The Sky Took Him

Starred review from December 8, 2008
Set in Enid, Okla., in 1915, Casey's smart fourth whodunit to feature farmer's wife Alafair Tucker (after 2007's The Drop Edge of Yonder
) sensitively evokes smalltown life. The impending demise of Alafair's ill brother-in-law, Lester Yeager, raises concern about the future of the family storage company on the part of his prospective heirs. One of them, Yeager's son-in-law, Kenneth Crawford, has embezzled money from the company. Then Crawford's corpse, lacking any obvious cause of death, turns up in a meat locker. Tucker once again adds her insights into human nature to the official investigation, before arriving at a solution that most will find both logical and surprising. Since the murder occurs well on into the book, readers whose focus is on crime may be a little impatient for something beyond family dynamics and dysfunction to happen. Those who like their puzzles cloaked in local color from a different time will be amply rewarded.

Unlikely sleuth Alafair Tucker packs up two of her ten children and leaves her husband to manage the farm alone while she visits a dying brother-in-law. But Lester isn't the only one soon to meet his Maker, and it's up to Alafair to set everything right for her sister and niece. Pam Ward shines in her depiction of the ailing Lester and of Alafair's youngest daughter, Grace, a 2-year-old with uncanny verbal and perceptual skills. Solid Oklahoma accents are reflected in many of the characters' voices, along with an Asian portrayal. Ward's voicing of Irish antagonist Buck Collins is inconsistent, with the accent kicking in a bit late in each speech. Still, she captivates the listener from the book's benign opening to its surprising conclusion. J.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine