Was it the flu or poison? That's the question Alafair Tucker will answer in this well done historical mystery. A good read.

Early 20th century, WW1, Murder mystery during the Spanish flu outbreak in 1918.
Fascinating and well written, a real page turner!

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)

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.

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.