Author Interview with Tucker May, Author of 'THE LEMON HOUSE MURDERS' #authorinterview

Today we are talking to Tucker May, author of the mystery, The Lemon House Murders.

Tucker May is a writer of mystery novels, whodunit short stories and all kinds of fun, puzzling tales. Murders, crimes, and mysteries abound. He grew up in Missouri then attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He’s a diehard fan of the Los Angeles Rams and Geelong Cats. He lives in Pasadena, CA with his wife Barbara and their cat Principal Spittle. He is the author of The Lemon House Murders and Death of a Billionaire.

╰┈➤ Visit Tucker’s website at www.tuckermay.com.

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Tucker-May-Mysteries

╰┈➤ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/TuckerMayMysteries

╰┈➤ BlueSky: http://www.bluesky.com/TuckerMayMysteries

╰┈➤ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58926295.Tucker_May

Can you share a story about what brought you to this particular career path (becoming an author)?

I have loved writing since I was a kid. When I was about seven years old I wrote a short story about two bickering aliens whose spaceship crash lands on Earth. I remember the joy I felt while coming up with their goofy alien names. I recall the satisfaction of imagining their petty relationship and getting it down in dialogue. I can still connect with the feeling of satisfaction I got when I presented the story to my father and it brought a smile to his face. I strive to recapture that even now with my writing: to help people smile, think, and escape.

Your latest book, The Lemon House Murders, is about a young man who was shipped off by his parents to a low-rent drug rehab facility and sees his housemates dying one by one and decides to find the killer. How did you come up with this very unique idea?

The setting for this book comes directly from my own personal experience in a shabby rehab facility. I spent time living in what became direct inspiration for Lemon House in 2022. The details of the house in the story, and some of the minor characters, are based on true details directly from my memories. While the events of the story in The Lemon House Murders are entirely fictionalized, the setting is not.

Can you tell us about the main character in the book?

The main character is a young man who struggles with a question that I think many of us have had to confront in our own lives. The events of the story force him to ask, "Who am I living my life for? Myself or others?" Unbounded loyalty to his family has kept him from expressing his true self, exploring what he really wants from life, and making his own decisions. Once continuing to ignore these issues becomes impossible, will he rise to the challenge and finally live for himself? Or will he retreat to the safe and familiar confines of his old life?

Can you tell us about the other characters in the book?

Another core character dreams big. He's an artistic, sensitive soul who was born into life circumstances that have demanded he be the opposite. Nevertheless, he knows what he wants his life to be and he strives toward it. Over the course of the novel, he must come to terms with the one aspect of himself that he cannot accept. If he cannot, he may just lose everything.

What is the very first line of your book?

"It started with a single glance. It ended in disaster."

What is the main reason people should read your book?

It's fun! Like all good mysteries, it will keep you guessing until the very end. What makes The Lemon House Murders special is that it will also make you think about important topics like societal marginalization of former addicts, the importance of self-determination to a fulfilling life, and what we're really doing when we judge others. Come for the mystery puzzle box, stay for the thought-provoking messaging.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would use my influence to encourage a universal basic income for everyone in the United States of America. There is no reason that the richest nation in the history of the world needs to allow valuable citizens to be dying on the streets. This is an outcome that we are collectively choosing, and something as simple as forcing the most wealthy among us to pay their fair share could help bring it to an end. Especially with a new age of AI job displacement looming, we need to start caring for our most vulnerable citizens in a way that aligns with true American ideals.

A string of mysterious deaths . . . A house full of suspects . . . A secret that will change everything…

When residents of a live-in drug rehabilitation facility called Lemon House start dying one by one, no one in the outside world seems to care.

Two Lemon House patients, nicknamed Trip and Gobstopper, are the only ones who can see the truth: these are murders.

Their quest to find the killer will push their budding relationship to the brink, cast suspicion on everyone locked in the house with them, and force them to question their most cherished beliefs.

The Lemon House Murders is the rare murder mystery that will have you guessing at the culprit AND thinking deeply about theology, society’s relationship toward the downtrodden, and the importance of self-determination to a fulfilling life.

╰┈➤ Read sample here.

╰┈➤ The Lemon House Murders is available at Amazon.

╰┈➤Book Details