Why Isn't Becky Twitchell Dead? (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Mark Richard Zubro (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stonewall Inn Mysteries | Publication Date: February 1990

One would think teaching would be a quiet profession. But not in Chicago, thinks high school teacher Tom Mason when he hears that one of his students has been accused of kissing his girlfriend. As a friend of the boy's family, Tom is asked to help clear him, and the more he probes, the more it seems that something sinister is going on in the usually quiet suburbs of Chicago. With the aid of his lover Scoot Carpenter, a professional baseball player, the two set out to discover what really happened that night.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

High school teacher Tom Mason (introduced in Simple Suburban Murder ) puts his life on the line to help a troubled student in Zubro's entertaining mystery. Learning that dumb but likable Jeff Trask has been arrested for the murder of his girl friend, Tom indulges the boy's desperate mother and questions a checkered group of faculty and students. Tom's lover, all-star baseball pitcher Scott Carpenter, plays a big role in the investigation, opening doors with his fame and helping fight off assailants. Not that ex-Marine Tom is unable to fend for himself, but the murders of other students he has questioned suggest that he might not survive his sleuthing without a partner. Those who seem particularly worried about this investigation include the grubby coach, the stuffy school superintendent, the "Big Man on Campus" and, most of all, Becky Twitchell, notorious among her peers for her irrational behavior, cruelty and drug pushing. Gradually, Tom and Scott realize that they are homing in on a drug kingpin, whose identity is elusive until the final pages. Tom and Scott are an engaging detective team, and their sleuthing is related in a lively style.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A Simple Suburban Murder deals with ugly Chicago scenes, but has sympathetic characters as well. Though you'll squirm at times, it's a gripping story." --Chicago Tribune

"Zubro deserves praise across the board. His characters are believable, the plotting is intricate and taut, the Chicagoland locations and personalities are very convincing. We look forward to future works by Mr. Zubro." --Gay Chicago Magazine

"Filled to overflowing with complicated themes and emotions, this novel by Mark Zubro is one of the braver mysteries I've read in years. I applaud Mr. Zubro's audacity, his ambition, and his talent. I think he deserves a medal." --Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger

"A real page-turner, the action never lets up. Writing an ingenious mix of the mysterious and the erotic, Zubro has a sharp command of local color and believable dialogue, and the parts fit like a bright lavender mosaic." --Lawrence Bommer, Windy City Times

"I didn't stop reading until well past dawn! Mark Zubro isn't just writing mystery here, but keen-eyed satire. Public school administrators, high school teachers, Chicago cops, gay bar owners, hustlers, and activitst-they all get done it, and the portrayals are wonderfully, deliciously wicked." --Darrell Yates Rist

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 189 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (February 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312038879
• ISBN-13: 978-0312038878
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,493,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fast and enjoyable read, August 17, 2000

By 

Richard Harrold (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Isn't Becky Twitchell Dead?: A Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

I consumed this mystery in very short time. Like all good mysteries, the murder is revealed in the first chapter (in this book on page 4!). The past is fast and furious, leading the reader through a maze of character relationships held together with drug dealing, jealousies and suspicions, and of course murder. This was the third Zubro book I've read (Political Poison, and Another Dead Teenager being the other two) and it has renewed my faith in the author as a competent crafter of murder mysteries. Characterization remains a weakness for Zubro, however. His characters at times are difficult to differentiate: primarily they speak the same. He shrewdly and effectively uses how they dress and what their home environments look like to establish their character, as well as creates interesting set pieces for them to move and act within, but as soon as they open their mouths, they sound like everyone else.

But his strength remains crafting plausible plot lines that hold you and tease you enough to wonder if you really know who did it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will continue to acquire and read his others.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR SCOTT., September 29, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Isn't Becky Twitchell Dead?: A Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

Like potato chips, the Tom and Scott mysteries are easy to consume and (as brain food goes) nutritionally valueless. I WANT to like these books. I keep hoping...

The problem with Tom and Scott is that I can't tell Tom from Scott. Oh, I know one of them (narrator Tom) is a Viet Nam vet who now teaches highschool, and one of them (guess who) is a highly paid professional athlete. Scott is Southern-born, starts out a little closeted (a potentially interesting conflict never explored), and Tom is...not. Unlike in Joseph Hansen's Brandstetter series, or Richard Stevenson's Strachey novels, I'm never lured into believing Tom and Scott are real people. They are a gay fantasy--not even an interesting gay fantasy. They are too perfect, too plastic. Barbie's Ken without Barbie.

Another thing. No sense of humor. Scott and Tom have the most painful repartee I've heard outside of a kung fu movie.

But as serious a handicap as having cartoons for lead characters is, Zubro does have his strengths. He concocts a crafty, clever mystery here about murder and drug rings in highschool, and he paints a realistic picture of highschool (minus the drugs and murder), as well as unflattering portraits of administrators, fellow teachers and students.

It wouldn't take a lot to turn this series into something delicious and satisfying. Until then I'll keep munching away, knowing I should be doing something better with my brain.