Sorry Now? [Paperback]

Mark Richard Zubro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1992

While in Chicago, right-wing televangelist Bruce Mucklewrath is attacked and his daughter killed. Sensing a potential time bomb, and with Mucklewrath creating great pressure, the police brass assign the case to Detective Paul Turner whom they trust with sensitive matters. During their investigation, Turner and his partner discover that other right-wing bigots have been suffering odd attacks, and they begin to suspect a conspiracy of vengeance, perhaps even from the gay community. This is an uncomfortable thought for Turner, who is himself gay, but when Turner is attacked and his two sons threatened, he has to enlist the help of people in his close-knit neighborhood, as well as his contacts in the gay world, to find the solution in time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hostilities between gay and straight communities as well as the former group's internal differences are the predominant themes in this fast-moving Chicago-based police procedural. The father of two boys, one with spina bifida, Paul Turner juggles his duties to his family, his job as a police detective and the fact that he is gay. After the daughter of Bruce Mucklewrath, an arch-conservative California preacher turned senator, is shot to death before her father's eyes, the killers ask him, "Sorry now?" But when Turner and his partner try to question members of Mucklewrath's organization, they are stonewalled. Turner resists the suggestion that a radical gay organization is behind the murder--until a friend, a reporter for the Chicago Gay Tribune , tells him that a previous criminal act against another homophobe was also accompanied by the message "Sorry now?" Then an indigent, AIDS-infected informant claiming to know who slew the girl turns up dead, Paul receives threats against his sons, and his superiors crank up the pressure. Zubro's ( The Only Good Priest ) blend of personal and political concerns makes this story compelling and even urgent.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Zubro, author of two earnest mysteries featuring a gay schoolteacher sleuth (The Only Good Priest, Why Isn't Becky Twitchell Dead?), now introduces an earnest, gay widower-cop, Paul Turner of the Chicago PD, assigned to investigate the murder of right-wing politico Reverend Mucklewrath's daughter. In the course of his investigation, Paul meets Rusty, the whore-hustler who swears that the Reverend's son, Donald, is gay; handsome, noble Dr. George Manfred, whom everyone wants to ``marry'' off to Paul; and several old derelicts, including HIV-infected Wilmer, who has a clue to the murderer but is killed before he can reveal it. The case is wrapped up, but not before the homophobic killer kidnaps Paul's teenaged son Brian, makes a few filthy remarks about Paul, and so forth. A calculated, middle-class view of a homosexual cop leading a decent life with his two sons--one a heterosexual (probably) teen, and the other a spina bifuda child. All in all, sort of dull, even with murder around the edges. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (October 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312082991
• ISBN-13: 978-0312082994
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #839,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another gem, April 17, 2005

By 

Karlis Streips (Riga, Latvia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sorry Now? (Paperback)

Two quick comments. First, I hope that the reviewer who said that he would never read a Zubro book will change his mind, because if he didn't like this one, that surely doesn't mean that he wouldn't like others - the Paul Turner series is one thing, the Tom & Steve series is another, and I would really urge the reader to try again.

The other thing is this new Amazon thing of "statistically improbable phrases" - in this case the "statistically improbable phrases" are two extremely vulgar phrases, and I am surprised (to put it mildly) to see Amazon posting these on its Internet site for all to see. I'm not personally offended, but I'm not everyone, and I think plenty of people will say "for shame!"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good start to an improving series, October 17, 2001

By 

Richard Harrold (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sorry Now? (Paperback)

Fortunately, the Paul Turner series gets better as does Zubro's crafting of enjoyable cop mystery stories. With this one, the debut of Paul Turner, Zubro tackles an interesting premise: are gay activist orgnizations behind the murder of an anti-gay televangelist's daughter? It's a question Paul Turner, a gay Chicago homicide detective, doesn't like having to look at, but one he realizes he must if he is to solve this case. The reader gets taken in a lot of different directions and one has to wonder if the poor cop will ever solve this case. Maybe Zubro hadn't made up his mind "who done it" until the final chapter because there are no really good clues, but plenty of motive to go around. All in all it was an enjoyable read, but it's not among my top 25 murder mysteries, regardless of genre (gay or straight or whatever)or author.

3.0 out of 5 stars A Fairly Decent Read, December 2, 2007

By 

Jennifer Wardrip (Bloomington, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sorry Now? (Paperback)

Paul Turner is a Chicago detective with two sons, who just happens to be gay. When Bruce Mucklewrath, a televangelist with a message that leans towards gay-bashing, ends up the victim of a crime, his daughter dead, Paul and his partner are called in to lead the investigation.

What they discover are a number of crime scenes against those who are homophobic, all with the cryptic message of "Sorry now, aren't you?" Paul struggles to tie the cases together with a possible conspiracy against the gay community, while dealing with his kids and a possible relationship with handsome doctor George Manfred.

The book had a great premise, and the storyline was well-thought out, but the lack of real characterization and an abundance of typos in the book kept me from truly enjoying it. I'll still probably look for the second book in this series, but it wasn't one of my favorite reads.