Customer Reviews

Sorry Now? (Stonewall Inn Mysteries)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!"

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.

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.

This is the first of Zubro's many books that I have read, and sorry to say it will be the last also. I love gay mystery as a genre, but this book disappointed on many levels. The plot, about the murder of a bigotted televangelist's daughter, and the gay community's possible involvement as a means of revenge undoubtedly has potential, but isn't developed, with the result that I didn't really care how the book ended. Undoubtedly the biggest let down is the quality of the writing. It's pedestrian and leaden, making the promising idea of the central character, a gay cop and father a crashing bore.