Book Description

A mother of nine on the Oklahoma frontier looks into a drunk neighbor’s death in “a tale full of wit, humor, sorrow and, more important, the truth” (Tony Hillerman, New York Times–bestselling author of the Leaphorn and Chee series). Alafair Tucker is a strong woman, the core of family life on a farm where the back-breaking work and daily logistics of caring for her husband, Shaw, and their nine children—and being neighborly as well—require hard muscle and a clear head. She’s also a woman of strong opinions, and it is her opinion that Harley Day is a drunkard and a reprobate. So, when Harley’s body is found frozen in a snowdrift one January day in 1912, she isn’t surprised that his long-suffering family, while not actually celebrating, isn’t much grieving. When Alafair helps Harley’s wife prepare the body for burial, she discovers that his demise was anything but natural—there’s a bullet lodged behind his ear. Alafair is concerned when she hears that Harley’s son, John Lee, is the prime suspect in his father’s murder—especially since her own seventeen-year-old daughter, Phoebe, is in love with the boy. At first, Alafair’s only fear is that Phoebe is in for a broken heart. But as she begins to unravel the events that led to Harley’s death, she discovers that Phoebe might be more than just John Lee’s sweetheart—she may be his accomplice. . . . “A sharp and suspenseful first novel.” ―Chicago Tribune “A very sympathetic protagonist . . . the author’s depiction of time and place is so vivid that readers will swear they are smelling the brisk Oklahoma air and feeling the dirt under their feet.” —Booklist “A book to savor, lyrical, authentic, and heartwarming.” ―Carolyn Hart, award-winning author of Resort to Murder “Should please even the most demanding fans of historicals with its authentic situations, fully drawn characters, and clever plotting.” ―Library Journal Includes an introduction by the author