An Echo of Death: A Tom & Scott Mystery (Tom and Scott Mystery) [Paperback]

Mark Richard Zubro (Author)

Book Description

Series: Tom and Scott Mystery | Publication Date: August 15, 1995

Tom Mason and his lover, professional baseball player Scott Carpenter, find the body of Scott`s former teammate in their apartment, forcing them into a deadly game of hide and seek. By the author of Political Poison.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

What do you do when you come home from a fund-raiser, find a dead body in your lakefront penthouse, hear strange noises, get chased by machine-gun-carrying thugs, and end up in Chicago's underground tunnels? High-school English teacher Tom Mason and his lover, professional baseball player Scott Carpenter, find out when Carpenter's former teammate Glen Proctor's corpse turns up in their living room and they start getting chased through the building, tunnels, streets, and parks by men intent on capturing them. Their adventure includes drug lords, ancient Mexican relics, and (believe it or not) Carpenter driving a horse-drawn carriage in downtown Chicago while being chased by killers. As in Zubro's previous books featuring the dynamic duo, Mason does more of the detective work than the Chicago police, and readers have both campy humor and an action-filled plot to keep them entertained. Highly recommended for all fiction collections--this one's a good read in every sense of the term! Charles Harmon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (August 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312134800
• ISBN-13: 978-0312134808
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,573,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SAY WHAT?, September 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: An Echo of Death: A Tom & Scott Mystery (Tom and Scott Mystery) (Paperback)

This is my favorite in the Tom and Scott series. For one thing the picture perfect (think Monette not Monet) couple actually QUARREL. Not just once, but intermittently. There are hints of jealousy, problems with communication--they almost seem human.

For another thing, the action never stops, the pace never flags. True, the gun battle with Mexican drug lords is a bit much, but it's entertaining. Imagination is not Zubro's weak point. He shows plenty of invention in the fifth excursion of his very own Hardy Boys.

But familiar problems weigh down this novel. Tom and Scott still do not have strong, distinct personalities (Adam Niklewicz's cover says it all), and their relationship continues to seem shallow and unreal. Although they frequently have sex they rarely exchange meaningful dialogue or simple gestures of tenderness. In his effort to stress the manly-man aspects of Tom and Scott, Zubro robs them of personality. They have no interesting flaws or weaknesses. They have no distinguishing marks or characteristics. But to be fair, in ECHO OF DEATH Tom and Scott are their most real. They cry, they bleed, they argue--and I don't remember them working out once. I could get to like these guys

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars THE CURE FOR INSOMNIA, September 18, 2008

By 

Jack in Orlando - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Echo of Death: A Tom & Scott Mystery (Tom and Scott Mystery) (Paperback)

this book is not worth the paper it is printed on.....a total snooze fest. the author spends paragraph after paragraph describing the most inate details ....seemed like he was trying to lengthen a short story to novel length....AND it didnt work. skip this one, try one of his others.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Adventurous Romp!, January 30, 2004

By 

andrewjack (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Echo of Death: A Tom & Scott Mystery (Tom and Scott Mystery) (Paperback)

Mark Richard's fifth installment in the prolific "Tom and Scott" mystery series does not disappoint; and while it may be slightly lacking in character study and development, the suspense is rock solid, and the mystery is actually semi-plausible.
Tom Mason, a suburban high school teacher, and Scott Carpenter, a professional baseball player, are lovers, who returning home one night to Scott's luxurious Chicago high rise penthouse, discover the body of Glen Proctor, a former teammate of Scott's. Proctor may have been dealing drugs or participating in other illegal and illicit activities, which could have possibly contributed to his untimely demise.
From the very opening pages, Tom and Scott are on the prowl to find the killers. The only complication: the killers are also stalking them. Throughout, there are plentiful high speed chases through downtown Chicago, as our two heroes race against time and possible South American drug lords and relic hunters.
I really don't think Zubro gets enough credit. He churns out great books that any true mystery fan will enjoy. Aside from the fact that his two main characters are two gay men in a relationship, this is not exclusively "gay fiction." It's not about the trials and tribulations Tom and Scott face as a gay couple (for the most part), it's not a weepy drama about true love, or coming out. This book is about two men being stalked, shot at, pursued, kidnapped, and a host of other exciting, tension-filled situations.
Despite this, I know of no other way than to describe this as a romp. While the suspense escalates, the fates of the two main characters is never doubted, and you know, by the end, the forces of good will have triumphed over evil. In any event, fans of mysteries looking to try something new will rarely go wrong with anything by Zubro.