Everyone knows who killed Maggie Schneider. But why? Inspired by true events, novelist Cynthia Leal Massey weaves an intricate tale that spans the decades from the Great Depression to the crippling drought of the fifties. This is not a whodunnit. The mystery here is more profound: Why did he do it?
Everyone knows who killed Maggie Schneider. But why?
On the morning of March 14, 1958, breeder Maggie Schneider, the Poultry Queen of Lipan County, is shot and killed while feeding her prize-winning, White Holland turkeys on her farm in south central Texas.
Everyone knows who did it, but finding the killer isn’t so easy. The search uncovers a troubled family history of insanity, accidental deaths, and suicides. Was Maggie Schneider’s murder the result of a tainted bloodline, a family feud gone too far, or something more sinister?
Inspired by true events, novelist Cynthia Leal Massey weaves an intricate tale that spans the decades from the Great Depression to the crippling drought of the fifties. This is not a whodunnit. The mystery here is more profound: Why did he do it?
Category: Historical Fiction, Women
Publication Date: October 7, 2025
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-965766-26-2
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-965766-27-9
Pages: 254
Trim size: 5.5 x 8.5
William O. Gibson, Chief of Police (ret.), San Antonio Texas Police Department“For murder mystery fans, Well of Deception, the latest offering from Cynthia Leal Massey, is certain to please. Massey’s phenomenal research skills and vast knowledge of South Texas history are highlighted throughout this effort. Language, local customs, and law enforcement procedures of the mid-twentieth-century Texas Hill Country are accurately depicted as the drama involving family and murder plays out. Don’t miss this one!”
Susan Cummins Miller, author of My Bonney Lies Under & the Frankie MacFarlane, Geologist, Mysteries“Well of Deception is a fast-paced re-imagining of the 1958 homicide of a Texas turkey rancher. Cynthia Leal Massey deftly evokes a bleak, isolated landscape, where murder seems the natural outgrowth of limited expectations, personal obsessions, and generational family feuds. Her hill country denizens are familiar and realistically portrayed, with enough flaws and motivations for a multitude of suspects.”
Irene Sandell, award-winning author of Beloved Over All“Well of Deception weaves an intriguing tale of not who, but why a murder was committed. It also frames an interesting picture of the life and culture of a close-knit Texas community in the early 20th century. Massey captures not only a time period, but also the reader with this many-faceted novel.”
William O. Gibson, Chief of Police (ret.), San Antonio Texas Police Department“For murder mystery fans, Well of Deception, the latest offering from Cynthia Leal Massey, is certain to please. Massey’s phenomenal research skills and vast knowledge of South Texas history are highlighted throughout this effort. Language, local customs, and law enforcement procedures of the mid-twentieth-century Texas Hill Country are accurately depicted as the drama involving family and murder plays out. Don’t miss this one!”
Susan Cummins Miller, author of My Bonney Lies Under & the Frankie MacFarlane, Geologist, Mysteries“Well of Deception is a fast-paced re-imagining of the 1958 homicide of a Texas turkey rancher. Cynthia Leal Massey deftly evokes a bleak, isolated landscape, where murder seems the natural outgrowth of limited expectations, personal obsessions, and generational family feuds. Her hill country denizens are familiar and realistically portrayed, with enough flaws and motivations for a multitude of suspects.”
Irene Sandell, award-winning author of Beloved Over All“Well of Deception weaves an intriguing tale of not who, but why a murder was committed. It also frames an interesting picture of the life and culture of a close-knit Texas community in the early 20th century. Massey captures not only a time period, but also the reader with this many-faceted novel.”
Donis Casey, author of the Alafair Tucker Mysteries“Prolific Texas author and historian Cynthia Leal Massey offers readers an absorbing, evocative treat with her latest novel, Well of Deception, inspired by the real-life murder of an independent-minded, entrepreneurial turkey breeder. The identity of Maggie Schneider’s killer, who has disappeared off the face of the earth, is never seriously in question, but why he did it and what happened to him afterwards are a tangled mystery that takes the local sheriff years to unravel. Massey’s novel is an absorbing, spot-on evocation of a time and place, and a vivid portrayal of a tough, troubled, extended family dealing with the harsh realities of farm life in Texas in the late 1950s – drought, loneliness, obsession, and shameful secrets.”
Jane Little Botkin, multiple award-winning author and past vice-president of Western Writers of America“As a voyeur within this reading journey, my thoughts stuck to Massey’s narrative strands as she expertly webbed together various characters’ families, psyches, and motives. In this fictional retelling of a true Texas crime, I wanted to scream out the murderer’s name several times before another twist baffled my conclusions and reignited my mind’s sleuthing. Well of Deception is captivating from the start!”
Marvin “Mark” Stepp, published author, former newspaper and magazine editor, and owner and editor-in-chief of Old American Publishing"Well of Deception is a top-notch historical mystery; Massey’s novel transported me back to southwest Texas from the Roaring 20s, through the Dust Bowl 30s, and into the WWII 40s. The puzzle was not just who did it, what happened and when, but why? The why propelled me through one of the most engrossing and satisfying reads I’ve had in years.”
Ann Parker, award-winning author of the Silver Rush mystery series“In Well of Deception, a brutal murder disturbs the quiet of a small farming community in 1950s South Texas, exposing the strained ties of two families bound by marriage and simmering resentments. Author Cynthia Leal Massey masterfully crafts a haunting tale of secrets, lies, and betrayal, where truth comes at a cost—and nothing stays buried forever.”
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