A Simple Suburban Murder (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) [Paperback]

Mark Richard Zubro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1990 | Series: Stonewall Inn Mysteries

SIMPLE SUBURBAN MURDER is Mark Richard Zubro's debut novel.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A high school English teacher in suburban Chicago sets out to find the murderer of a very unpopular colleague in this "competently written" debut. PW noted that the mystery is "surprisingly entertaining in spite of its focus: child homosexual prostitution and snuff movies, among other unsavory topics."
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (January 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312039336
• ISBN-13: 978-0312039332
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,984,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars That's an 'E' for effort., September 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: A Simple Suburban Murder (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

I've read each and every one of Mark Richard Zubro's Tom and Scott novels, but that says more about the shortage of gay mysteries than it does the talents of the unnervingly prolific Zubro.

In the first of the series we meet highschool teacher Tom Mason and his celebrity ball player lover Scott Carpenter. When these two gorgeous hunks are not working out or having sex, they are solving mysteries--call them The Thin Men. Now I give Zubro this, he can construct a decent, fast-paced mystery. In fact, he is better at plotting a mystery than, for example, the much-revered Michael Nava (whose Henry Rios mysteries wouldn't challenge an eleven-year old Nancy Drew fan). But the writing is awkward, often stiff, and Tom and Scott are as lifeless as the mannequins they so resemble. And that's odd, seeing that Zubro is reasonably deft at sketching minor characters.

A SIMPLE SUBURBAN MURDER is for me one of the strongest entries in the Tom and Scott franchise. The mystery is tightly written, the Chicago local realistically drawn, and it's an appealing premise: gay lovers and partners in crime-solving. A sort of Nick and Nick Charles. If we are grading on the Pass/Fail system, than Zubro easily passes

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I found the plot more interesting than the main characters, February 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Simple Suburban Murder (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

I found this book to be a bit better than a lot of the books which pigeon-hole themselves into the "gay fiction" genre. One of the other reviewers for this book noted the weakness of the main characters. I totally agree. I was not inspired or engaged in any way by the main character or his lover. That was rather odd considering that I did quite like some of the more minor characters (especially Daphne). One of my main complaints about mysteries is that so very often the plot unfolds by clues and leads simply jumping into the characters' laps. A Simple Suburban Murder is no exception, although I've read books which have been much more unrealistic. I found the plot interesting enough to pull me through the book but the over-the-top political correctness put me off. I liked the ending ok but at this point it's a total toss-up as to whether I will ever read another book by this author or in this series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A rather weak effort, August 27, 2009

By 

Richard A. Jenkins "Richard A. Jenkins" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Simple Suburban Murder (Tom & Scott Mysteries) (Paperback)

Like most mystery readers, I'm always looking for new authors and series. I read this and one of Zubro's later books on the basis of largely positive reviews. Both books disappointed, especially this one. Usually, early books in a series flesh out the characters and do more to establish interest than later volumes. Instead, we get Tom and Scott, their occupations, and Scott's fancy apartment and that's about it. Yes, they cry, they hug, and the star major league baseball pitcher, Scott, always makes a point of saying that they are lovers, but frankly, I got no sense of what brought them together or kept them together. Compared with classic unlikely pairings in other mystery series like Matt Scudder and his call girl girlfriend (Lawrence Block's Scudder books) or Spenser and psychologist Susan Silverman (Robert Parker's Spenser books), these two lack real emotional depth and interest as a couple. There isn't much more to them as individuals, either. The lack of character development wouldn't be so bad if the rest of the book had more depth. Unfortunately, the family triangle that frames the book's murder and its resolution seems as contrived as the characters that are introduced to tell their story. Indeed, many of the minor characters seem like simple plot devices rather than people. Tom and Scott's relationship with the police has little context and the cops are as one dimensional as anyone else. Even Chicago lacks character--Carl Sandburg would be sad to see his city of big shoulders treated so poorly. The whole business is resolved with much melodrama and it is a relief to have it finally end. If you can plow through anything as long as it has gay characters, you might like this one and others in this series. If you're a serious mystery reader, you can probably give it a pass