⭐PUYB Virtual Book Club⭐: The Lemon House Murders

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PUYB Author Talks: ⭐A Bookish Conversation with 'The Lemon House Murders' Tucker May⭐ #interview

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 tell us a little about yourself? Are you a full time author?

My name is Tucker May. I’m a Texas-born, Missouri-raised author who now lives in Pasadena, California with my wife Barbara and our cat, Principal Spittle. I’m an alcoholic in recovery with over four years of sobriety under my belt at this point. I’ve been drawn to writing since I was a small child and started writing short plays for the neighborhood kids to put on. I ended up attending college at Northwestern University to study Theater, but my heart has always driven me back to writing. I’m very happy to be taking steps toward making that my true livelihood.

Can you tell us about The Lemon House Murders?

The Lemon House Murders is a thinking person’s murder mystery novel. In its pages readers will find the requisite clues, red herrings and shocking twists that make mystery such a beloved genre. They will also find challenging moral dilemmas and intriguing philosophical arguments wrapped into the narrative and the character journeys. It’s a whodunnit that aims to both entertain and raise questions about how our society treats some of our most vulnerable citizens: those who struggle with addiction.

Can you tell us a little about the characters?

The central character is a young man raised in a deeply religious and highly sheltered environment. He finds himself dropped into a world unlike anything he’s ever known: a live-in drug rehabilitation facility where most of the men have only agreed to live in order to avoid extended prison sentences. When his fellow residents begin dying in suspicious ways, he takes it upon himself to find answers. In doing so, he’s forced to confront his own assumptions about these men and even himself. In the end, he’ll question everything he thought he knew about this world we all have to share together.

Around him swirls a colorful cast of recovering addicts, many of whom are inspired by men I met personally during my time in addiction treatment.

Where is this book set and why did you choose that location?

This book is set almost entirely within the confines of Lemon House, a low-rent, bargain budget addiction treatment facility in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. While the story itself is fully fictional, the setting is not. Nearly everything about Lemon House comes straight from the low-rent, bargain budget addiction treatment facility that I myself lived in for months back in 2022. This is my most personal novel to date, as it explores ideas that I struggled with while first getting sober and the setting is pulled from my own personal memories.

How can people benefit from reading The Lemon House Murders?

I hope that readers of The Lemon House Murders will, first and foremost, be entertained. It is a gripping mystery tale that will keep readers guessing until the shocking final reveal. I also hope that it can help people realize that individuals who struggle with addiction are not lost causes, but rather interesting, engaging and full human beings with just as much potential and promise as anyone else. Everyone needs help from time to time. It’s a true shame that our society tends to so deeply stigmatize addiction treatment. Addiction is not a personal or moral failure. It is a misfiring of the feedback mechanisms naturally wired into our brains. It could happen to anyone if only their life had taken a slightly different track. I hope this novel can help better our collective understanding of these issues.

Is The Lemon House Murders your only book?

My first mystery novel, Death of a Billionaire, follows a man wrongly accused of murdering the world’s most prominent tech billionaire. The accused man’s attempts to prove his innocence bring him to the brink of losing everything he was fighting for in the first place. Will he find the true culprit? And if it costs him everything he holds dear, will it still be worth it? Intertwined is a secondary mystery surrounding the identity of the novel’s narrator. Death of a Billionaire can be purchased here: https://a.co/d/04XQZzhu

Thank you so much for this interview, Tucker. What’s next for you?

My third novel, The Last Dead Guy In Hell, is a missing person mystery. It explores the question: can a person live a full, meaningful life without succumbing to the all-consuming ambition that drives late-stage capitalist societies? It is due out in late 2026 or early 2027. Visit tuckermay.com to sign up for updates on this and future works if you would like.

Where to purchase the book:

The Lemon House Murders is available here: https://a.co/d/0bK8AX0m

Where to find Tucker:

Follow Tucker on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuckermaymysteries/

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/tuckermaymysteries.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556491591135

Inside the Book

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

Genre: Mystery
Sub-genre: Contemporary American Fiction
Language:English
Pages: 329
ISBN: 978-1969306099

╰┈➤Read if you love…

Rare Murder Mysteries

Whodunnits

Shock Value

Coming of Age

Locked Room Mysteries

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐The Lemon House Murders by Tucker May #Mystery

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

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.

╰┈➤ Read sample here.

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

╰┈➤Book Details

Genre: Mystery

Sub-genre: Contemporary American Fiction

Language:English

Pages: 329

ISBN: 978-1969306099

╰┈➤Here’s What Readers Have To Say!

