A unique story of a quest filled with mystery will absorb readers in author Dwain S. Tucker’s Peepeyes. It chronicles the journey of discovery by a man who set out to solve a mystery. Did his grandmother die a natural death or was she murdered? Could his grandfather have been involved? Along the way in his multiyear odyssey, the author discovers his family roots, his family tree, and  the disturbing secrets long buried by his family.

He discovers extreme violence such as knife fights and gunfights, bigamy and racism, thievery and bootlegging, and long-lost and unknown siblings.  He uncovers secrets within military and government files, unknown mental illnesses, wife-beatings, and murders. He finds his grandfather’s World War II emprise, and the surprises it revealed. He unearths the secrets of Freemasonry, and how it may have been involved in his grandmother’s death. He witnesses many lies and lawlessness by some in his family, and so much more in this thrilling and suspenseful true-crime mystery.  The story takes place in Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas, and Illinois.   

The story includes attempts at a belated exhumation and autopsy to finally solve the mystery. He brings together all the evidence, pieces of a bizarre mystery, never before assembled by his family, to solve the enigma of his grandmother’s death.  The book includes 73 photographs and documents, a complete index, and a how-to guide on investigating a family rumor or mystery. 

BOOK INDUSTRY REVIEWS

Over My Dead Body (overmydeadbody.com) book review website:

Reviewed by Cherie Jung

"For nearly four decades, a rumor had dogged the author's family. Did his grandfather have something to do with his grandmother's death? Was she, in fact, murdered? Or did she die in the way he had been told? PEEPEYES chronicles Mr. Tucker's search for answers.

The unraveling of the mystery surrounding Nell Tucker's death makes for fascinating reading. It's not just a story about one family and what happened a long time ago. It's about a time and place in our history as a nation. Kudos to Mr. Tucker for beginning his quest to know the truth, or as much of it as he could uncover, regarding his grandmother's death and for continuing the quest even when he wasn't sure he would find the answers he was looking for or like the answers he found.

Reading PEEPEYES brought back memories of my own family's tainted history. We know that one of my distant uncles was hanged as a horse thief and that my great-great or maybe great-great-great grandmother once hid Jesse James under the floor boards of her kitchen when the sheriff came a callin'. (But we don't know if she hid him willingly.)

I think most readers will find PEEPEYES mesmerizing and inspiring tale. It is a journey of discovery.

In the author's own words, he describes the reason for this book. "I wanted to describe an individual (myself) experiencing the discovery of how an extraordinary, bizarre mystery happened in a rather normal, Midwest family."

READER REVIEWS

Anne Carayon:

"Great entertaining narrative! The mystery thickens as you go along! The historical and sociological backgrounds have transformed a personal sad story into a page of American Middle West History. It is also a description of what man can do to achieve his egotistical goals. That's universal and timeless."

Deborah Schadt:

"How brave it was of Dwain Tucker to put so much thought, time, and energy into looking for something he didn’t want to find! His intention to uncover evidence to disprove a family murder rumor led him to the discovery of numerous family secrets, both good & bad.

Many in Dwain Tucker’s family learned everything they knew from the school of hard knocks & he was so honest in his portrayal of the “colorful” characters in his family. His attempt at imitating the dialect used by the people of that place & time is both humorous & accurate."