The Truth Can Get You Killed: A Paul Turner Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) [Paperback]

Mark Richard Zubro (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stonewall Inn Mysteries | Publication Date: May 15, 1998

The last thing that Chicago Police Detective Paul Turner wants to do on New Year's Day is investigate a murder. But when the body is that of a conservative, homophobic judge and it is found outside a popular gay nightclub, the task takes on a new urgency for him. Now Turner must unravel the threads connecting the unlikely victim to his unsuspected murder scene-and look for answers in the most unusual places.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This eighth outing for Chicago baseball pitcher Scott Carpenter and his lover, English teacher Tom Mason, reads like a made-for-TV crime movie of the weekAlong on dialogue, short on exposition. As the first openly gay major-league ball player, Scott is used to receiving death threats. But when two bombs destroy the abortion clinic where Tom volunteers, while a third blows up Tom's truck, Scott begins to wonder to what insane lengths someone is willing to go to hurt him. At the scene of the disaster, where Scott heroically helps rescue victims, he hears a voice whisper, "You're next, faggot." Then, at the hospital where Tom lies in a coma, Scott finds an envelope by Tom's bedside containing the same sinister message. Since Scott doesn't trust his personal head of security (who's rumored to have done some nasty things in Bosnia), he hires a private detective agency, Borini and Faslo, to investigate the threats. Only later does he learn that Borini and Faslo are notoriously homophobic. Once Tom recovers, the pair spend a lot of time interviewing people with possible leads, including Tom's drag queen friend, Myrtle MaeAwho gets shot before she can pass on an important clue. Right to the end, Zubro keeps the reader guessing about who is responsible for the bombs and the death threats. And there's a certain fitting justice, even if Myrtle Mae's killerAwho conveniently explains everything while he holds Tom at gun pointAcomes straight out of left field. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Chicago's finest--finest gay detective, that is--is back. In the new Paul Turner mystery, a homophobic federal appeals judge is murdered. Lots of gay people, including the man who finds the body and Paul's friend Ian, a reporter for the Gay Tribune, are overjoyed at the killing, which makes Paul's job more complex. The situation is complicated twice more: first, when Turner and his straight partner, Buck Fenwick, discover their leading witness--a homeless, 19-year-old, gay runaway--dead on Lower Wacker Drive, and, second, when Judge Meade's son--a dancer in a male striptease bar near where the body was found--also turns up dead. Turner's two sons and his lover are featured a lot less this time than in previous Turner books. Longtime Zubro fans will miss those wonderful characters, but they will definitely enjoy the nonstop action and complex plot that make this the year's best gay mystery to date. Charles Harmon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (May 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312187653
• ISBN-13: 978-0312187651
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,435,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detective Paul Turner is gay, a hunk, and back on the job!, November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Truth Can Get You Killed: A Paul Turner Mystery (Paul Turner Mysteries) (Hardcover)

For those of you who have read the other mysteries by Mark Richard Zubro, this mystery should be no different. Detective Turner is back and they are searching for the murderer of a federal judge. This New Years Eve murder keeps Turner and his partner busy as they travel through the gay area of Chicago looking for the killer. It is well paced, well developed characters and an intresting plot. If you have read Zubro before you will enjoy this one as much as the others.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best of Zubro., July 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Truth Can Get You Killed: A Paul Turner Mystery (Paul Turner Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Easily the best of Zubro's novels. Snappy dialogue. Good plotting. No preachy diatribes. A look into an honest friendship between two detectives, one straight, one gay. And a good swipe at the pompous judiciary. Bravo Mark. Can we expect more of this caliber

5.0 out of 5 stars A good solid mystery, August 8, 2007

By 

Neil S. Plakcy "Neil Plakcy" (Hollywood, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth Can Get You Killed: A Paul Turner Mystery (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) (Paperback)

Detective Paul Turner and his partner, Buck Fenwick, investigate the death of a homophobic federal judge. Though he is reluctant at first, because he fears that his dislike of the man's politics will interfere with his investigation, Turner plunges in. One of the things that has bothered me about this series is that someone close to Turner usually gets in danger-- and I'm glad that's not the case here. A good solid mystery; I liked it.

Neil Plakcy, author of Mahu Surfer: A Hawaiian Mystery (An Alyson Mystery)