"The Lemon House Murders explores themes such as theology and atheism, and the harsh judgment cast on society’s fallen. Drug addicts are seen as the scourge of society, and we often forget that there are factors that brought them to that point. Tucker May homes in on the fact that judgment is not reserved for anyone but God, which I loved. I admired how Francis grew into himself; as a teen struggling with low self-esteem, life was not easy. I also enjoyed Francis’s dry wit; he was funny and brought relief to the dark subject matter. Braden Tarano is another character who left a big impression on me, and I found his motives interesting. The novel also tackles controversial topics such as abortion and homophobia head-on, emphasizing that the world lacks empathy and kindness. Unpredictable and inspiring, The Lemon House Murders will have you guessing until the very end." - Readers Favorite, Danielle Peterson

"If you’re into stories with lots of twists and red herrings, you won’t be disappointed. Tucker May is great at writing small but meaningful interactions that add depth to the characters and make you more immersed in the Lemon House and its colorful residents. Even the most mundane scenes always have a purpose: fleshing out a character, exploring Trip’s psyche, presenting a different life philosophy, etc. You’ll find quirky folks, bizarre scenarios, witty remarks, and sarcasm, but also drama, social commentary, and dilemmas. At its core, The Lemon House Murders is a humanizing journey through the world of marginalized men, asking deep questions about life and purpose along the way. All with a healthy serving of mystery on the side." - Readers Favorite, Gabriel Santos

╰┈➤Read if you love…

Rare Murder Mysteries

Whodunnits

Shock Value

Coming of Age

Locked Room Mysteries

Excerpt:

I sit down in what I hope is an unobtrusive manner on the short wall surrounding the lonely tree. I kick at a small rock and send it skittering across the concrete. Then I set about closely inspecting my own hands, a pointless act meant to make it seem like I have something, anything at all, to do. I sit this way for a few minutes until a metal folding chair is placed down right next to me with a loud clang.

I look up to see a young man. My heart leaps into my throat. His is the sweet, friendly face I’d seen in the window as my parents dropped me off earlier that day.

“Hold still,” he instructs me, adjusting the glasses that have slid partway down his nose. His soft, round face rests atop an equally soft, round body. He is far from tall. In his hands he holds a notepad and a sharp pencil.

“Are you going to draw me?”

“I draw everybody,” he responds as he begins to lay down a few tentatively sketched lines onto the pad. He produces a pack of cigarettes and pulls one out with his lips. He deftly lights it with a small yellow lighter.

“You want one?”

“No, thank you. I don’t smoke.”

“You will. These things are like gold in here.”

His eyes bounce up and down from the notepad as he works.

“They’re right, you know,” he says after a lengthy pause.

“Who’s right?”

“The guys. They keep saying you’re dressed like you’re going to Sunday School.”

I frown. “This is how I dress.”

He snorts in response. I tug at the sleeves of my plaid button-down.

“My dad’s a pastor,” I say to fill the silence more than anything else. “He runs a church a few hours east of here. Small town called Elba. We live in the apartment above the nave.”

“What’s a nave?”

“It’s the— like, the area with all the pews. Where people sit during the service.”

“Ah. So you’re a Jesus boy.”

I blink.

“Um. Yeah. I guess so. The church is called Stonewood.” He grunts. I say, “Stonewood Non-Denominational Congregatory Assembly of Worship.”

“Catchy.”

I let that go.

“My grandpa started it way back in the sixties.”

He cocks his head sideways, examining his work. He says, “You don’t ever wonder if it’s all bullshit?”

“If what is?”

“God. Church. The whole thing.”

“Of course not. There’s no higher calling than being of service to your community in God’s name.”

“Sure, I guess. If that’s the service your community needs.”

“Every community needs God.”

“I think mine just needs some decent jobs. Any chance God is planning to open a factory in South Central?”

I shift my weight, rub my upper lip. He goes on.

“Lighten up, it’s a joke. My abuela’s real Catholic. Always struck me as a scam, though. Suffer now to get rewarded after you die? I mean, come on.”

“Hey, you know, if you’re going to . . .”

“Hold still,” he asserts.

I do as he orders, highly aware of his eyes on me. Heat rises in my face.

“They call me Gobs, by the way.” His light tone diffuses the tension a bit. I soften. “Short for Gobstopper. You know, the candy?” My curiosity must show on my face, because he explains, “Tibu picked it. He said it’s because I’m little, round and sweet.” I crack a smile. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. I’m a lot tougher than I look.”

“Who’s Tibu?”

“You’ll find out.”

He focuses on his drawing for a while.

“So, what’s your poison?” he asks finally. “Wait, let me guess. Laced up guy like you— cocaine?”

I shake my head. “Never even seen the stuff.”

“Ah. Downers, then. Oxy?”

“I’m not an addict.”

He laughs. “Yeah. Came to Lemon House for vacation, huh? For the sandy beaches?”

“My parents brought me. I think because— I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough. But why here?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you’re from a few hours east. Gotta be treatment facilities closer to home. Why come all the way to LA?”

“My parents. They were worried what people would think. I had to go far enough to make sure no one found out. They told the whole congregation that I’m on a mission trip.”

“Hmm,” he grunts. “Well, at least your family is talking to you.”

“Yours isn’t?”

He rolls his eyes.

“My cousins spent years running drugs through the house but somehow my abuela blames me for getting hooked.” He shrugs. “Who needs ‘em?”

“I don’t know what I’d do without my family.”

Gobs winces.

“You’re gonna get eaten alive in here.”

– Excerpted from The Lemon House by Tucker May, Tucker May Books, 2026. Reprinted with permission.