hear the name Raven Mocker.
Donis Casey gives the reader a history lesson without them even realizing it. I learned so much about the Spanish Flu Epidemic from this book. But someone in Boynton is using the flu epidemic to cover up a murder. And Alafair figures this out early and the hunt is on. With the assistance of a new young doctor sent to help with the epidemic, Alafair is able to see through the deception.
I love the characters that author Casey has created in Alafair's family and the town of Boynton. Alafair's large family is fighting World War I in Europe and the Spanish Flu at home. Opening The Return of the Raven Mocker, the reader is transported immediately into the realm of the Tucker farm and their lives. It is always a fascinating world to dive back into.
The Return of the Raven Mocker is well written tale. I found it immensely enjoyable and I'm sure you will too. Read the entire series!!! I highly recommend The Return of the Raven Mocker.
January 2, 2017
I will always-- always-- enjoy an Alafair Tucker novel written by the talented Donis Casey, and I did enjoy The Return of the Raven Mocker, but it's not the strongest book in this wonderful series. It is more historical fiction than historical mystery, with Casey doing a powerhouse job of showing the effects of the flu pandemic in Boynton, Oklahoma. For instance, despite people's best efforts to quarantine the entire town, people were so desperate for news from their men fighting overseas that they were willing to risk infection and even death just to get the mail.
Casey also does a wonderful job showing how old wives' tales and folk remedies worked side by side with modern medicine to fight influenza. In fact, I was so exhausted by the endless hours of nursing Alafair and her daughter Martha did that I fell for every murder suspect put before me until just before the end (just in time to make me feel smart).
In a book filled with sickness, despair, and exhaustion, Alafair's young daughter Sophronia was just about the only bright spot in the entire book. The Return of the Raven Mocker may not be a completely satisfying mystery, but it is a worthy addition to the series and continues the storylines of characters fans have come to love.
Casey also does a wonderful job showing how old wives' tales and folk remedies worked side by side with modern medicine to fight influenza. In fact, I was so exhausted by the endless hours of nursing Alafair and her daughter Martha did that I fell for every murder suspect put before me until just before the end (just in time to make me feel smart).
In a book filled with sickness, despair, and exhaustion, Alafair's young daughter Sophronia was just about the only bright spot in the entire book. The Return of the Raven Mocker may not be a completely satisfying mystery, but it is a worthy addition to the series and continues the storylines of characters fans have come to love.
February 10, 2017
Set within the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic.
January 29, 2017
Such a good series, I just savored this book. The characters are so human and interesting.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews