Cerveza, Texas

Tuck Tucker, the poker-playing slacker sleuth first introduced to mystery fans in The St. Charles House, and his beloved Cheerio-eating golden retriever, Pig Dog, return in a new adventure. If a Texan says, He's done gone to Willie's Place, it means, He's died and gone to heaven. When Tuck is invited to a 13th-year high-school class reunion at Willie Nelson's former ranch—now owned by one of his former classmates—he's not really planning on finding heaven, or dying. First, he finds out that a beautiful former girlfriend who is a pro athlete will be joining him there—pure heaven. Then, when Tuck picks her up at the airport in one of the ranch's classic Lincoln towncars, he discovers the body of one of his classmates stuffed into the trunk—pure murder. And if Tuck doesn't figure out who the killer is before the end of the retreat, he just might end up staying at Willie's house . . . for good.Mystery Scene Magazine review of The St. Charles House: In Stephen Banister's The St. Charles House (DarkStar, $15.95), the protagonist is so busy cracking jokes that he's unaware of the danger that surrounds him. Emerson Tuck Tucker is a slacker gambler who has won a small Austin, Texas, apartment building in a poker game. No longer forced to work, he spends most of his days and night prowling the lively Austin music scene. When one of his tenants takes a dive off the t