Drop Dead: A Paul Turner Mystery (Paul Turner Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Mark Richard Zubro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 1999 | Series: Paul Turner Mysteries

When male supermodel Cullom Furyk plummets to his death from the top of a major downtown hotel, gay Chicago Police Detective Paul Turner and his partner, Detective Buck Fenwick, are called to find out what actually happened. One witness claims that Furyk was pushed to his death, and someone involved in Furyk's tumultuous personal or professional life may have played a role in the mysterious incident. Will Turner and Fenwick be able to determine the killer before someone gets away with murder?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Haute couture, love triangles, jealousy and corporate rivalries fuel this simplistic but entertaining fifth installment of Zubro's Paul Turner series (after The Truth Can Get You Killed). When Guinevere Inc.'s signature model, international fashion sensation Cullom Furyk, falls to his death from the penthouse of one of Chicago's most exclusive hotels, police detective Paul Turner and his partner, Buck Fenwick, are put on the case. Cullom had been attending a party celebrating an informal merger between rival fashion houses Guinevere Inc. and Heyling & Veleshki. Turner's interrogation of the guests quickly reveals that the merger was far from a match made in heaven. Guinevere's president, Franklin Munsen, and the young upstart couple Gerald Veleshki and Roger Heyling had been rumored to employ vicious subterfuge to undermine each other's companies. Cullom had been crucial to Guinevere Inc.'s success, and it was no secret among the glitterati that Heyling & Veleshki would have done anything to get their hands on Cullom's moneymaking body. Turner and Fenwick also turn up hints from several sources in the fashion industry about Cullom's reputation as a sexual athlete who had few close friends but lots of gay lovers. The catty, ever-shifting alliances of haute couture don't make it easy for honest joes Turner and Fenwick to pin down a suspect. The sardonic, earthy Fenwick plays a straight bad cop well to Paul Turner's sensitive, gay good cop as the two pick their way through the events and scene-makers gathered in Chicago for a major fashion convention. With pithy dialogue, Zubro solidly crafts the cops' camaraderie. The other characters, however, are not so fortunate; their speech often seems forced or robotic. While the murder trail leads to an only mildly suspenseful ending, Turner in particular is attractive enough to make this lightweight mystery worth reading. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The latest Paul Turner mystery has the gay police detective and his irrepressible partner, Fenwick, investigating the death of swooningly gorgeous male model Furyk Cullom in a fall from a penthouse. Was he pushed? After all, the apparently sweet, lovable guy certainly was, according to most reports, one to love 'em and leave 'em. Then, too, what of the conflicting rumors about his employer's financial health? Was Cullom ready to leave the company for the competition? Zubro offers plenty to snicker at in the world of high fashion and plenty of zingy one-liners from his wisecracking crime fighters as they career from one fashion event to the next in pursuit of the murderer. A quick, neat read featuring fast-breaking developments, cinematic pacing, and a TV movie feel. But is the vast wasteland ready for a one gay^-one straight pair of flatfoots? And in Chicago, to boot? Reading fans can but hope. Whitney Scott

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (June 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312205325
• ISBN-13: 978-0312205324
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,386,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT taken in!, July 28, 2000

By 

Karlis Streips (Riga, Latvia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Drop Dead: A Paul Turner Mystery (Paul Turner Mysteries) (Paperback)

I live in Europe but grew up in the States and go back from time to time to visit family. In Chicago, I always stop by Unabridged Books to pick up some gay literature, and this time "Drop Dead" dropped into my hands. It won't be a cat's whisker of a minute before I pick up the other Paul Turner mysteries, 'cause this one was great. The relationship between gay Paul Turner and his distinctly not gay partner Buck Fenwick is drawn hilariously, the relationship between gay Paul Turner and his two children from a previous relationship is touching, the story is interesting, the fashion world is drawn perfectly ... in other words, this was what for me passes as a "couldn't put it down" (I can put books down because I spend most of my time working at the computer, but when I'm free for a bit, I keep on reading). Even if you're not gay, pick this one up ... it's a hoot.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zubro at his best, April 29, 2000

By 

"mickeydid" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drop Dead: A Paul Turner Mystery (Paul Turner Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I've read most of Mark Zubro's work, and I think that "Drop Dead" is his best effort yet! A mystery that kept me interested and guessing, good descriptions of places in and around Chicago, likeable hero, and a keen, yet dry sense of humor.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like snappy dialog? You'll love "Drop Dead"!, December 2, 1999

By 

SF Dawn "SF Dawn" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drop Dead: A Paul Turner Mystery (Paul Turner Mysteries) (Hardcover)

"Drop Dead" features deliciously snappy dialog, along with Zubro's realistically drawn characters and well-paced action. In this latest addition to the Paul Turner mystery series, Zubro gets the balance just right. Read it!