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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Up To Scratch..., September 5, 2006
This review is from: Everyone's Dead But Us: A Tom & Scott Mystery (Tom & Scott Mysteries) (Hardcover)
For years, I have been a faithful reader of Zubro's Tom & Scott mysteries (and still am!), but sadly must agree with the previous reviewer that this one was just not one of Zubro's best. While I do love horror films & have nothing against gore, the level of violence in the novel seemed very out of place and overly jarring for a T & S mystery story (especially when the cute cover makes this look like it's going to be a fun romp). It was difficult to tell one character from another and the storyline was very difficult to follow. Usually character & story development are flushed out very well by Zubro, but, unfortunately, it just seems jumbled & messy in this one. Even the normally enjoyable stabs at humor T & S make at each other seem out of place in this novel with all the grisly killing going on.
Don't get me wrong, I am still a fan of Zubro, and hope his next Tom & Scott installment is up to it's usual high level!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Too brutal for a mystery!, August 21, 2006
This review is from: Everyone's Dead But Us: A Tom & Scott Mystery (Tom & Scott Mysteries) (Hardcover)
I have been a faithful follower of Tom & Scott series for years.
Days after finishing this latest in the series, I haven't decided if I like it. I like my mysteries to be simple yet challenging enough to leave me guessing to the end and the "whys" to center more on the complexity of relatinships and the human nature. "Everyone's Dead but us" is too convoluted for my liking. It has too many characters. I could hardly follow who is who without having to flip back. The plot is too gruesome, too many mindless and brutal killings, that it seems more like a battle ground. Finally the reason for the murder is just not there, the killers not believable! It is also too wordy towards the end parts, with the killers clarifying their reasons and methods...er would any killer actually spend so much time doing that! Finally I do not favor the idea of so many rich gay men being tagged with rotten personalities, maybe this is just to justify their murders.
Still the plot is fast paced and addictive enough to keep me turning the pages and I always have a weakness for a gay couple playing sleuths. So I will remain a faithful follower but I would rather the writer stick with the past themes of this series.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nail-biting suspense, but a bit too far-fetched for me., July 17, 2006
This review is from: Everyone's Dead But Us: A Tom & Scott Mystery (Tom & Scott Mysteries) (Hardcover)
Scott Carpenter, the openly-gay former baseball star, along with his longtime high school teacher spouse Tom Mason, are vacationing the week after Christmas on the remote Aegean island of Korkasi, site of a little known resort catering to rich gay men. Their "r&r" is broken permanently when, shortly after finding the resort manager shot dead in their room, an explosion in the resort's main building results in several other deaths, at a time when all communication is cut off from the main world due to a massive lightning storm. Tom and Scott try to organize the survivors they find to search the outlying villas, to inform others what happened and perhaps get some clues as to the cause of the explosion, but are soon frustrated by the selfishness and lackadasical attitude of their fellow guests. And, as other shooting victims are found, it becomes apparent that a dangerous killer is at large, perhaps one of their own, putting them all in danger, in a complex tale of greed, stolen art treasures and false identities.
This 11th installment in the "Tom and Scott Mysteries" series by Zubro is a bit different than most, primarily by having taken duo out of their familar suburban Chicago locale, but also in its somewhat activist tone, including numerous digs on the political apathy of many gay men. Although, like all of Zubro's works I have read, it is excellently written with vivid characters and flawless timing, the departure from its usual tone made the book resonate with me a bit less than previous books in the series. Escapist fantasies aside, I also don't think many readers will identify with the uber-rich characters in the story. The exposition chapter at the end also seemed more than a bit forced and disjoined to me. But, otherwise, the book is recommended, especially for fans of the series, and gay mystery lovers of all kinds. Four stars out of five.
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